The beauty giant and the tech company have unveiled a low-flow showerhead and an easy-rinse shampoo combination that means the amount of water needed to wash the hair is significantly reduced from 8 liters to 1.5 liters.The showerhead breaks up the flow of water but counterbalances that by accelerating the speed of the droplets, while the easier-to-rinse shampoo is applied directly through the showerhead, rather than being applied to the scalp. By infusing water and shampoo simultaneously, the showerhead could cut the volume of water and the energy used in places like professional hair salons. Prototypes are currently being tested in salons in South Africa and the US.

“Initial results offer great perspectives for an innovation that visibly reduces the water consumption in our daily hygiene practices,” said said Laurent Attal, L’Oréal VP Research & Innovation, in a statement. “This breakthrough technology is perfectly in line with our commitments to sustainable innovation.”The move comes as fashion and beauty brands ramp up their efforts to reduce water consumption, as a potential shortage of the essential resource becomes a growing global concern. Earlier this year, Gap Inc. laid out detailed plans to reduce water wastage along its supply chain, having recently pledged to save 10 billion liters of water by the end of 2020, while fashion and lifestyle conglomerate PVH Corp., which owns Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, has also entered into a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to conserve water resources in Africa and India.