L'Oreal's My UV Patch is a new wearable device that helps to protect the user from the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays, even on cold winter days. The wearable patch contains miniscule sensors and is the first stretchable skin sensor that is made to track UV exposure and teach users about sun protection.
My UV Patch is manufactured by the skincare brand La Roche-Posay. Guive Balooch is the global Vice President of L'Oreal's Technology Incubator. His team partnered with sensor-maker MC10 to launch a startup that develops the new wearable patch, according to Wired.
Balooch noted in a statement that connected tech can interrupt how people monitor the skin's exposure to factors, according to PC Mag. That includes UV radiation.
Balooch pointed out that previous tech was limited as it could only inform users about how much skin exposure they had per hour. Another big problem was that the device was non-stretchable.
The 1-inch square UV patch is a clear, stretchable adhesive that sticks to any part of the skin. L'Oreal's patch has half the thickness of a hair strand, while its photosensitive dyes change colors after being exposed to the sun's UV rays.
Here is how the new wearable works. When users are relaxing by a pool or sunbathing at the beach, they just snap a photo of the mini patch and then upload it to the My UV Patch smartphone app to learn about their current level of UV exposure.
A La Roche-Posay study discovered that while most of the 19,000 men and women surveyed in 23 nations were aware that unexpected exposure to UV rays could cause health issues, only about one-quarter of Americans protect themselves throughout the year.
The L'Oreal My UV Patch will be available sometime this year. It will be launched with iOS and Android apps, while Google's operating system will use Near Field Communications (NFC) to do patch scanning.
L'Oreal is a cosmetics and beauty company that was founded in 1909. It was launched by a French chemist who developed and manufactured a hair dye formula named Auréale, and then sold his product to Paris hairdressers. The company had three chemists in 1920, and almost 20,000 today.