L’Oréal has the most extensive beauty research capabilities in the cosmetics industry. Around the world, our 4,000 researchers innovate to create more effective, inclusive and sustainable beauty products and experiences for our brands and consumers. They continue to expand the frontiers of knowledge and venture into new scientific territories by harnessing the power of technology and Green Sciences.
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Barbara Lavernos
Deputy Chief Executive Officer, in charge of Research, Innovation and Technology
Creating the beauty that moves the world means giving consumers state-of-the-art beauty products and experiences tailored to every individual need. Our researchers constantly strive to make beauty science more efficient, responsible, inclusive and personalised, through solutions that protect from daily external factors, enhance wellbeing and self-esteem and support people in every stage of their life – all while limiting our environmental footprint.
115 years of groundbreaking innovation
Science and Tech are L’Oréal’s power engines for creating unequalled beauty products and experiences that meet our consumers’ infinitely diverse needs and aspirations. Take a deep dive into our Research & Innovation.
115 years of groundbreaking innovation
Science and Tech are L’Oréal’s power engines for creating unequalled beauty products and experiences that meet our consumers’ infinitely diverse needs and aspirations. Take a deep dive into our Research & Innovation.
65%of our formula ingredients are bio-based, derived from abundant minerals or circular processes
610patents filed in 2023
4,000+researchers across 7 hubs and 20 sites worldwide
€1.2 Bninvested in Research & Innovation
Highlights
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Biotechnology lies at the heart of Group innovation and laboratories
The multidisciplinary field of biotechnology combines insights and methods from biology, chemistry, tech and engineering for innovation inspired by living organisms, their biological know-how and various components. For L’Oréal, this paves the way for sustainable alternatives to certain ingredients by drawing on a nature-inspired approach and developing new materials with unmatched performance. Research & Innovation teams are harnessing the power of biotech to explore a new realm of science, delivering active ingredients with groundbreaking cosmetic properties that combine high performance with reduced environmental impact.
Creating a global innovation ecosystem
L’Oréal draws on a cutting-edge biotech innovation ecosystem to enhance the scientific expertise of researchers at 20 research centres around the globe. Through its venture capital fund BOLD, the Group makes minority investments in innovative startups.
US biotech firm Debut is a prime example. The company has bypassed the limitations of traditional fermentation by directly controlling biological processes to produce complex, high-performance natural products. This synthetic biology significantly simplifies manufacturing and increases potential yield. Debut offers a means to overcome one of the beauty industry’s biggest challenges: driving innovation in ways that are not resource-intensive. The goal is to create over 7,000 sustainable, high-value ingredients for a wide range of beauty products, including moisturisers, serums and haircare solutions, and quickly bring them to market.
L’Oréal has also invested in Shinehigh Innovation, a Chinese startup specialising in cutting-edge supramolecular chemistry. Its breakthrough smart self-assembling technology allows previously impossible ingredient combinations, resulting in innovative and sustainable formulations that deliver revolutionary performance for skin, hair and scalp. US-based Future Origins is another L’Oréal-backed biotech firm, focused on developing sustainable alternatives to ingredients such as surfactants, which are a key part of formulations for cosmetics.
Biotechnology as a source of new, high-performance raw materials
L’Oréal continues to explore innovative approaches in agriculture and sustainable sourcing, notably through the L’Oréal Green Sciences incubator, created in partnership with French biotech cluster Genopole. The Group provides scientific and financial support to incubated startups like Algentech, which transforms plant cells into “green factories” capable of producing bio-based ingredients for cosmetics.
Extending L’Oréal’s lead in microbiome research
With the acquisition of Lactobio, a Danish company at the forefront of probiotics and microbiome research, L’Oréal has continued to build on 20 years of Advanced Research into the microbiome, deepening our understanding of these microorganisms, which live on the surface of the skin. Together, L’Oréal’s microbiome expertise and Lactobio’s extensive patent portfolio will enable the development of a new generation of safe and effective cosmetics derived from live bacteria to unlock unprecedented levels of performance.
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Inclusivity at the heart of our Research & Innovation
Keen insight into the world’s many different skin and hair types lies at the heart of L’Oréal’s Research and Innovation strategy. This cutting-edge scientific awareness allows us to create and market products tailored to meet specific biological or cultural needs, catering to the infinite diversity of consumer aspirations.
Melasyl, a revolutionary active ingredient to target hyperpigmentation
Pigmentation disorders affect a significant portion of the global population, regardless of natural skin colour. L’Oréal conducted over 121 clinical studies in 13 countries across five continents with more than 12,000 participants to understand the pigmentation process. A recent AI-based study involving over 600,000 women highlighted age-related differences in the development of localised hyperpigmentation.
L’Oréal built on this unique expertise in skin pigmentation to develop Melasyl, a patented active ingredient able to keep localised hyperpigmentation in check, and the first molecule to act on localised excess melanin precursors before they transform into coloured pigmentation. This innovative solution is protected by more than 20 patents.
An unprecedented study on skin and hair
“My Skin & Hair Journey” is the name of a multi-year study launched by L’Oréal and Verily, an Alphabet company and a global leader in precision health technologies. The longitudinal study covers the largest-ever beauty cohort and aims to understand the biological, clinical and environmental factors that contribute to skin and hair health throughout life. The initiative is an unprecedented milestone in the Group’s research into longevity and the exposome. It involves thousands of American women aged 18 to 70 from diverse backgrounds and with various skin and hair types. By collecting new data on perceptions and experiences related to skin and hair health, the study will analyse the individual impact of different lifestyle, environment, wellbeing and beauty routines. The resulting insights will enable L’Oréal to further push the boundaries of innovation to create highly personalised beauty routines.
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The research driving high-performance formulas
Research & Innovation teams have made it their mission to enhance performance by creating formulas that meet the highest standards of safety, efficacy, experience and sustainability. In 2023, La Roche-Posay launched RegenMedic, a premium franchise for North Asia, combining ProXylane and Niacinamide. The reparative, anti-ageing formula stimulates the skin’s natural regeneration process and is suitable for use after non-invasive cosmetic procedures or as part of a daily routine. Another innovation, Garnier Good, offers a new generation of at-home permanent hair colour solutions using hybrid technology with 90% natural-origin ingredients and 10% synthetic active ingredients for outstanding colour performance.
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Beauty Tech: science and technology for ultra-personalised beauty
L’Oréal is reinventing beauty to provide consumers with unprecedented personalisation, unique services and a new beauty experience. Absolue Dual-LED Youth Treatment is one such example. The revolutionary dermatology-inspired device uses dual-wavelength LED phototherapy to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. It also delivers a luxury treatment using exclusive Lancôme formulas to firm the skin. The results speak for themselves, reducing fine lines by more than 52% in just eight weeks. Over a decade of research went into developing the unique, at-home treatment technology, now available in China.
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Using biology to improve safety
L’Oréal has pioneered engineered tissue through its EpiSkin subsidiary for 40 years and committed to animal-free testing methods 14 years before such practices were required by regulations. We promote the use of reconstructed human tissue to test the reliability and safety of ingredients used in cosmetics. The latest advances were showcased at the 12th World Congress on Alternatives to Animal Testing in Life Sciences, which highlighted our EpiSkin Academy education programme. L’Oréal joined the ICCS and AFSA to promote alternative methods across the beauty industry, which includes creating masterclasses on the issue.
We also partnered with Bakar Labs, a biotech incubator at the University of Berkeley in the United States, offering new opportunities to startups in the ecosystem and providing free access to L’Oréal’s 3D reconstructed skin models.
