Hi Dr. Irwin, My question relates to at-home devices for facial aging/ sagging tissue/wrinkling skin in 2019. There is a plethora of new at home devices out there. With the understanding that none of them will equal in-office treatments (which could be both good and bad. Good, in the sense that for instance they do not melt away facial fat as has been reported as a side effect with some “skin heating”treatments such as Thermage. Bad, in the sense that they are not effective and waste money) I already have a well rounded skin care regime including Retin A, sunscreen, AHA/BHA Exfoliants and antioxidants/peptides etc. I am also not interested in something that is basically an improvement on an existing technique for example Clarisonic/Foreo/Microplaning/Microdermabrasion are manual (surface) cleaners and exfoliators and basically glorified washcloths/ scrubs. (I also already have a Clarisonic).
It also seems that some of the “ improvements “ seen with the manual methods such as Microneedling are temporary from swelling and do not last ( plus, there is a risk of infection with puncturing skin with non sterile rollers). What I’m really interested in is at- home devices which DO something different and actually effect a lasting change and improvement in the aging face. Perhaps in between office treatments. Some names I’ve heard of is the Silk’n Titan, Silk’n Face F/ x, The Tria Age defying laser, the Baby Quasar, the LightStim, the Dr. Gross Specralite face mask/ eye care Pro mask, Nuface Trinity, the Newa wrinkle reduction, the ZIIP, the Skin Inc Supplement Voyager Tri-light. There may be others you are aware of. Which ones would you say are worth it, and which ones complement each other in terms of action so you get synergistic effects, not duplication? And is there a home option for microneedling with disposable roller needles? If so, does it work? And lastly, which ones are safe on Fitzpatrick type IV skin? Thank you Age 53, Female
This would be so cool. Really… if we could just treat ourselves with anti-aging home devices. The privacy of being at home would be nice, and in the long run maybe less expensive. I love that you’ve optimized your skin care regimen already. Here’s mine. In my opinion, here’s the problem in a nutshell. In order to get enough power in a device to really make changes in the skin, there is also a risk of damaging this skin. Devices like lasers, etc. must be used intelligently or problems occur from them. The home devices have the same issue. Since device manufacturers aren’t dumb and they don’t want to get sued, they make the power on the devices low. None of the devices you mention above really have much power. They probably won’t hurt you, since they are FDA approved, but you won’t see much probably.
My bottom line:
- They probably won’t hurt you.
- They may waste your money and time.
- It’s hard to do something every day/week when you don’t see a result. These devices tend to sit in the closet after a few months.
- The marketing is better than the device usually.
- Don’t do home microneedling. There are no microneedling devices, that I know of, approved in the U.S. for home use. Too many complications. Please see my last post on this subject.
- If time and money are no object, go for it! 🙂
Hope this helps,
Dr. Brandith Irwin
Founder, SkinTour
Director, Madison Skin & Laser Center
Follow my skin tips and travels on Instagram!
