Beauty Gadgets: Why Creams Alone Aren’t Enough for Your Skincare Routine

Beauty Gadgets: Why Creams Alone Aren’t Enough for Your Skincare Routine

Gone are the days when women relied solely on creams, masks, and makeup removers for their beauty routines. Today, skincare has become more technologically advanced, allowing us to achieve beautiful, youthful skin right at home in just about 20 minutes a day. Devices like Gua Sha scrapers, rollers, and massagers can partially replace trips to the cosmetologist. Dr. Svetlana Yakubovskaya, a dermatologist, explains what these devices are and how to use them properly.

Dermaroller: Restoring Youth and Fighting Cellulite and Stretch Marks

The dermaroller emerged as an alternative to in-clinic mesotherapy. It’s a small roller with tiny micro-needles that, when rolled over the skin, create micro-punctures. These punctures stimulate the skin’s regeneration processes, promoting rejuvenation.

Moreover, these micro-channels allow nutrients from skincare products applied before the procedure to penetrate the skin more effectively. This means that your regular serums or creams used for at-home care can overcome the epidermal barrier, delivering active ingredients to deeper layers of the skin.

Note: The micro-needles on dermarollers designed for home use are not as long as those on professional rollers that penetrate deeply into the skin. This is for safety reasons. Therefore, using a dermaroller at home cannot replace the work of a specialist in a cosmetic clinic. However, it can certainly help improve your skin’s condition.

It’s recommended to use a dermaroller once every 7-10 days. Typically, a device lasts for one course of 6-8 sessions. Over this number of procedures, the needles may become dull, so it’s best to purchase a new roller for the next course.

Dermarollers can be used to improve the health of both facial and body skin, for instance, in the fight against cellulite and stretch marks, or for hair loss. However, it’s important to note that this device has some contraindications, such as inflammatory processes, a large number of moles in the treatment area, activation of the herpes virus, and others.

Gua Sha Scraper: Cleansing and Reducing Swelling

The Chinese Gua Sha scraper (from “Gua” – to scrape, “Sha” – bad) is gaining increasing popularity. It can be used to cleanse the skin, reduce swelling, and improve blood and lymph circulation, contributing to skin rejuvenation and health. Interestingly, the Gua Sha massage technique originated in China as early as 550 BC.

These scrapers are made from various materials, including minerals (nephrite, rose quartz), metals, resin, and even tortoiseshell.

How to use: With massage movements, gently massage the skin of the face after applying a special product (oil or floral water that comes with the scraper). You can also use any other oil suitable for your skin type. For example, grape seed oil or rosehip oil is ideal for oily and combination skin, while jojoba oil or argan oil is suitable for normal and dry skin.

It’s recommended to perform the Gua Sha massage procedure no more than 2-3 times a week. This massage can be done at any age. However, if you’re prone to irritations, rosacea, or have pustular elements on the skin, it’s best to avoid this method or consult a dermatologist.

And, of course, during the procedure, do not press or rub the skin. Try to move along the massage lines. In case of a rash, be sure to consult a doctor.

Jade or Rose Quartz Roller: Reducing Swelling and Puffiness Under the Eyes

From Chinese medicine comes the jade roller, beloved by many girls, and later, a similar device made of rose quartz. Through massage movements, it activates the lymphatic system, helps reduce swelling, and decreases puffiness under the eyes.

For convenience, this device consists of two rollers: the larger one is designed for massaging the cheekbones and chin, while the smaller one is for the area around the eyes.

How to use: Apply cream, serum, or oil to dry skin, then use the roller to make upward movements along the massage lines until the applied product is absorbed. This procedure should be done 2-3 times a week.

When purchasing a roller, be careful: natural stone is easy to counterfeit. Moreover, the correct cut and processing of the mineral are very important. Therefore, it’s best to buy a massager from trusted sellers.

There is no evidence base regarding the influence of the type of stone from which the roller is made. Therefore, when purchasing, you can be guided by personal preferences.

Many celebrities love this device, such as Victoria Beckham, Beati Prinsloo, and Miranda Kerr.

3D Massager: Correcting the Shape of the Face and Body

The massager improves blood circulation and lymph circulation, removes excess fluid, reduces the volume of subcutaneous fat deposits, thereby slightly correcting the shape of the face and body.

The 3D massager is shaped like the letter Y. At the ends of the device are rollers whose surface has 22 facets. Due to the rotation of these rollers by 360 degrees, you can perform a massage that, when applied correctly, can be similar in effect to a professional facial massage.

During the procedure, the round rollers gently grasp the skin, imitating a pinch. The main thing is to do the massage strictly along the massage lines and not to overdo it with the intensity of exposure to the skin so as not to damage it. In case of severe redness or pain, it is better not to use the massager.

Contraindications include herpes, pustular elements, exacerbations of such chronic skin diseases as seborrheic dermatitis, rosacea, allergic reactions, irritations, etc.

You shouldn’t overdo it with this massage. Twice a week is quite enough.

Vibrating Silicone Brush: Cleansing, Improving Complexion, and Stimulating Blood Circulation

Vibrating silicone brushes, along with a cleansing agent, perfectly help remove makeup, fat, and dust accumulated on the skin during the day. Moreover, this is not just about cleansing and massaging the skin. It’s also a gentle stage of exfoliating dead cells. In addition, with the help of this device, you can enhance the effect of nourishing creams and serums due to the vibrating action of the brush.

Using such a device helps improve skin tone, activate and stimulate blood circulation. As a result, the face looks fresher and healthier.

The brush should be used 2-3 times a week (both for removing makeup and for exfoliation) for 1 minute without strong pressure on the skin. Usually, the device is enough for 250 cleanings (6 hours). The brush has several types of bristles on the surface. For the forehead and chin, where the skin is usually oily or combination, it is worth using large bristles, for the cheeks and neck, where the skin is dry or normal, use small ones.

After each use, the device should be cleaned. In this regard, of course, the silicone brush is the most convenient: the risk of bacterial multiplication is practically reduced to zero. Just do not use the brush together with scrubs or clay, as they can damage the silicone.

Note: If there are pustules on the skin, exacerbation.

For more information, you can follow Dr. Svetlana Yakubovskaya on Instagram.