Can robots rule over one’s holistic health? Men’s Folio trials mtm labo’s AI•vita treatment to find out.
Technology has snaked its way into wellness, intrepidly. Wearables that monitor every inkling of one’s holistic health, artificial intelligence (AI) generated nutrition and fitness plans, and even simple red light therapy devices — these are just some of the ways that the Fourth Industrial Revolution has refashioned grooming in the 21st century. And as comfortable as one might find themselves locking into data-driven Machine Learning and Computer Visions into their nightly routines, is crossing the line into robot dependency too much?
At mtm labo though, robot dependency is a strong pillar in its philosophy. “We aim to attach one robot to one human,” shares the homegrown label’s managing director Kelly Keak over Instagram. It may initially come across as dissonant: how would a brand with origins in oriental botanicals find its way to a droid-driven practice three decades on? When Men’s Folio arrives at its flagship location in Somerset’s Winsland House, this dissonace persists. Tranquility is proposed by sleek furnishings and a toned-down space, and there are no androids in sight. Where are the robots? The first encounter comes in the form of an iPad — if one would count that as an encounter — that is guided over alongside a gregarious facialist. It is a questionnaire that holds no bars on being thorough. From skin conditions and problem areas to the music one would like to listen to and scents one would like to smell during the treatment, the iPad took note of it all. Data-driven indeed.
But soon after, one would begin their full immersion into the realm of robots. A very detailed skin analysis unfolds with the aid of a three-dimensional scanning thingamajig — better and more professionally known as a HD 3D Imaging machine. mtm labo’s estheticians dive deep into one’s skin health there and then: leaving nowhere or no chance for blemishes or even the most ambiguously-sized of pores to hide; as the HD 3D Imaging machine catches it all. Measuring the density of one’s scarring, the depth of one’s hydration routine’s efficacies, and even counting the number of sun-spots one bears on their face, the skin analysis works to inform what follows. The custom-blended facial treatment.
What follows next is perhaps the answer to any shapes and forms of dissonance. Fancy robotics and oriental botanicals aside, a session with mtm labo elucidates that at its very core, custom blending comes first and foremost for the brand. It is a practice that one can observe even within the label’s product line, but for the treatment, custom blending is practised in the form of a session specifically tailored to one’s delicate skin needs.
And so re-enters the robot. Responsible for the optional add-on of body therapy, the AI•vita android works in tandem with one’s esthetician. While the latter deftly detoxes, purifies and increases one’s facial radiance, the former concurrently provides Electro Muscle Stimulation (EMS), Nano Red Light Phototherapy and Radiofrequency (RF) thermal conduction services for natural healing and collagen reconstruction. Using an AI programme that swiftly identifies and then resolves one’s needs, and marrying the best practices of Western and Chinese wellness philosophies, the treatment seeks to boost vitality. One can look forward to the benefits of relaxation (thanks to the release of lactic acid build-up), firming (thanks to the sculpting feature that boosts collagen production), and immunity boosting (thanks to its boosting of metabolic functions). Altogether, this added helping hand enables a two-in-one sort of holistic wellness, packaging rejuvenation wholly and within a two-hour (maximum) programme.
So perhaps it would be very alright for robots to rule the world. The grooming one, at least.
An AI•vita session begins at $$261.60 (inclusive of GST) for a 30-minute session. Book your first AI vita treatment + custom-blended facial treatment at $300 nett (while it lasts) here. Once you are done with this story, click here to catch up with our April 2024 issue.
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