This smart hairbrush is the combing coach you never knew you wanted

You’ve been brushing your hair wrong. At least, that’s what the Kerastase Hair Coach, the new smart hair brush powered by Withings tech that debuted at CES 2017, will probably tell you.

Developed in a collaboration with cosmetics giant L’Oreal’s experimental tech incubator (10 internet points if you knew such a thing existed before we told you), this connected brush can study your combing technique and coach you with better habits.

Have you ever wanted a hair brush with technical specifications? 2017 is your year, apparently. Inside of the Kerastase Hair Coach are components that you’ll commonly find in today’s smartphones, like a microphone, conductivity sensors that can sense whether your hair is wet or dry, an accelerometer and a gyroscope to measure the brush’s orientation and movement.

The microphone can listen to the sound of your hair brushing patterns, and can even pick up those split ends you’ve been meaning to manage. Additionally, its 3-axis load cells can determine the amount of downward force you’re applying to your head, and offer tips to a healthier head of hair.

The Kerastase Hair Coach will go on sale for less than $200 in late 2017, and come with a companion app that funnels the data from the connected brush into a hair quality score. The rating isn’t based on a singular factor. Instead, it takes aspects like your area’s weather, UV rating, and more into consideration. It sounds pretty robust, if hair metrics are something that pique your interest.

With Withings' know-how integrated into the brush, the Nokia-owned company continues its  conquest of connecting everyday objects. Weight scales, thermometers, and now, hair brushes. What’s next?

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Cameron Faulkner

Cameron is a writer at The Verge, focused on reviews, deals coverage, and news. He wrote for magazines and websites such as The Verge, TechRadar, Practical Photoshop, Polygon, Eater and Al Bawaba.