Skincare Gadgets: A Swizz Or A Must-Have?

 

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With salons still closed, at-home skincare tools experienced a bit of a boom this year. But can they give you something akin to a professional facial at home? Let’s investigate.

Led Light Therapy

Try it at home with: FOREO UFO 2, €275

The benefits of LED light have been highly researched (blue light is used to kill bacteria in hospitals, for example), and fancy facialists have long used light therapy on their clients. Red LEDs are purported to stimulate collagen production and fight signs of ageing, while blue LEDs can blase acne-causing bacteria and reduce inflammation.

Light therapy gadgets have broken into the mainstream over the last few years, and while they’re not as strong as professional devices, they give similar results. At-home light therapy is more about the cumulative effect, though, so you need to be consistent with it.

 

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Pore Vacuums

Try it at home with: Sarah Chapman Pro Pore Refiner, €166

Nose strips, extraction tools, the popularity of Dr Pimple Popper… our fascination with the contents of our own pores will never end. A new breed of tools aims to take advantage of this obsession, claiming to provide a professional-grade blackhead extraction at home through a mixture of ultrasonic vibrations and yes, ‘vacuum’ technology.

However, pore extraction is something that’s best left to the experts – these tools only give you a temporary fix, and you could damage your skin by rooting around too much. Stick to your acid toner and book in for a facial (when you can, ofc) instead.

 

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Microcurrent Therapy

Try it at home with: FOREO Bear, €299

Cheekbones lacking? Jawline less than chiselled? Microcurrent therapy may just be for you. It uses a low-grade electrical current to ‘train’ your facial muscles, making them appear firm and lifted, and if often compared to a gym class for the face. Like LED light therapy, microcurrent devices have been used by facialists for years, but (less intense) at-home versions are starting to pop up all over the place.

You need to use them religiously to see any substantial results – think five minutes a day, every day. It’s a big time (and financial) commitment, and maybe just for hardcore skincare fiends.

 

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Cryotherapy

Try it at home with: Skin Gym Cryocicles Facial Ice Globes, €59

You’ve probably done some version of cryotherapy before – putting cold spoons under your eyes to reduce puffiness, for example, is practically the oldest trick in the book. ‘Facial ice globes’ that you keep in the freezer have become a bit of a TikTok beauty sensation in recent months, with users touting the benefits of rolling the eye-catching orbs under your eyes, along your jawline, and over cystic acne breakouts to reduce inflammation.

It works, but there are cheaper ways to get the same effect lying right there in your cutlery drawer.

 

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Facial Cleansing Devices

Try it at home with: By Beauty Bay Facial Cleansing Brush, €30 

These have been around for a while, and come in and out of fashion like the clappers (remember when everyone wanted a Clarisonic? God be with the days). They use sonic pulsations to give a more thorough cleanse than your own mucky mitts can manage, removing every speck of dirt while safely exfoliating for a soft, smooth finish.

It’s a nice idea for anyone who fears they’re not cleansing properly, but for seasoned face-washers, a cloth will do the same job.

 

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Tags:

• Beauty
• skincare
• Swizz or Must-Have