Moritex launches electronic device to measure skin condition

Moritex Europe​ is the Cambridge-based European subsidiary of the Japanese-listed manufacturer of fibre optics, optical technologies and automated bio-science equipment. The company has just launched the Triplesense TR-3, a lightweight, handheld product equipped with three built-in sensors that measure sebum/oiliness, moisture balance and skin elasticity. The measurements are then compared with average data, for a given age group, to give an evaluation of the current skin condition.

For results that can be understood at a glance the Triplesense also presents an indication of the skin condition on a three step scale: high, medium and low. Basic skin types such as normal, oily, dry and oily dry, which represent information fundamental to skin care, can also be checked with the device. All measured data can be easily imported and stored on a personal computer, so that users can store valuable data and offer a skin counselling service with reference to trends in skin condition.

Triplesense is the result of over a decade of experience in the development and manufacture of video and sensor technology for retail point-of-sale and beauty salon use in the Far East, particularly Japan and Korea. The company's European sales and marketing manager Alistair Gooch told cosmeticsdesign.com that the company has so far concentrated on the Far East but is now turning its sights to the potential of the European market.

"Over recent years, the big international cosmetics companies have been entering the Japanese and Korean markets where they have found that domestic companies have already been using this technology for some time,"​ Gooch explained. "In salons and in department stores over there, consumers are able to have their skin condition measured using our optical equipment. The beauty consultant recommends products and then the customer can return a few weeks later to see for themselves the efficacy of the products they have purchased. European and American companies competing in the Asian markets found themselves having to play catch-up and no doubt they will be wanting to introduce the technology back to Europe and the US."​

Gooch said he knows of another European company that markets similar products to beauty salons but said that, as far as he is aware, Moritex is the only company marketing products suitable for use at point-of-sale in retail outlets.

Explaining the differences between the company's existing products and this new device, he said: "The company has developed its existing technology to create the Triplesense. We have made several improvements, particularly relating to the sebum sensor. With earlier products, the skin care consultant had to use a disposable cap to take a skin sample, which was inserted into the machine to produce a reading - that is no longer necessary as measurements can now be taken directly using optical sensors."​

The Triplesense device is particularly suited for use in marketing and selling anti-ageing products, Gooch said, because it measures elasticity. For customers who do not require a device that measures elasticity, the company is finalising a Dualsense product, which measures sebum and moisture only, which will be launched in September at Cosmeeting 2004 in Paris.