World’s first hair color machine: LG teams up with CHI and Farouk Systems to boost personalization
20 Sep 2021 --- Engineers at LG Household & Healthcare, together with hair care brands CHI and Farouk Systems, have created the “world’s first-ever color machine” called The LG CHI Color Master Factory.
The patent-pending digitally controlled color customization system has 30,000 recommended formulations with the possibility to create unlimited color formulations with exact precision to make stylists’ artistry come to life.
“The LG CHI Color Master Factory that took over four years to develop,” says Dr. Farouk Shami, founder of Farouk Systems.
The LG CHI Color Master Factory is environmentally conscious, reducing waste by 30% and tracking colors dispensed for inventory purposes. It also has built in sensors and a scale to measure dyes for precise formulation.
Taking the guesswork out of hair color
The LG CHI Color Master Factory “takes the guesswork out of hair color” by offering a broad variety of formulations for permanent, semi-permanent and demi-permanent color formulations with ease to lift and tone up to three levels.
It offers customized formulations, gray coverage, and tint back options with 108 shades and eight additives selected from the color chart with color formulations that are ammonia and paraphenylenediamine-free.
The machine has built-in sensors and a scale to measure dyes for precise formulation. (Credit: Farouk Systems)The LG CHI Color Master Factory saves time by dispensing color formulations in under 2 minutes. The simulation mode allows stylists to take a picture of their clients to try on the color first with before and after images.
The LG CHI Color Master Factory houses 12 recyclable cylinders that replace the countless color bottles, tubes and boxes normally needed to customize that many colors.
App enabled formulations
To begin formulating, the LG CHI Color Master Factory has two options – it can be manually programmed using the touchscreen display or managed directly from a tablet or even a phone.
For a tablet or phone, stylists can download the Colormaster application from the Google Play app store and then send their formulations directly to The LG CHI Color Master Factory.
Since the color formulations are organized by stylist name and client name, there is no confusion on whose formulation is in queue. Users can also see the color formulations being mixed.
When finished, a light will blink to let the user know it is complete. An automated voice response and the touchscreen display indicate when to remove the bowl.
The LG CHI Color Master Factory also offers a client management system that will store clients’ formulas and photos for their next appointment.
The LG CHI Color Master Factory is housed in a stainless-steel cabinet of 18” x 22” x 22” inches, which weighs under 100 lbs for space saving and convenience. As a bonus, no noise is emitted from the machine to disrupt the salon environment.
On-trend hair care
Customizable hair health and beauty tech has been gaining ground in recent weeks. BASF’s Care Creations, for instance, recently inaugurated a personal care evaluation salon in Lagos, Nigeria, which will allow in vivo sensory and performance testing of hair formulations on local volunteers.
Among other latest hair launches, Amyris debuted JVN, a clean hair products brand, in collaboration with hairstylist Jonathan Van Ness. The collection features four accessibly priced product families that are silicone-free, color-safe, sulfate-free, cruelty-free and vegan.
Other launches include products that combat the signs of aging by “feeding” hair, botanicals to fight postpartum hair loss, as well as products that help protect hair from environmental stressors like the sun and sea.
By Benjamin Ferrer
