l'oreal and PCH introduce stretchable sun exposure tracker 'my UV patch'

l’oreal and PCH introduce stretchable sun exposure tracker ‘my UV patch’
all images courtesy of PCH and l’oréal

l’oréal and PCH launched ‘my UV patch’, an introduction to stretchable skin sensors designed to monitor ultraviolet exposure and help users educate themselves about sun protection. to address the rise in sun exposure related illnesses, l’oréal’s dermatological skincare brand, la roche-posay and design partner PCH, introduced a patch with an transparent adhesive that, unlike rigid wearables currently on the market, stretches and attaches directly to any part of the skin that users want to monitor. 

‘the beauty and fashion industries have a unique role to play in developing and leading the wearables category,’ explains liam casey, founder and CEO of PCH. ‘l’oréal has embraced technology at the core of their operations. personalization is in its infancy, and will strengthen the consumer’s relationship with the brand, and lead to stronger customer loyalty.’

the patch contains photosensitive dyes that change color when exposed to UV rays

measuring approximately one square inch in area and 50 micrometers thick, the patch contains photosensitive dyes that factor in the baseline skin tone and change colors when expose to UV rays to indicate varying levels of sun exposure. customers will be able to take a photo of the patch and upload it to the mobile app, which analyzes the varying photosensitive dye squares to determine the amount of UV exposure the wearer has received.  the l’oréal ‘my UV patch’ is expected to be made available to consumers later in 2016. 

‘connected technologies have the potential to completely disrupt how we monitor the skin’s exposure to various external factors, including UV,’ notes guive balooch, global vice president of l’oréal’s technology incubator. ‘previous technologies could only tell users the amount of potential sun exposure they were receiving per hour while wearing a rigid, non-stretchable device. the key was to design a sensor that was thin, comfortable and virtually weightless so people would actually want to wear it. we’re excited to be the first beauty company entering the stretchable electronics field and to explore the many potential applications for this technology within our industry and beyond.’ 

‘my UV patch’ includes a transparent adhesive to stick on skin   the patch takes up one square inch in area the packaging for the ‘my UV patch’