Amorepacific selling 3-D-printed sheet masks

Amorepacific’s mobile app scans a face to make a 3-D-printed sheet mask tailored to individual face structures. [AMOREPACIFIC]

Image-conscious consumers will be able to get custom, 3-D-printed sheet masks and tailored skin care serums from Amorepacific starting in late April, the beauty company said Monday.

The company will unveil the services at its Iope Lab store in Myeong-dong, central Seoul. The store will reopen next month after being closed for renovations.

The Iope Tailored 3D Mask is a gel sheet mask designed to fit the facial structure of each individual using a 3-D printer. A mobile app will be used to capture the image of the face, measuring areas around the eyes, nose, mouth, forehead, cheeks and chin. Unlike mass-produced sheet masks, the new service will apply formulas to customize the mask based on those measurements and the desired effects. The printing itself takes less than five minutes, Amorepacific said.

The 3-D mask technology won an Innovation Award at this year’s CES 2020 and was showcased in Las Vegas in January.

The company’s tailored serums use a device to measure the customer’s skin condition and mix a formula tailored to solve individual skin care problems. The company can produce 20 variations.

The two technologies were tested by customers at Iope’s Myeong-dong store in 2017 for a trial period of five months. Amorepacific said it upgraded the features afterwards to increase the level of personalization.

The launch was made possible after a change to customer safety laws went into effect March 14, which now allows companies to produce customized skin care products for customers and sell them in their stores.

The practice is now allowed under the conditions that the service is provided by a licensed expert who has passed the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s test and that the store has reported to the government that it is offering the service.

“Iope has long developed future skin care solutions, and the Iope Lab Tailored programs are just some of them. This will lay grounds for our brand to lead in the opening market of personalized cosmetics,” said Bae Ji-hyeon, who leads the company’s Iope division.

BY SONG KYOUNG-SON [song.kyoungson@joongang.co.kr]