L’Oreal is creating a revolutionary bioprinted skin that can ‘feel’ touch

L’Oreal is developing of realistic artificial skin that will be able to “feel,” paving the way for ethical testing of cosmetics and other products without the use of animals.

Unveiled at the Viva Technology conference in Paris last week, the bioprinted skin can replicate common skin conditions and behaviors, like eczema, acne, tanning and wound healing.

Guive Balooch, who heads the company’s tech incubator, told CNBC that the “ability to use 3D printing with biology” to personalize the reconstructed skin will “be a revolution.”

L’Oreal, which has partnered with the University of Oregon on its synthetic skin development, is also in the process of manufacturing artificial skin that can provide sensory feedback to scientists when testing cosmetics, negating the need for testing on animals.

“We will have this kind of idea where sensors will allow us to not only have the ability to test on reconstructed skin but also have the … sensory reality feedback, which is what happens when you apply products and all that, so that we can get assessment of not only the efficacy but also the sensory feedback,” Balooch told the outlet.

The company, which has not tested products on animals since 1989, has used synthetic skin to test cosmetics for years, per CNBC.