LED light masks and other gadgets / facials advice please

[WrinklyCrowsFace]

Hi, not really posted on here before so apologies if the wrong board! I keep getting loads of adverts on Instagram for various "gadgets", I suppose you would call them.. LED facemasks, microneedling for your face, under-eye patches that you charge up. Stuff about electric currents and LED and red light. Also I am getting loads of adverts for various facials, often with a discount.

So I would love to know, firstly do any of these gadgets work? If so, which ones? Seems I get a different one every day

And also - do facials work? There seem to be so many on the market, and they aren't cheap! But they promise stuff like 'skin tightening' which I think is what I need. I've had ads from Champneys Spa, and the rest are small independent beauticians from within about a 50 mile radius. I sort of feel if I'm going to bother I might as well something a bit grounded in science.

I am early 40's, have crow's feet (a bit), wrinkles on my forehead, but my main issue is having gone jowly. My cheeks have dropped and gone down so my face shape is not an oval anymore. My cheeks are 'sunken'

Any advice would be most gratefully received. I know I won't end up looking like a supermodel but I would like to look a bit nicer and younger!

I felt very foolish in the past for signing up to things that don't work so really want to avoid this again. Thanks for reading 😃

Honestly, I would caution against expecting anything much from micro current devices like Foreo Bear or NuFace or similar - the evidence just isn't there despite what they promise.

If your main concern is jowls, there is very little that any cream or device is going to do to reverse that, except surgery.

I bought a NuFace and used it for a few months (with all the faff of the gel) and I barely saw any results - I mean maybe, if I squinted a bit it looked slightly better, in a certain light.... but really I was just trying to convince myself as it had cost quite a bit of money.

I do have a CurrentBody LED mask, which I would say is quite good if used consistently.

What it does is stimulate collagen production, which can help improve the look of fine lines etc. over time.

I noticed if used regularly my skin looked a bit brighter, clearer and just a bit bouncier - but it won't do anything for jowls really if that's your main concern.

face massage with the ordinary Rosehip face oil everyday

face yoga - look up ‘Pilates with Lisa’ - anti aging, the video where she has a black top on.

start now - it will take a while to work but is mainly free. I do the routine while using a nuface

I had oooh about 8 sessions of medispa needling - not Morpheus8 but the one below, it also aims to boost collagen. Meh, it mostly gave me really bouncy cheeks but no big improvement in liines or scarring. I wouldn't bother with it again.

So would you put vitamin A / tretinoin on, then vitamin B on, then Vitamin C? All one after the other? And then SPF when you go outside?

No, tretinoin is only used at night. Vitamin C tends to only be used in the morning as it boosts the working of SPF. A moisturiser with barrier ingredients can be used day and night. You tend to introduce these products separately and gradually to build up tolerance to them and make sure you're not having adverse reactions to one product or another.

What @botemp said. I followed a lot of skincare blogs etc. for years before the pandemic. Eventually I stopped spending too much money on flash products (having learnt a lot) and now focus on a prescription from Dermatica in the evening, vitamin C serum in the morning and high SPF all year round.

My subscription from Dermatica is really helping the condition of my skin, giving a tightness and glow. The prescription avoids trial and error as the dermatologists assess and prescribe as required, slowly increasingly the strength. No more waste and it feels very well managed by experts ( rather than me!)

They even sent me some free cream to address a COVID related skin condition.

I use Dermatica prescribed cream each night and just normal cheap Superdrug Vit E cleanser and moisturiser and of course sun screen.

I also find I don't use the months supply of cream and it is very simple to delay the next delivery.
Dermatica now have their own range of Vit C and sun screens too, with advice taken from the dermatologists before buying them so that these are the right products.

There is a code here for reduced subscriptions.

Try personalised skincare for just £2.90, plus £10 off your next month.

Head to www.dermatica.co.uk and checkout with code QQRPG

I use the foreo bear every morning and I use tret. My skin is incredible atm, and my face is symmetrical because of the bear. I'm 55 and i think I look better than I did at say 47 when I look at old photos.

I use the skin and me tret. Highly recommend both.

This is my referral link btw, think you get the first month for £3.50 along with some freebies. Would definitely give tret a try.

https://www.skinandme.com/?promocode=KATHC5VKH

OP the gadgets do work, but they are subtle and you have to keep using them regularly. Plus they need to be on a good foundation of happy skin. A Medispa has the skills you need to guide you towards a good skin care routine.
Try a gua sha on your jawline each morning with a few drops of olive oil. 2 weeks. See if you can stick at it and if you see a result.

This brand of vitamin c is a much cheaper option but really good stuff.

The nicinamide serum has really improved my skin. Then 3 drops of oil then SPF. That's your morning routine. Evening is just minus the spf. Real facecloth!

You could try to find a hydrafacial at a salon near you. You will get results in 1 session. And get to see if you like the beautician. Only see someone with a level 3 qualification.

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Vitamin c

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Vitamin b

And a hyuralonic acid serum

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I’m in my 4os too, I invested in a led mask with all the hype but I also did a lot of reaserch into it a! The science is there for sure ! I bought the bioluxe uk face mask and I’m glad I did it hasn’t disappointed me and it stacked up really well if not better than some of the more known Brands you would just need to find one that suits your goal :) got mine here :- www.bioluxeuk.com

Diet, hydration and sleep all play a big part for me. Ive recently started having a protein, collagen, veg and fruit smoothie every day and that as helped. Take omega 3, b, c and d vitamins, nmn, and magnesium.
For skin care everyone's different and you need to know your skin type and what your issues are before using products. Trial and error is expensive and can make things worse. A good facialist should be able to tell you about your skin and advise what products to use, they will probably try to sell you theirs but you dont have to buy it. Internet is usually a lot cheaper. But you need to know if you have pigmentation, in which case you could address it with azelaic acid and IPL for instance. Is your skin sensitive, will retinol will help or irritate it. I use cerave cleanser, a vit c serum in the morning, k beauty birch juice spf 50 moisturiser, and vary my evening product between a few different things depending on time of year and my skin at the time.
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