L'Oréal

L'Oréal S.A. is a French cosmetics and beauty company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field of cosmetics, concentrating on hair colour, skin care, sun protection, make-up, perfumes and hair care, the company is active in the dermatology, toxicology, tissue engineering, and biopharmaceutical research fields and is the top nanotechnology patent-holder in the United States. The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.

History

In 1909, Eugène Paul Louis Schueller, a young French chemist of German descent, developed a hair dye formula called Auréale. Schueller formulated and manufactured his own products, which he then sold to Parisian hairdressers. On 31 July 1919, Schueller registered his company, the Société Française de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux (Safe Hair Dye Company of France). The guiding principles of the company, which eventually became L’Oréal, were research and innovation in the field of beauty. In 1920, the company employed three chemists. By 1950, the teams were 100 strong; that number reached 1,000 by 1984 and is nearly 20,000 today.