LUUM, the beauty studio in Oakland, Calif., that Davis visited, has been operating since 2021. Unlike other studios, its primary eyelash techs are robots trained to see clients using an AI technology called computer vision. While one tweezer appendage isolates the natural eyelash, another picks up an extension, dips it in adhesive and lays it over the natural eyelash.
“Living in the Bay Area and working in tech, you’re used to seeing robots a lot,” Davis, who lives and works in the San Francisco area, told The Washington Post. “We have robots that deliver your food. There’s robotic cars that are driving around taking videos of everything. So this was just something else I wanted to try.”
The company behind the AI-guided robots says the technology makes eyelash extensions more affordable, while the appearance of the devices in viral TikTok videos has sparked questions about the safety and efficacy of robots performing such tasks, as well as the consequences of putting humans out of work.
Human lash artists have flooded online forums and discussion boards with concerns about potential job loss because of the robots, said Levi Shephard, the founder and president of the National Association of Lash Artists (NALA).
AI technology has been catapulted into popular discourse in recent months with the rise of natural language processing like ChatGPT. Computer vision, though, is even older. It is used in Roomba vacuums and surgical settings, according to Kris Hauser, a computer science professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign whose research specializes in open-world robotics. But this is one of the first AI robots to be used in the consumer beauty space, Hauser said.
LUUM says its robotic eyelash extensions are safe, cheaper and quicker to apply than traditional eyelash extensions performed by humans, which typically take 90 minutes to an hour to perform. LUUM’s CEO and co-founder, Nathan Harding, also said the robots don’t completely replace eyelash artists.
“We want this to be a labor saving device for large start-ups so that they can do three times the appointments in a day that they can do now,” Harding said.
Human eyelash artists are on-site at LUUM and set up clients in the station. They clean their lashes and place tape on their eyelids. After the robot does the majority of work, an artist will fill in any sparse eyelashes by hand. The company has three robots: named Farrah, Jacklyn and Kate.
NALA’s Shephard said she tells lash artists they don’t need to be afraid because humans can adjust their technique and tools as they work on a client.
“It seems right now that these machines are giving a bit more basic and simple results,” Shephard said.
Many people made a profession switch during the pandemic, Shephard noted, and membership to NALA, which regulates the safety standards and certification of eyelash artists, increased by 25 percent over the past three years.
After several videos of the robots went viral on TikTok, LUUM is now taking preorders to sell the machines for $60,000 to other studios, Harding added. Ulta Beauty is one of its investors.
“Our teams are incredibly interested in exploring more technologies that amplify beauty experiences for our consumers and, in funding Luum, we believe we are supporting yet another exciting industry advancement, Prama Bhatt, chief digital officer at Ulta, wrote in a statement to Beauty Independent last year.
Davis said there’s certainly demand. She told The Post that she was on LUUM’s waitlist for six months before being able to make an appointment.
The 32-year-old, who documented her experience on TikTok, said she was “super nervous” before the treatment, but those worries are now abated. “The robot was super gentle, it felt like feathers,” Davis said after her 50-minute appointment. The studio offers three natural looking eyelash styles for a set price of $90.
Hauser, the computer science professor, said this robot in particular has two sets of cameras that allow it to very precisely place the lash extensions. One camera is focused on the customer’s face, and another is focused on the station where the robot picks up the extension.
“Robots can help by making certain things better,” Hauser said. He said human lash artists may be less precise than robots and clients could end up with glue in their eyes. “Precision and repetition are the things the robots are really good for.”
Similar technology is also being used to perform hair transplants for people who suffer from alopecia and balding, Hauser added.
Shephard, the lash association president, said the robots are an exciting addition to the industry. “Robot services may be an option for those who currently don’t get lash extensions because of the time and cost of the human experience. And robots can target a different type of clientele, which may expand and help our industry grow even further,” Shephard said. “There’s space for both of us.”
Eyelash artists are constantly hunching over to work on clients. “You don’t see many lash artists with gray hair and that’s because it’s an extremely tough job. The robots kind of remove the drudgery,” said Harding, LUUM’s CEO.
Davis went back to LUUM during her one-hour lunch break recently to get a fill-in lash extension. “I’m busy and this is really convenient because I know I’ll be able to go in and out. I think it’s more effective,” she said.
These devices are only becoming more commonplace. Davis has another appointment to get a gel manicure from a San Francisco salon with robots that paint nails in 10 minutes.
