Scientist measures hair density in a phototrichogram at L’Oréal’s new research center.

What beauty channel holds the most promise for the future? L’Oréal seems to be banking on hair care. The world’s largest beauty company has opened a new Global Hair Research Center, located in Paris Saint-Ouen. The cutting edge facility is the core of a network of six regional centers around the world (located in Japan, China, India, U.S., Brazil and in Saint-Ouen for Europe), and uses cutting-edge automation and modeling tools across collaborative platforms conducive to innovation. The center’s research and innovation programs are exclusively dedicated to the hair care profession. The 25,000-sq. meter center employs 500 chemists, physico-chemists, opticians, materials scientists, metrologists, rheologists, computer scientists and statisticians. Not to mention robots, which mimic product applications on hair and prepare time-saving formulas.