Quick answer: Not for custom work. Machines like 10Beauty's handle a standard polish manicure at a fixed price and time, such as $25 for 60 minutes at Ulta. Salons keep what that service does not list: structure, repairs, and custom art. Compete with a named, priced design add-on, not on the price of a plain color.
Boston-based 10Beauty has brought its robotic manicure system to Ulta Beauty in Clark, N.J., NJBIZ reported on Oct. 9. The machine handles polish removal, nail shaping, cuticle care, color, top coat and drying, using computer vision, robotics and a single-use pod that holds the polish and supplies for each manicure. The 60-minute service costs $25 and is booked online through Ulta. A second New Jersey Ulta is planned for December.
Clark is not the first stop. NJBIZ says Ulta already runs the system in five other stores across New York, Massachusetts and Illinois, and it is also at a Nordstrom Rack near Boston and a nail salon in Chicago. 10Beauty says it has agreements for about 850 machines with its first retail partners.
For independent salons, the useful number is the price anchor: a plain color manicure, at retail, for $25. Trying to beat that on a basic polish is a race to the bottom.
Look at what the service list leaves out. It is a polish manicure, start to finish. Custom design is not on it. That is where a salon should put its menu energy: a named, priced design add-on on top of the manicure. Nail printing fits because the design is chosen on screen and printed onto the prepped nail at the station, so the art is repeatable and quick to quote. For how chair printing differs from kiosk-style machines, see nail printer vs nail art vending machine.
If a client mentions the robot, do not argue about machines. Show her the design she cannot get in a store aisle, with the price next to it.
NailPrinter.ca is the official O'2Nails distributor in North America. To time a design add-on in your own room, book a 20-minute fit call.
Takeaway: Let retail robots own the plain color; price the custom design as its own line.
More: NailPrinter.ca · Nail printer machine · O'2Nails V11 · O'2Nails X12.5 · Book a 20-min fit call
Source: NJBIZ — 10Beauty launches robotic manicure system at Ulta in Clark (Oct 9 2026)
