How far has K-beauty tech come? Korean beauty brands turn heads at CES

This rendering shows Kolmar Korea’s Scar Beauty Device applying makeup powder directly onto a scar immediately after treatment. The technology received the best of innovation award at CES 2026. (Kolmar Korea)

Korean beauty brands asserted their growing influence at CES 2026, held Tuesday to Friday in Las Vegas, where beauty tech emerged as a serious frontier for artificial intelligence, digital health and data-driven personalization.

The strongest signal came from Kolmar Korea, which received the best of innovation award in the beauty tech category with its AI-based Scar Beauty Device. The company was also selected as an innovation award honoree in the digital health category. The beauty tech category was introduced only last year, making Kolmar Korea the first cosmetics company to receive the top honor since its inception.

The device integrates wound treatment and cosmetic coverage into a single system. Using AI trained on large-scale data, it analyzes photographed wounds, classifies them into 12 categories and dispenses tailored treatment via piezoelectric micro-spray technology. It then applies customized cover makeup by blending more than 180 color combinations to match individual skin tones.

Kolmar Korea said the technology could initially target medical markets that require both healing and cosmetic solutions before expanding into personalized beauty platforms.

AI Beauty Mirror developed in collaboration with Samsung Electronics (Amorepacific)

Another major K-beauty player underscoring the industry’s technological pivot was Amorepacific, which unveiled its vision for data-driven skincare at CES. Skinsight, an electronic-skin platform developed with researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is capable of analyzing skin-aging factors in real time through sensor patches.

Amorepacific also showcased an AI-based skin analysis and care solution developed in collaboration with Samsung Electronics. Linking camera-based optical diagnostics to LED masks and daily care devices, the system delivers personalized treatment recommendations and immediate feedback based on the accumulated data.

Alongside these award-winning and research-driven technologies, APR demonstrated how K-beauty tech is translating into consumer-ready products. Returning to CES for a third consecutive year, APR emphasized the synergy between its Medicube skin care line and its Age-R beauty device lineup, including the Booster Pro, Booster V Roller and vibrating cleanser.

The company positioned its modular, head-swapping devices as multifunctional tools designed to deliver professional-level skin care at home — an approach that has helped the brand gain traction beyond Asia. APR already supplies products directly to Ulta Beauty, the largest beauty specialty retailer in the US, and it plans to expand its offline presence in North America while pursuing direct entry into European markets.