A focus on skin protection and multipurpose products among beauty consumers means that skincare manufacturers are embracing high-end technology more than ever. For one Japanese company, this had led to the development of an ultra-thin membrane that almost becomes part of the user's skin.

Japanese cosmetics maker Kao has just released a product range harnessing "Fine Fiber Technology" that involves spraying several layers of thin fiber directly onto the skin's surface using a specially designed device. The products, branded Biomimesis Veil, will help maintain the skin's moisture overnight without blocking it.

Masayuki Uchiyama, a skincare product researcher at Kao, said that the Biomimesis Veil range chooses polymers that are safe to apply to the skin. The membrane is just a few microns in thickness, and is light and soft.

The new product "is made in such a way that a single fiber is interwoven on the surface so it won't interfere with skin respiration," Uchiyama said.

Kao is hopeful that the new fiber technology will bring the company 92 million U.S. dollars in revenue from the cosmetics field alone. The firm sees potential in broadening the technology's application to medicine and body care, according to Michitaka Sawada, president and CEO of Kao Corporation.

The Biomimesis Veil will be on sale under Kao's brand est in Japan from December, and gradually introduced to duty-free stores in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea. Kao will also sell the range in China via e-commerce.