NuFACE is the leader in at-home microcurrent skincare to help you look and feel more beautiful. Their devices tone, firm, contour and smooth the face. NuFACE’s devices and skincare line, including products such as makeup prep and serums, are designed for women and men. Their collection caters to individuals who want to improve their skin and reverse the signs of aging.
With an impressive 204,000 followers on Instagram, NuFACE has received attention from prominent media outlets such as Allure, Glamour, Vogue, Elle, and Harper’s Bazaar. The company has also won prestigious awards for its products, including Allure 2020 “Best of Beauty” and one of Harper’s Bazaar’s 2020 Anti-Aging Awards.
This NuFACE skin care review takes an in-depth look at the brand and its line. We’ll provide details on customer ratings, promotions and more to help you determine if their microcurrent devices and skincare products are worth the price of admission.
NuFACE specs and features
NuFACE offers four main devices, which are available in a variety of kits with different accessories and attachments. They start at $115 and go up to $399 for the devices themselves. According to NuFACE, all devices are FDA-approved and esthetician-approved, and they should be used with gels or serums for best results. That’s where they differ.
Trinity
The NuFACE Trinity is the brand’s award-winning and best-selling device. If you’ve read anything about NuFACE devices online, this is probably the one. The device comes with a standard attachment of two spheres that conform to the contours of the face to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. According to clinical studies, 85% of users experience improved facial contour when using the device.
Smaller
For a budget or travel-friendly option, consider the NuFACE Mini. It is a smaller version of the Trinity. It looks almost identical and works in the same way. According to NuFACE, it may take longer to use on the entire face because it is smaller, but it should only take about 5 minutes.
Making the fixation
For smaller, harder-to-reach places, NuFACE FIX can be a handy tool. You can hold it like a pen so you can better control delicate areas like the eyes and lips. It uses the same microcurrent technology as the full-size product, but it’s meant to complete the routine. The pea-sized sphere may be too small for your entire face, so if you want to pay special attention to your eyes and mouth, this is a device to grab. It is claimed to not only diminish wrinkles, but also create plump lips.
Nude
After you’ve tried the NuFACE facial device, you may be interested in getting the same benefits on your entire body. That’s where the NuBODY device comes in. It can treat larger areas of the body, such as the arms, hips and stomach, with four spheres in just a few minutes. According to the NuFACE clinical study, 92% of women showed improvement in their skin tone after 30 days of using the NuBODY device.
How do you use the NuFace?
The first few times I tried it, I followed the NuFace instructions in the included booklet: three swipes on the side of my neck, three swipes on one cheek, three swipes up on the side of my forehead three times – and then repeat on the other side of my face. Each swipe lasts a few seconds and ends with an automatic beep.
Each time I moved the NuFace up my forehead, I could feel a few hairs on my head tingle a little. It didn’t hurt as much as it felt weird, but it made me nervous, so I turned it to the lowest setting of 3. I may still be a baby, but I at least wanted to look like that character.
A few nights after starting my routine, I got a NuFace tutorial from esthetician and NuFace co-founder Tera Peterson, who worked with me on the treatment via Zoom. First, she instructed me to apply the gel primer one area at a time (as I enthusiastically applied it to my entire face on the other side of the screen). The gel primer is necessary for the treatment because it transfers micro-currents from the NuFace to your face. “The polymer is needed to direct the current directly to the muscles,” she says. “Just because it looks like aloe doesn’t mean the aloe will conduct your microcurrent.”
She immediately told me to turn it up to the highest setting. “Don’t be afraid,” Peterson said as I tried to talk myself out of it. “I’ll bet your gel is starting to dry out.” Apparently, gel is important not only for performance, but for performance as well. It’s also key to reducing any unexpected sensations. Because I had been using it before I started my five-minute routine, most of it had penetrated my skin – hence the tingling sensation – before I had a chance to use NuFace on the later areas. Consider any sensation as a cue to layer on more primer. “It should be like frosting a cake,” she explains.
In our NuFace tutorials, Peterson also taught me how to freestyle. I was able to focus on my specific needs instead of following the instructions exactly in the order they were shown. For my nasolabial folds, she suggested pushing the device up from my jawline to my cheek muscles and holding it there for two or three beeps. These days I do my cheeks two ways – starting with my chin, sliding up horizontally, then sliding vertically in the same area – and ending with my forehead.
How long does it take to see results with NuFace?
I have used it every day for four weeks and at this point I would say the results are very subtle, but you be the judge (see charts A and B below). By far the biggest difference I can see is in my brow and cheekbone areas, they look more lifted and defined after each session (see how my earrings show more in the second photo?) . Without side-by-side photos, I don’t know if you’ll notice that big of a difference, but the little instruction card that came with the device recommends keeping up the pace of five sessions a week for 60 days, so I’ ve got some time to do that before I do a final before-and-after photo to get long-term results. Here’s the thing, you have to be consistent and diligent. If you do see any results, it won’t be one random rubbing of it on your face.
Conclusion
NuFace is probably the strangest cosmetic brand we’ve reviewed to date. The brand sells physical devices that deliver electrical currents to facial skin, but offers no clinical evidence that the technology improves wrinkles or other visible signs of skin aging.
The brand sells a skin care gel that lists a crystal found in the earth’s mantle as the active ingredient.
The company makes strange health claims, such as that their product “conducts micro-currents from your device to your facial muscles,” but there is no evidence or citation for such claims.
We recommend that consumers avoid all NuFace products until the brand provides better proof of efficacy.
