L'Oreal's Plan to Start 3D Printing Human Skin

L’Oreal needs human skin. Lots of it. That’s why the French cosmetics giant earlier this month announced that it's partnering with bioprinting startup Organovo to figure out how to 3D print living, breathing derma that can be used to test products for toxicity and efficacy. "We're the first beauty company Organovo has worked with," says Guive Balooch, global vice president of L’Oreal’s tech incubator.

This isn't L’Oreal’s first foray into skin production. Looking to avoid animal testing, the company started farming derma back in the 1980s. In Lyon, France, it runs lab facilities the size of three Olympic swimming pools, dedicated entirely to growing and analyzing human tissues. About 60 scientists work on site, growing more than 100,000 skin samples annually. That's roughly five square meters of skin per year—or 54 square feet, about the equivalent of one cowhide. Each sample is 0.5 square centimeter in size. The fattest are 1 millimeter thick.