Why You Can Trust CNET Custom lipstick, allergy relief and an oscillating hair dryer: Wellness products you'll want in 2021
Straight from CES and available soon, theses are the gadgets you'll want to buy this year.
Every year, CES dazzles us with new technology for our health and wellbeing, from how we look, to how we feel mentally and physically. While new health tech pushes to save lives and fitness tech wants to keep us in shape, the products that always have me saying "so when can I buy that?" are those in the beauty and personal care categories.
In keeping with that theme, I've rounded up the most interesting personal care products from the show, and the ones I actually want to own this year.
Yves Saint Laurent Rogue Sur Mesure Powered by Perso
Custom-mixed lipstick colors at home
Look, I know that a $300 gadget that mixes lipstick together isn't everyone's cup of tea, but for those who love makeup, it's going to be one of the "it" beauty products of the year. The Yves Saint Laurent Rogue Sur Mesure Powered by Perso (I'm calling it Perso for short) is a gadget about the size of a venti coffee that custom mixes nearly any lipstick color you could want.
You can match colors to your clothing, bag, shoes, nails or pretty much anything else. Inside is space for three lipstick cartridges, available from four color families -- reds, oranges, fushicias, and nudes. Perso connects to an app where you can choose the color you want and the device deposits the exact amount of each color to get the finished shade. Just swirl them together with the included brush, apply to your lips with the included brush and you're done. The stylish compact on the top of Perso lifts off so you can take your custom lip color with you.
You'll be able to buy one starting this spring for $300. A three-pack of cartridges will run you $100.
Panasonic Nanoe hair dryer
Oscillating hair dryer that adds moisture
Panasonic's new Nanoe hair dryer makes use of your steamy bathroom by drawing in moisture from the air, to create "tiny, moisture-rich particles that are small enough to penetrate hair shafts." Those particles are supposed to hydrate your hair, protecting it from the damaging effects of heat styling.
But wait, there's more. The Nanoe also has an oscillating nozzle that helps dry your hair faster with way less effort on your part. That's not something you see on most hair dryers, and it keeps the air moving around your head rather than be concentrated in one spot -- again, to reduce damage.
You can buy one in late January for $150 on Amazon.
L'Oréal Water Saver
Water-saving tech for salons and at home
I've never thought about how much water it takes to wash my hair at a salon, but L'Oreal has. The French beauty and personal care brand partnered with Swiss environmental innovation company Gjosa to develop Water Saver, a system that reduces the amount of water used to wash clients hair by up to 80%.
A standard shower head at a salon wash station uses about eight to 10 liters of water per minute, while the Water Saver uses just two. It does this by micronizing the water -- breaking each drop into smaller droplets that are then accelerated so they flow more quickly through the shower head. The whole system can plug into any existing wash station plumbing and sit right next to the hair-washing bowl.
Here's the cool part -- Water Saver also infuses the water with shampoo and optional hair treatments so that it creates a foam on your hair right out of the faucet. Once the stylist is done washing your hair, they can switch to a water-only mode to rinse.
Water Saver is already in select salons in New York City and Paris right now, with a plan for widespread distribution throughout 2021. By 2022, you'll be able to buy a Water Saver shower nozzle to use at home so you can save water too, but it won't be able to infuse shampoo or hair treatments.
Pricing and availability is to be announced for the at-home version, but keep your eye out for a Water Saver at your favorite salon this year.
Philips Sonicare Prestige 9900
A toothbrush that (almost) does all of the work for you
Just because you use an electric toothbrush doesn't mean you're getting a thorough cleaning every time you brush. Philip's new Sonicare toothbrush, the Prestige 9900, will actually tell you if you're hitting the mark or not.
The Prestige 9900 has sensors that detect the movements you make with the brush and how well you actually clean each part of your mouth. You can see all of that info in real time in the Sonicare app, so you can improve your brushing habits.
Beyond knowing how well you brush, the Prestige 9900 also has sensors that tell you when you're using too much pressure, which can irritate your gums and make your teeth sensitive. If you press too hard on your gums or teeth, the brush automatically adjusts the intensity of the vibrations to compensate.
The Prestige 9900 will be available in April 2021; pricing is to be announced.
Flō
Drug-free relief for hay fever
If you suffer from allergies and hay fever, you're used to popping allergy pills and dealing with the side effects. As an alternative, the medical community has been trying to find drug-free alternatives for years. First there was ClearUp, a device that alleviates sinus pressure and pain, and now we have Flō.
Flō uses red and NIR (near infrared) light to stop the release of histamines your body produces when pollen, dust and other allergens invade your nasal passages. You just insert the device, which looks like a nasal spray, into your nose, let it run for 10 seconds and repeat in the other nostril.
The product is currently undergoing the FDA approval process to be sold over the counter and is slated to be available in late 2021 for $100.