Skincare Specialists
In short: today's best AI models could do about 10% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 90% of the time, stays with people.
Provide skincare treatments to face and body to enhance an individual's appearance. Includes electrologists and laser hair removal specialists.
72,890 people do this job in the US. $45,330 a year.
Reviewed on October 1, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on4 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people36 h
Skincare Specialists, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 4 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 36 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Keep up with products and trends (about 2 h); Keep client records (about 1 h); Coordinate care with surgeons (under an hour, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 6%
- 4%
- 2%
- 22%
- 66%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 10% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 10%. Today's estimate: 10%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.032% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 285th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 2 of its 18 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: none to 0.0077% (released February and March 2025); 0.012% to 0.02% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.034% to 0.032% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | none | n/a | 0 of 18 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0077% | 537 of 703 | 2 of 18 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.012% | 435 of 655 | 3 of 18 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.011% | 471 of 672 | 3 of 18 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.02% | 402 of 677 | 6 of 18 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.034% | 278 of 434 | 2 of 18 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.032% | 285 of 447 | 2 of 18 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 78% of this job's working time as physical work. For 6% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 6% in a structured facility. 0.12 of 3, the 503rd highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 22%
- No robot shown 72%
- In a structured facility 6%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
90% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Treat facial skin, the hands-on work, 19%
- Give facial and body massages, the hands-on work, 10%
- Demonstrate skin care, the in-person work, 7%
- Sterilize equipment and clean, the hands-on work, 6%
- Wax hair, the hands-on work, 6%
- Apply chemical peels, the hands-on work, 6%
What becomes checking the machine
1% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it. Another 9% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Coordinate care with surgeons, severe if wrong, 0.9%
What to learn
- The hands-on craft. About 66% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- The conversations. About 24% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
- Dealing with people outside the organization. Customers, patients, suppliers or the public: trust with them is built by a person.
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 18 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treat the facial skin to maintain and improve its appearance, using specialized techniques and products, such as peels and masks.Facials with peels and masks, by hand.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 19% | 50 min25 min to 1.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Stay abreast of latest industry trends, products, research, and treatments.Reading and trying what is new; the knowing is the specialist's own.Done daily by most who do it. | 11% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Documents 50%, in person 50% | 50%Desk part half by now |
| Provide facial and body massages.Hands-on massage.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 10% | 38 min17 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Demonstrate how to clean and care for skin properly and recommend skin-care regimens.Showing the client in person.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 7% | 21 min13 min to 33 min | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Sterilize equipment and clean work areas.Cleaning and sterilizing by hand.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Remove body and facial hair by applying wax.Waxing by hand.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 29 min13 min to 50 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Apply chemical peels to reduce fine lines and age spots.Applying the peel by hand and watching the skin.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 33 min17 min to 1.1 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Determine which products or colors will improve clients' skin quality and appearance.Working it out with the client in the chair.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 25 min | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Examine clients' skin, using magnifying lamps or visors when necessary, to evaluate skin condition and appearance.Looking the skin over under the lamp, talking with the client.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Swan (SquareMind) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 21 min | Hands-on 80%, in person 20% | Stays with people |
| Perform simple extractions to remove blackheads.Hands-on extraction work.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Keep records of client needs and preferences and the services provided.Notes in the client's record.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 8 min4 min to 17 min | Systems 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Cleanse clients' skin with water, creams, or lotions.Hands on the client's skin.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 10 min7 min to 15 min | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Skincare Specialists is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 10% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 10% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Skincare Specialists come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Keep up with products and trends (50% of the task's time now); Keep client records (100% of the task's time now); and Coordinate care with surgeons (30% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Skincare Specialists stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Treat facial skin; Give facial and body massages; and Demonstrate skin care. Together such tasks are about 83% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Skincare Specialists learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are the hands-on craft; the conversations; and dealing with people outside the organization. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 90% of the working time stays with people, 1% becomes checking a model's work and 9% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Skincare Specialists?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.032% went to this job's tasks, the 285th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 2 of its 18 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Skincare Specialists?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 78% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 6% of the working time, 6% in a structured facility. Its index is 0.12 of 3. One example: Swan (SquareMind) for "examine clients' skin". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 18 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on October 1, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
This job in your state or metro area
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.
Your own version of this job
The page above is the occupation. Your job is your title and what you actually do: give both, and they are read against these tasks in your browser, nothing sent anywhere. The headline is free: how much of your working time is within reach now and by the end of 2028, and how many of the tasks your description names.
The full personal report is $19, to print or save as a PDF: every task with when it comes within reach, which ones your description names, the parts of your description the task list does not cover, what stays with you, what becomes checking the machine and what to learn.