Innovation Looks Good on You: Inside L’Oréal’s Beauty x Tech Movement – Blavity
At AfroTech, innovation isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a movement. It’s where bold thinkers, creators, and engineers gather to build what’s next. But this year, one panel in particular turned heads and redefined the conversation around where tech talent can thrive: “How Personal Experience and Expertise is Shaping the Future of Beauty at L’Oréal Groupe”.
How L’Oréal Is Redefining What Beauty Means in Tech
For decades, L’Oréal has been synonymous with beauty, but at AfroTech, the company made it clear that beauty today is powered by science, innovation and tech. From AI-driven product development to innovative haircare solutions, L’Oréal showed attendees how technology fuels creativity, and vice-versa, in every corner of the business.
Where Representation Matters
The conversation didn’t stop at technology; it centered on people. L’Oréal’s presence at AfroTech wasn’t just about recruiting; it was about broadening the understanding of who belongs in the beauty industry. Attendees heard from leaders in roles across chemistry, beauty tech and product innovation, each proving that your background in STEM can have an impact that’s both technical and cultural.
Panelists Dominic Akerele ( Director of Tech Innovation, Augmented Beauty at L’Oréal Groupe) and Christina Bishop (Director of Scientific Valorization, US Hair Care at L’Oréal Groupe), with Moderator Aubrey Maslen (Vice President, Head of DE&I Communications & Strategic), spoke passionately about how they’re leading next-gen technology to personalize beauty recommendations for deeper skin tones, building inclusive datasets for product testing, and designing advanced haircare and scalp solutions that celebrate the beauty of diversity.
With key lead tech ideas in skin treatments, hair care, and makeup design, they are creating a pathway for other future Black and Brown STEM professionals to make their mark not just in the beauty industry but at L’Oreal.
Dominic is currently leading the launch of L’Oréal Cell Bioprint, an innovative skincare device that’s redefining preventive aging for melanin-rich skin. The technology supports all skin tones and types, and can emphasize the importance of empowering Black consumers to better understand how their unique skin proteins age bridging science, technology, and inclusive beauty innovation.
“My favorite project that I got to work on, that is launching soon, is L’Oreal Cell Bioprint,” Dominic said.
“It is a skin analysis device that analyzes your skin proteins, and it can inform predicted aging, response to different skin additives, and gives a more holistic rounded picture of how your skin will age. This ushers in a whole new era of beauty for all,… [It] really understands how you age through the use of this technology, delivering the innovation that’ll shape the future especially for us.”
These key leaders at L’Oréal mastered the idea of beauty tech and what it means to be fully represented by their field. Their innovations have not only made a difference in the beauty world, but in metropolitan communities, to even the top musicians and actors of the world.
The message was clear: the next frontier of beauty is inclusive, data-driven, and deeply human.
Speaking to how inclusion shapes innovation at every stage of her work, Christina shared how L’Oréal’s commitment to diverse testing and scientific rigor came to life through the development of Redken ABC Curl.
“What we did with Redken ABC Curl, we wanted to be more inclusive in the way we test,” Christina shared. “If we’re going to show true instrumental and numerical results in terms of breakage, then we have to make sure we’re testing on the right hair types. That meant working with vendors to get the right types of swatches, and even when we were going through the formula, making sure we were looking at the hair and formula in the right way.
“We serve a scale from 1 to 8, measuring how curls grow out of your hair. We served 2,500 people across the globe, looking at their curl patterns from straight, to wavy, to curly, to coily. We identified the spiral in a neutron facility in Europe to really dig into the action of the fibers all the way from straight hair to curly. We take the benefits of citric acid, marry it with dullness and hydration, we made sure we had exclusive chemical technologies, all through the lens of a diverse user.”
Opportunity, Meet Access
For AfroTech attendees eager to break into the industry, L’Oréal laid out multiple entry points from tech internships and rotational programs to specialized roles in data science, engineering, and product innovation.
And with L’Oréal recognized globally as the #1 beauty employer, the company is doubling down on its commitment to attracting diverse, world-class talent. Its message to AfroTech professionals: if you can dream it, code it, or build it, there’s a place for you here.
L’Oréal invests heavily in employee training and resources to upskill their workforce in new technologies and approaches to solve some of beauty’s toughest inclusivity challenges. Their progress is diverse, with over 167 nationalities represented among their employees globally.
A true mark in a company to extend access to where top tech professionals gather in unison, this is a major advantage opportunity for growth, change, and representation.
The Takeaway: Where Passion Meets Purpose
AfroTech has always been about bridging passion and purpose, and L’Oréal’s “How Personal Experience and Expertise is Shaping the Future of Beauty at L’Oréal Groupe” conversation embodied that spirit. The panel reminded us that beauty isn’t superficial; it’s a canvas for creativity, a laboratory for innovation, and a platform for equity.
Reflecting on the intersection of beauty, innovation, and culture, Aubrey,captured the spirit of L’Oréal Groupe’s approach to technology and authenticity during the conversation:
“We have stellar STEM talent at L’Oréal that are creating these products and services we all love. We don’t just ship marketing. We don’t just ship products. We ship informed points of view, ways of innovating; ensuring we always put our consumer at the heart and soul of everything that we do, because authenticity is key,” Aubrey shared.
So whether you’re a data scientist optimizing AI algorithms, a software engineer crafting seamless digital experiences, or a creative visionary building the next-gen beauty app, the future of beauty tech is calling. And L’Oréal is ready to open the door.
And for more information on L’Oreal’s Talent Community, submit to the L’Oreal USA at Afrotech portal here: L’Oréal Groupe @ Afrotech
Follow AfroTech Conference 2025, for updates on this panel and more.
The post Innovation Looks Good on You: Inside L’Oréal’s Beauty x Tech Movement appeared first on Blavity.
Source link
#Innovation #Good #LOréals #Beauty #Tech #Movement #Blavity
powered by Auto Youtube Summarize