Science & Beauty: You Won’t Believe What These Tech Devices Can Do For Your Skin!

Pots of creams sell beauty dreams but what about equipment? Can electronics and hand held tools help us stay ahead of Father Time so that we slow down the appearance of aging and fend off the effects of stress? The answer is yes, and then some! Check out these fabulous tech devices perfect for you and your skin! Let’s celebrate science & beauty! 

I am in my forties and will be forever grateful that I possessed good sense in my late teens to start using sunscreen. The practise has prevented lines, and staved off dark scars. However, a smooth complexion also includes firm, clean skin that looks plump and taut. The impact of daily exercise, environmental pollution, using smart phones and gravity diminish my clarity, cleanliness and firmness. Luckily, I’ve discovered an array of beauty equipment that optimize the beauty of my skin.

SMOOTH SKIN

As someone with normal-to-oily skin, clogged pores are par for the course. In my younger days, I perfected the art of the whitehead squeeze. It was savagely satisfying to expunge the hardened sebum from my pores but it was tempered by the fact even my gentlest squeeze always left a tiny scar. I faced the ugly choice between harbouring a colony of bumps versus bearing flat skin with a series of tiny scars.

Clarisonic eliminated the choice with its Mia Smart™ Cleanse and Eye Contour Gift Set (“Device”). The device can be used with brush heads that correspond with your skin care goal. For example, I want a luminous complexion so I select the New Daily Radiance Brush Head to clean my skin 6 times more effectively versus manual cleansing. Each night, immediately after I complete my oil cleanse and while my face is wet, I add a dollop of my cleanser onto the brush head, click on the gentle function of the device and massage the planes of my face using circular motions.

The device uses sonic technology to ensure that grime does not cosy in the pores, and it has a tiny alarm that alerts you when you should work on another area of the face. I no longer house colonies of bumps or bear the battle scars of trying to obtain smooth skin. Additionally, my pores are so clear that my dream creams deliver the results that I need daily.

BRIGHT EYES

I have dedicated reams of blog space to the classic bane of South Asian beauty: the dark contour of my eyes. Their darkness makes me look under slept and the puffiness exacerbates the situation. Concealer and corrector effectively neutralize the former but for the latter, I admit that no amount of gentle eye massages completely smoothes the puffiness to a perfect finish.

I came to accept that my eye contours would always be slightly puffy until I tried the Sonic Awakening Eye Massager (included with the Device) which  targets puffiness, wrinkles and firmness.  I watched the 34-second video on YouTube and was surprised that I needed to glide the head for 10 seconds each on the under eye, the crow’s feet and on the eyebrows, to achieve s a smooth, refreshed eye.  I tried by tapping the contour of my eyes for 15 seconds each morning with minimal effect. I had a lot to gain by giving the device sixty seconds of my time, and so I tried it. I’m in love! I tap the eye cream around my eye and then follow the instructions from the video. The cream is massaged into the skin and my eyes look amazing!

DEPUFF THE STUFF

I admit that the cause of the puffiness under my eyes — and for my face — is part DNA but mostly due to a profound love affair with all things namkeen. I am not one to say no to kettle chips, and cheezies will always find a happy place in my tummy. And my face shows it.

As I apply my makeup, I do take mental notes on the sharpness of my jawline and cheekbones, and there are days when the puff hides the good stuff, i.e. my bone structure. I was always curious about the Nurse Jamie line of products, and in particular the Uplift Body Sonic Massage Beauty Roller.  The massager is cool to the touch,  looks like a Y and is powered by a battery. The two arms of the Y are covered in smooth stones, and the base of the Y contains a power button.  Once the power button is clicked you will hear a humming sound.

Each morning and night, after I apply my essence, I massage my jaw line, cheeks, neck and forehead for a total of 90 seconds. I start from the centre of face and guide the massager in an upward motion towards the hairline, and for my neck, I always massage using an upward motion. After each session I am delighted by my face’s sharpness and energy. I can see that with the consistent use over several weeks my face is looking sharp even if I skipped a session once in a while.

THE  LINES OF TRUTH AND GRAVITY

As I entered my forties, the term gravity was used less to describe the seriousness of issues and more about the seriousness of how the Earth’s magnetic pull makes the face slowly droop over time. The loss of firmness arrives like a slow creep and by the time you perceive its full impact, standard creams and finger massages can do little to minimize the visual impact.

At the start of my forties, I became alarmed when I detected a fine line that measured 6 cm on the left side of my forehead (yes, I measured it!). I then noticed that my nasal labial folds remained smiling when I had stopped. I started to think about injections but then discovered Silk’n™ Titan Skin Tightening and Lifting which uses three sources of energy, namely Bi-Polar RF, Red LED Light and IR Heat to activate the body’s natural restoration process. It caught my eye because I know that my face is overall line-free (woohoo to sunscreen, water intake, veggie consumption and hot yoga) and I want to address aging without paying C-notes to a dermatologist every few months.

The white, small, handheld device has five heat settings, and since I believe in stamping out issues when they are small, I always use level five to treat my face and neck. First, I apply the Slider Hyaluronic Gel (it’s included in the package) which is water based and contains hyaluronic acid, to allow the device to glide across the skin. I then plug in the device, click to level five and slide the heat across the cool gel which creates an interesting Nordic spa-like sensation. The device’s light and heat strengthen the collagen and elastin located deep within the skin’s layers which produce plumper, softer skin.  I always marvel at how my face looks refreshed and energized after the treatment, and  the effect lasts for several days.

A few months ago, I opted to not treat my tech neck, namely the lines that I have developed because I lean down to look at screens too much, out of sheer laziness. For two weeks I was fine with the decision and then by week three I noticed that my lines were more pronounced. They are by no means deep set but the neck area is delicate and the slightest disturbance in the skin manifests immediately and clearly. I immediately tacked on the 10 minutes to treat my neck, and I am back to my glowing glory.

I use the device on a weekly basis, and each area, namely the cheeks, neck and forehead, require 10 minutes of treatment. I consider it to be 40 minutes that are fruitful and well spent.

TACKLE TECH NECK

My ongoing skirmishes with Tech Neck led me to further investigate what could be done aside from giving up my smart phone. I learned that pillows and pillowcases can also contribute to premature lines because the neck is not placed properly so you are angled facing downwards which creates creases, and the fabric can imprint on the face. As someone who loves sinking into her pillow after a long day, my heart sank that my beloved pillow could be a culprit in my tech neck issue.

I figured that dream creams alone could not fend off tech neck and that a proper pillow would help my cause. I discovered the Nurse Jamie Beauty Bear™ Age Defy Memory Foam Pillow which claims to help you achieve healthier, more rested looking skin.

As the name suggests the pillow looks like a bear, albeit one akin to something  you would make out of snow in your backyard. It’s considerably smaller than the standard pillow and I fretted over how I would adjust sleeping on a cub when I am accustomed to placing my head on a big cloud.

The pillow is an ode to ergonomic design. Once I got over the smallness, I entered into a restful sleep and loved the coolness of the case. I lay my head on what constitutes the mid-section of the bear’s body, and my neck nestles into the area between the bear’s big belly and the ground. I sometimes sleep on my side, so my forehead rests on the bear’s head, my cheek hangs free and the chin is supported by the bear’s front legs.

I woke up relaxed and I had no need to crack my neck. My face looked less puffy and I felt relaxed. Who needs to sleep among the clouds when you can be cradled by a friendly bear? This pillow is a permanent part of my beauty equipment.

DISCIPLINE IS KEY 

As a grown woman I now understand that the basis of beauty is discipline. Discipline is easier to maintain when you use tools that help you to achieve your goals sooner; after all sacrifice and time need to be rewarded with results. The tools featured in this blog produce results, so long as you use them consistently and properly, in conjunction with great products and a healthy lifestyle.