No woman ever wants to look her age. We’d all love to mature gracefully with experience and wisdom instead of crow’s feet and laugh lines. But one moment we’re beaming with the healthy glow of youth and the next there’s a wrinkle popping up out of nowhere. Not good. While many women are turning to proven methods like plastic surgery and injections, others are on the search for something less invasive. This is where NuFace comes in. A microcurrent facial toning device, it’s designed to slowly contour and tone the face by stimulating collagen and elastin in the skin to revitalize the complexion.
I decided to give NuFace a try, even though the thought of running electric currents through my face didn’t seem like the smartest idea. But this device is used in top spas and medical offices around the country as an anti-aging treatment and has some amazing clinical study results to back up their claims. In an independent study, women used the device for five minutes a day for 60 consecutive days with pretty interesting results. Overall, 85 percent of users experienced improved facial contour, 80 percent reported their skin felt smoother and 73 percent experienced improved skin tone.
There are three different NuFace devices—the Trinity Facial Trainer, the Mini Facial Toner and the Classic. I’ll admit the classic looks like something out of a 1950’s psych ward and doesn’t exactly scream pain-free. I tried the Mini device which is perfect for travel, comes with three intensity levels, an automatic shutoff and 335 microamps of power, the same as the full-size device. By mimicking the body’s natural current, the low-level device is intended to work by sending electrical waves through the skin into the facial muscles to stimulate adenosine triphosphate, which in turn transports energy throughout the cells to stimulate collagen and elastin. It’s definitely not new technology, but it’s not often used at home.
NuFace is intended to be super easy to use. After applying a gel primer (to help conduct the current), the two metal balls are placed against the skin and moved over the area to be toned. There are several different “programs” for each section of the face, and, depending on desired results, can last anywhere from five to 20 minutes. Both the Mini and Trinity Facial Trainer will beep after each interval so you know when to move to the next step.
My biggest hesitation before starting this new regimen was the pain I might experience from the electricity, but I figured, no pain no gain and went for it. Only it didn’t hurt. At all. It definitely felt like something was happening but there was no shock, no pinch or sting. The only complaint I have was that the metal felt cold on my goopy, gel-covered skin—and I could live with that. The process was easy, took less time than most of my face masks and left my skin delightfully tingly. NuFace calls the toning process the “five minute facial” and I tested this out by only doing half of my face for the first few days. It was far from night and day, but in my estimate, I saw about a 10 percent improvement—a perceptible difference.
NuFAce is available online and in fine department stores worldwide. Priced from $199-$325.
