Kolmar 3-D prints facial cream inside bottle

Kolmar Korea’s 3-D printed skin care products. Shapes not normally possible can be achieved with the technology. [KOLMAR KOREA]

Kolmar Korea says it can 3-D print skin care products.

The technology is already being used to make toys, machinery and even houses. Kolmar claims it is the first to have 3-D printed facial cream.

Sejong City-based Kolmar makes products on a white-label basis for a number of globally-known brands, including L’Oreal.

The 3-D printing of skin care products took two years to develop and required the assistance of Samyoung Machinery, a South Chungcheong company.

The first effort using the technology involved the 3-D printing of facial cream inside a bottle of essence. The process allows for the creating of shapes not possible using conventional manufacturing processes.

Samyoung provided the 3-D printing technology while Kolmar took charge of developing the essence and cream so that they don’t easily mix inside the container.

The company said that it is a challenge to keep the two from combining and formulating a cream that maintains its shape.

Kolmar plans to pitch the 3-D printed product to other cosmetics companies for release.

The company believes that the process might be useful in delivering other functional components. A spokesman explained that brightening and anti-aging products can be offered using the technology.

“We’re seeing it as one of our core projects for the future,” they said. “Skin care products are just the start; the next step would be to extend 3-D printing to color cosmetics, like lipstick or powder. The technology isn’t mature yet, but once it is, we’ll able to experiment on many features not possible with existing facilities.”

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