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The robots aren't just coming for your groceries and your customer service calls anymore. They're coming for your cuticles.
Chicago is now home to one of the country's first fully robotic manicure experiences, thanks to Boston startup 10Beauty, which has installed its AI-powered nail machine inside 7AM Nail Care in Streeterville. If you've ever wished you could squeeze in a fresh manicure during your lunch break without a usual salon appointment, this might be your moment.
The machine looks a bit like something out of a sci-fi movie, but the service is surprisingly familiar. First, your hand is mapped in 3D by seven computer vision cameras, then the robot gets to work removing old polish, pushing back cuticles, shaping nails, applying color, adding a top coat and drying everything, all with proprietary single-use tools and sealed polish pods designed for hygiene. The company says the manicure takes about 37 minutes from start to finish.
Co-founders Alex Shashou and Justin Effron spent nearly six years—and more than $70 million in funding, according to American Salon—developing the technology. Early versions of the robot only worked on left hands and Shashou famously spent years flying between New York and Boston with one hand painted bright red so engineers could teach the machine to remove polish and repaint it. Today, the company says it has agreements to deploy roughly 850 machines through retail and salon partners, with longer-term ambitions to bring the technology to hotels, fitness clubs and eventually even homes.
Chicago is one of the first cities to get a taste. Alongside the Streeterville location at 7AM Nail Care, 10Beauty recently debuted another machine inside Ulta Beauty's new flagship store in Naperville. (More locations are already on the way, including Nordstrom in Natick, Massachusetts.)
Whether robots are the future of beauty is still up for debate, but the appeal is easy to see: the machines promise consistent results, use fresh tools for every appointment and are built for people who value speed as much as shiny nails. If nothing else, it's one of the more entertaining ways to spend 37 minutes in Streeterville—and you'll leave with a conversation starter before anyone even notices your manicure.