Behind every groundbreaking product lies a story of inspiration, collaboration, and meticulous design—our journey with L’Oréal Paris in creating the Colorsonic device exemplifies this perfectly.

Leveraging our expertise in user experience, design, and engineering, we partnered with L’Oréal Paris to shape a revolutionary reusable, cartridge-based hair coloring device. With over 29 patents, Colorsonic simplifies the hair coloring process for all hair types by automatically mixing dye and developer for long-lasting results at the press of a button.

Since inventing at-home hair color in 1909, L’Oréal has continually reinvented the category. The Colorsonic device epitomizes their legacy of innovation, addressing common challenges of at-home hair dyeing, such as messy setup, uneven application, and missed spots. Priced at $125, Colorsonic transforms the hair coloring experience, ensuring a streamlined, efficient, and consistent application.

Studies[1] indicate that consumers are willing to pay more for a higher-quality experience achieved through product differentiation. This is where unique features and benefits like design, quality, and brand alignment come into play. Even before its market launch, Colorsonic's recognition on TIME Magazine’s Top 200 Best Inventions list in 2022 underscores its innovative impact.

Conceived 10 years ago by L'Oréal’s R&D Innovation team, Colorsonic aimed to make at-home hair color faster and easier through innovative technology. Our collaboration with L’Oréal on Colorsonic demonstrates how effective product differentiation strengthens market position and enhances customer relationships.

This article explores the vital role of strategic innovation partnerships, the significance of crafting a superior user experience, the challenges overcome during product development, and Colorsonic's current status.

PCS and L'Oréal: A Strategic Partnership

The R&D innovation team at L’Oréal knew their concept of making the hair coloring process less messy and more consistent could revolutionize the at-home experience. Their challenge was to refine this product vision and make it real.

Research and development are fundamental in most industries, driving innovation, improving existing products and services, maintaining a competitive advantage, and exploring new markets and opportunities[2]. What makes R&D partnership projects exciting and challenging is that their very nature involves navigating unknowns. A project is an exploration and journey full of surprises, new information, and factors to consider.

L’Oréal relied on our expertise at key points in product development to help define a reusable, cartridge-based hair coloring experience, incorporate the functional elements, and infuse the L’Oréal brand into a beauty tech appliance. Product Creation Studio brought an adaptive product management framework to the Colorsonic project, which was essential to advancing the concept past numerous technical, user experience, and business roadblocks.

Like putting an astronaut on the moon, the most successful R&D projects come from teams that work well together as the project develops, understand how and when to change direction and adapt when different skills and resources are needed. This collaboration was not merely about outsourcing tasks but creating synergies that drive sustained growth and innovation.

L’Oreal Intrapreneur and co-inventor Joe Grez often met with the PCS development team, key vendors, and contractors in the PCS boardroom. Balancing the desire for product greatness with design progress was always at the forefront of discussions. Deciding what to cut and what to keep in the feature set often required a conversation.

To further foster collaboration, the PCS team went on field trips to explore great product experiences with L’Oreal VP of Marketing and ColorSonic inventor Carolina Cañamaque. During a trip to the Tesla showroom, the team bonded over automotive interior swatches and debated the merits of gull-wing doors.

Crafting the User Experience

We implemented a structured development program focused on driving the Colorsonic project from concept to production to tackle this challenge. Our approach was holistic, encompassing every aspect of user interaction:

User-Focused Development: We applied creative problem-solving to address ergonomic, user experience, and mechanical packaging challenges. Our team's expertise in user-centered design allowed us to create solutions prioritizing ease of use and user comfort.
Functional Integration: Our team skillfully integrated the liquid colorant, oscillating bristle nozzle mechanisms, and electronics into a balanced design. This clever packaging allowed users to hold the Colorsonic like a brush and comb through their hair, applying colorant exactly where needed. The result was a device that seamlessly combined form and function.
Comprehensive Research: L'Oréal conducted thorough research to understand the target users, usage environments, and industry standards. PCS supported this effort by providing interaction mock-ups, allowing for hands-on testing and refinement of the user experience. This collaborative approach ensured that we had a deep understanding of user needs and preferences, which was crucial in designing a product that was not only functional and usable but also highly desirable.

We created an intuitive, efficient, and enjoyable user experience by focusing on these key areas. The Colorsonic device simplified the home hair coloring process and elevated it to a new level of sophistication and ease.

Key Features and Benefits of the Colorsonic Design

Easy-to-Use Design:

The Colorsonic device eliminates the roles of a chemist, colorist, and cleaner when dyeing hair. It simplifies the process into three straightforward steps: pick your shade, insert the cartridge for automated mixing, and then brush through your hair with brush-like bristles parting and depositing color uniformly.

Mess-Free Application:

Colorsonic parts and colors every strand, including hard-to-reach areas, ensuring mistake-free coverage. The device adapts to different hair types, lengths, and textures by adjusting bristle speed and formula deposition.

Salon-Level Results:

Rigorously tested with real consumers, Colorsonic delivers salon-worthy results with rich, high-shine color that leaves hair feeling soft, refreshed, and healthy. Using L’Oréal’s aftercare conditioner can reduce breakage by up to 2x.

Fast Application:

Colorsonic offers precise root-to-tip application in just five minutes, covering up to 20,000 strands every 60 seconds, significantly reducing the time spent compared to traditional methods or salon visits.

Overcoming Development Challenges

Developing the Colorsonic device presented numerous challenges that required innovative solutions and technical expertise.

User Experience Challenges

The Colorsonic handle has a lot going on. Cartridge management, pumping, mixing, dispensing, powering, and charging require consideration and space within the package. Combining everything in a package size that was still acceptable to the intended user was an ongoing challenge that required putting mock-ups in the user's hands and integrating their feedback. The PCS team worked iteratively to support the concept design and user testing activities, focusing on the use scenarios and user needs.

Creating a seamless and intuitive user experience was paramount. There was an ongoing debate about how much to automate the dispensing process, what to sense and control, and how to communicate status with the user. Ultimately, choices were made to emphasize simplicity and recognize that the user still applies the colorant.

Technical Challenges

Colorsonic had to part and saturate every hair strand evenly, even in hard-to-reach areas, with bristles moving 300 times per minute and adjusting their speed to deposit the right formula for all hair types. Achieving root-to-tip coloration in just five minutes required innovative engineering solutions. We also had to ensure the device delivered high-shine, long-lasting color results with 100% gray coverage.. The multi-usage hair color cartridge, which offers up to three applications per cartridge, emphasizes sustainability by using less plastic per application than single-use plastic dye and developer bottles.

Project Management Challenges

When L’Oréal approached PCS in 2015, they were looking for a group that could serve as a project integrator to collect input from various development tracts and bring it together in a form that resembled a commercial product. PCS enabled the leaders at L’Oreal to lead and contract practitioners to contribute by integrating their inputs into great design outputs. Flexibility and a commitment to efficient, transparent, and mutually supportive working methods were essential.

Coordinating efforts across different disciplines and countries brought many logistical challenges. Our strong, underpinning design processes and adaptive project management approach have enabled us to achieve successful flexibility. These frameworks ensured process-focused guides, tools, and procedures to support our project management team in effectively running the project.

Having a diverse range of skills and disciplines under one roof was crucial to the success of this product. Seizing opportunities to learn and develop along the way allowed us to adapt to changing roles, responsibilities, and team dynamics without disrupting project flow.

Launch and Market Reception

The launch of Colorsonic marked a significant milestone in at-home hair coloring technology.

Recognized as one of TIME Magazine’s 2022 Best Inventions, Colorsonic was officially introduced to the public during the CES 2024 Keynote Address with Eva Longoria as the spokesperson.

On June 5, 2024, Colorsonic announced it would launch on store shelves in July, solidifying its presence in the market.

In addition, L’Oréal Paris strategically chose Kickstarter for the exclusive pre-launch of Colorsonic, aiming to engage with trendsetters and early adopters. The campaign generated significant anticipation, successfully positioning Colorsonic as a revolutionary product in the beauty industry. L'Oréal also introduced a Forward Fund with Kickstarter to support women-led tech products, demonstrating their commitment to empowering women in tech.

Since its official launch, Colorsonic has received positive reviews from consumers and industry experts. Users praised its ease of use, consistent results, and the ability to achieve salon-quality hair color at home. The automatic mixing and adjustable bristle speed have been particularly well-received for providing a mess-free and precise hair coloring experience.

“Innovative doesn’t even begin to cover L’Oréal Paris’ latest launch. The just-released tool acts like a high-powered brush, depositing high-quality color through the hair to infuse several different strands with your shade of choice. This yields salon-level dimension and placement right from your bathroom. | Pros: Offers total gray coverage; easy to apply; 20 colors available | Notable Ingredients: Sold-separately cartridges contain citric acid; shea butter “
- The Zoe Report

The introduction of Colorsonic is set to significantly impact the at-home hair color market, which is projected to grow by USD 9.86 billion from 2023 to 2028, according to Technavio. With its user-friendly design and advanced technology, Colorsonic addresses common pain points in traditional hair coloring methods, offering a superior alternative that appeals to a broad range of consumers.

Colorsonic's success is expected to drive further innovation in the industry, setting new standards for convenience and quality in at-home beauty tech.

Conclusion

PCS's commitment to excellence and ability to align with L’Oréal Paris's vision was crucial in accelerating time to market and achieving milestones effectively. This partnership exemplifies how synergistic collaboration can enhance product quality and reinforce leadership in the beauty tech industry.

Looking to drive innovation in your next project?

PCS is your strategic partner. With a proven track record of success, we deliver the expertise and dedication needed to ensure your project excels. Whether in user experience design, engineering, or beyond, we offer tailored strategies to exceed your expectations.

Embrace innovation and contact us today!

Mello, T. (2023, May 30). Why you should give customers a great experience over a great price. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2023/05/30/why-you-should-give-customers-a-great-experience-over-a-great-price/
Investopedia. (2023, May 19). What country spends the most on research and development? https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/021715/what-country-spends-most-research-and-development.asp

The Hair Color Game Changer: Behind PCS and L'Oréal's Colorsonic Collaboration