LUUM Uses Robots and AI to Automate Eyelash Extensions
After robot manicures, eyelash extensions are now moving to robotic hands. California-based LUUM is using robots and AI to automate eyelash extension appointments, with a system that performs delicate single-lash placement and humans who handle consultation, preparation, customization, and finishing.
LUUM's robotic eyelash service is already available in Dallas, the Bay Area, and Orange County, California. New York City and the Chicago metro area are coming soon. The company's approach keeps licensed beauty professionals in the loop rather than removing them from the experience.
CEO Jo Lawson says eyelash extensions were a natural starting point for LUUM for several reasons. Manual placement of individual lashes sits at the edge of human capability in terms of speed, precision, vision, and tedium. That makes it ideal work for robots, which can move precisely and quickly and still produce consistent results. Lawson says human interaction and involvement still have a place, but robots can remove the boring parts from beauty professionals, freeing them to welcome clients and focus on the overall experience.
The robot learns and accelerates as it gathers more appointment data, meaning it will eventually be about three to four times faster than human lash artists. Traditional applications can take hours; LUUM aims to complete eyelash extensions in minutes. That drives customer loyalty because time is the biggest barrier reported by clients, and it means lash artists can see more clients per day.
LUUM's lash artists remain critical to the customer experience. They manage everything except most of the boring, time-consuming lash application work. They greet clients, consult on lash style, prepare the client's lashes and masks, place the client into the robot, run the robot as needed, and perform final finishing touches. According to LUUM, 45% of its clients tried eyelash extensions for the first time because of the robot.
Safety concerns sometimes arise. Interestingly, during manual application, the technician leans over the client's forehead, very close, holding sharp tools a millimeter from the eye for a long time. That is more invasive and risky than LUUM's system. LUUM's robot has no sharp tools and physically cannot touch the client. It uses flexible, non-sharp, feather-light rods to isolate the client's lashes and place extensions. Safety is built into the hardware, so it cannot reach the client, and into the software. If the client moves too much, the robot pauses.
Jo Lawson says LUUM is creating a new intelligent beauty service category, and many future ideas cannot be shared yet. But the $400 billion U.S. beauty services market is ready for new automated experiences. Automation will discover new types of services that do not exist today, delivered better through robotic precision and vision.