When it comes to hydrating facial skin, along with delivering nutrients to it, ready-made “sheet masks” have become quite popular. Neutrogena is now taking the concept further – its MaskiD system fabricates 3D-printed masks that are customized to the shape and needs of each client’s face.
Users start by taking a smartphone selfie, from which a 3D digital map of their face is created. That map includes information such as the exact size and shape of their nose, along with precise measurements of the spaces between their various facial features.
Next, they make use of Neutrogena’s previously-released Skin360 system (pictured below) – it consists of a smartphone-mounted imaging device known as the SkinScanner, along with an app. Utilizing this system, they obtain personalized information such as the size and depth of lines/wrinkles, along with their skin’s moisture levels in different areas.
The facial map and Skin360 data are uploaded to a server, where they’re accessed by Neutrogena to 3D-print a batch of sheet masks designed specifically for that user. Made of a hydrogel consisting of cellulose sourced from locust beans and red seaweed, these contain added “rejuvenating” ingredients which are custom-placed in six areas of the mask.
Those ingredients include purified hyaluronic acid, to improve the skin’s moisture barrier; vitamin B3, to reduce discoloration; feverfew, to minimize redness; stabilized glucosamine, to exfoliate the skin and reduce wrinkles; and vitamin C, for brighter-looking skin.
The process ends with the masks being shipped to the client.
There is currently no word on the price of the MaskiD system, which should be available (initially to US consumers) through the Neutrogena website in the third quarter of this year.
Neutrogena tech produces user-specific 3D-printed facial masks [New Atlas]