Could the world’s first-ever smart hairbrush from Kérastase transform your hair care regime? We took a closer look to find out
In a world where developments in personalised skincare and makeup have made significant strides in recent times, it was only going to be a matter of time until tech would take our hair care regimes by storm too. However, we didn’t think it would be quite this extraordinary. Meet the world’s first-ever smart hairbrush, the Kérastase Hair Coach - a new age tool that looks set to take our hair care needs to new heights.
Created by Kérastase, Withings - the leader in the connected health revolution - and L’Oréal’s Research and Innovation Technology Incubator, the brush is guaranteed to make waves, having already received this year’s International CES Innovation Award, an accolade that celebrates outstanding product design and engineering in new consumer technology products. What makes it deserving of such acclaim though? Essentially, its combination of sophisticated algorithms, sensors and modern design, engineered to score the quality of hair and monitor the effects of different hair care routines for a range of different hair types.
According to a report published by L’Oréal scientists, forceful hair brushing has been proven to cause hair damage, including breakage and split ends. However, with this new tool in tow, these risks will be greatly minimised thanks to a roster of impressive features. These include a microphone that listens to the sound of the hair brushing, 3-axis load cells that measure the force applied to the hair and the scalp when brushing, an accelerator and a gyroscope to further analyse brushing patterns and count brush strokes (with signaling designed to alert if too vigorous) and conductivity sensors to determine if the brush is being used on dry or wet hair in order to provide an accurate hair measurement. Oh, and the brush itself will be splash proof too.
The sensors will then feed data via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to a mobile app, to be further analysed in accordance with weather factors that affect hair’s manageability and quality such as humidity, temperature, UV and wind. Measuring both external influences and our own personal habits, the data produced will provide a valuable insight into our hair care regimes by way of a hair quality score, a breakdown of brushing habits, personalised tips and Kérastase product recommendations. “Each time someone uses the smart brush they get rich data they never before had access to, which can improve their overall hair care experience,” says Cedric Hutchings, Vice President of Digital Health for Nokia.
Retailing for under £200, the battery-powered brush will be available mid-2017 at Kérastase hair salons, www.kerastase.co.uk and through Withings’ online sales and distribution channels. We can’t wait to get our hands on one.