3D printing is the next big thing in technology. Companies and universities have so far sunk billions of dollars in studying and developing 3D printing technology, particularly in bioprinting. Through it, internal organs and other body parts can be printed and utilized.

One sector that is leading the way in developing bioprinting technology is the cosmetics industry. Big name businesses like L'Oreal and Procter & Gamble are looking to 3D printing as a way to develop skin that will be used for product testing. That's just one aspect to bioprinting skin; it can also be used to replace damaged or dying tissue. Analysts have estimated that coming up with 3D printed skin can become a $1 billion dollar business in 10 years.

L'Oreal has been pioneering the development of artificial skin for years now. The company grows the skin in laboratories using a time-intensive procedure. But the introduction of 3D bioprinting technology would undoubtedly make the process faster and more accurate. The company has already partnered up with Organovo, a biotech company that has already seen some success in creating 3D printed tissues to be used for human implants.

According to Guive Balooch, L'Oreal's VP of technology incubator, the company's focus is "not to increase the quantity of skin we produce but instead to continue to build on the accuracy and consistent replication of the skin engineering process."

Accuracy is certainly possible when using 3D printers. Arnold Bos, a consultant at Lux Research, says that "it would be possible to create different skin types" using a 3D printer's syringe format.

The printing process begins after a cell solution is loaded into the printer's syringe. The syringe would then move along the tissue line while slowly squeezing out layers of the cell solution. The process continues until the desired thickness of the skin is reached. Despite being thin, skin has varying thicknesses, depending on whether it's a baby's skin, sensitive skin or a man's skin.

Procter & Gamble is also gambling big in the technology and has been looking into giving grants to academics doing research on 3D bioprinting.  But aside from being an alternative to cosmetic animal testing, the company is also looking into other applications for 3D printed skin, like safety screening, burn treatment and plastic surgery.

There is still a lot of research to be done and safety procedures to be considered before the technology can be marketed. But it is a viable option and one that might be available in just five short years.