In my early twenties, I didn’t think twice about making the occasional appointment for a facial, massage, or laser hair removal. But then came kids—and with them sleep-deprived days and nap schedules to work around and baby colds to tend to and babysitters to hire. All of which made it a LOT…
Best At Home Beauty Tools
-
Identifying What Your Problems Are in the First Place
Looking for professional help with your breakouts? A Rx for fine lines? Yep, there's an app for that. Get a diagnosis for your skin concern and prescription within twenty-four hours from a board-certified US dermatologist with the app Spruce. The $40 visit fee also gets you thirty days of follow-up care, with the ability to message your doctor additional questions or concerns. Plus, the fees are 100% refundable if you're not happy with your care.
What it feels like: Painless—except for taking photos of your problem areas to submit.
Works best for: Getting a quick diagnosis and, if needed, a prescription for skin care concerns ranging from acne and anti-aging to eczema and psoriasis. Note that Spruce is only available in CA, FL, MI, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, and VA.
My two cents: With many in-person appointments costing between $50 and $150, the Spruce app saves me both time and money. In less than twenty-four hours, I had a treatment plan from a board-certified dermatologist for dealing with aging concerns, got prescription recommendations, and received a follow-up email a few days later with a Spruce Care Coordinator.
Price: Free app, $40 visit fee
Photo: Spruce Health
-
Micro-Needling for Product Penetration
The things we do for beauty...the idea of "micro-needling" is that by creating tiny punctures on your skin’s top layer, you are creating tiny channels for skin care products to penetrate more deeply into the skin. In addition, by mildly injuring the skin, it stimulates your body's natural collagen production. Sounds fun, right? Micro-needing treatments at a dermatologist often use rollers with longer needles ranging from 0.25 mm to 2 mm, but the Environ Cosmetic Roll CIT has mild 0.1 mm needles making it suitable (and practically painless) for everyday use.
What it feels like: Very light pin pricks.
Works best for: Improved penetration of skin care products, restoring skin tightness, smoothing fine lines, reducing pigmentation, softening scars, and reducing dilated blood vessels.
My two cents: It's fast and painless, and I've seen both acne scarring improve dramatically and nighttime serums seep in more effectively.
Price: $120
Photo: DermaConcepts
-
Ultrasonic Blemish Lifting
The 4-in-1 Skin Perfecter from Le Mieux can be your secret weapon to amazing skin. The handheld device uses ultrasonic technology (translation: super fast micro-movements) to powerfully, yet gently get gunk out of your skin including blackheads, sebum, and dead skin. Flip the tip over to the other side, and those ultrasonic vibrations help accelerate your skin's absorption of serums and lotions. Best of all, the Skin Perfecter requires no brushes, cartridges, or discs refills—EVER.
What it feels like: Not much. You'll only notice a buzzing sound as you move the tip around your skin.
Works best for: Getting gunk out of your skin and helping your skin care products get in.
My two cents: While it's definitely more expensive than some other well known ultrasonic face cleaners, the Skin Perfecter doesn't require the purchase of new heads or cartridges and offers the added benefit of using it to ultrasonically seep your serums deeper into your skin.
Price: $225
Photo: Skin Perfecter
-
Age Defying Laser Treatments
Heard that mom with glowing skin, bragging about her latest Fraxel appointment at school drop-off? You can get the same technology at home with Tria's Age-Defying Laser. Treating multiple signs of aging at once, the laser relies on targeted beams of light to battle fine lines and wrinkles, and improve the texture, tone, and clarity of your skin. All while you sit in your yoga pants and scroll Instagram.
What it feels like: A warm-to-hot prickly wipe across your face. You will be red afterward, but it will have faded by morning.
Works best for: All signs of aging—fine lines, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, uneven texture, and dullness.
My two cents: I've seen good results in reducing fine lines and hyperpigmentation, but the time commitment is real. Tria recommends using the device five nights a week for twelve weeks with each individual treatment lasting between four and twelve minutes, depending on which setting you are on. Still, with a derm office Fraxel laser costing $700+ per session, this is a great alternative to bring back that youthful glow.
Price: $495
Photo: Sephora
-
Micro Exfoliation
The PMD Personal Microderm works to exfoliate your skin with a combination of suction and spinning discs of aluminum oxide crystals that remove dead skin and stimulate cell renewal. The basic models comes with a variety of heads—a white training head, two blues (sensitive) for face and two larges blues for your body, and a large and small green (medium). Additional discs such as "very sensitive" and "maximum strength" are available separately.
What it feels like: A combination of suction and sandpaper.
Works best for: Brightening and smoothing skin, evening out skin tone and texture, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, blemishes, and enlarged pores.
My two cents: The average cost of one microdermabrasion treatment is $143, so you'll get your money's worth out of just one treatment. But each PMD disc is only designed to last for three to four treatments before it will need to be replaced, so there is the added costs of discs. With only one level of suction, some users may find it limiting.
Price: $159
Photo: Amazon
-
Microcurrent Firming
Sagging jawline? Droopy brows? Give yourself a non-invasive facelift with the NuFACE mini. NuFACE uses microcurrent to firm and lift the skin on your jawline, cheek area, and forehead. Opt for this mini version to save money and space, or the Trinity version if you want to take advantage of NuFACE's add-on attachments.
What it feels like: Nothing—if you use the included NuFACE Gel Primer as directed—but you may feel a slight tingling as it reaches the borders of the gel on your face.
Works best for: Lifting and tightening facial skin.
My two cents: I'd love to be well rested for real, but in the meantime, I'll be happy faking it with some facial lifting. The before & after pics on the website are based on using the device five minutes a day, five days a week, for sixty days, so you'll need to put in your time, but real lifting and tightening are possible—for a fraction of the cost of a face lift.
Price: $199
Photo: NuFACE
-
Laser Hair Removal
Hair begone! Whether you're tired of shaving your legs, don't have time for bikini wax appointments, or want to discretely take care of that peach fuzz on your chin, the Tria Hair Removal Laser 4X works to eliminate unwanted hair from the comfort of your home. Best of all, unlike waxing there is no "grow out" period. Shave, laser, and watch your shaving time disappear.
What it feels like: A rubber band snap. The Tria offers five energy levels so you can find the level that matches your pain tolerance and work up to higher levels.
Works best for: Those with lighter skin and darker hair. Use this chart to determine if the laser will work for you.
My two cents: Your Netflix binging just got a lot more productive. Whether it's 10:00 p.m. or 10:00 a.m., you can remove unwanted hair when YOU have time. Laser hair removal varies on the size of the area being treated, but can run between $350 and $500 for bikini, $600 and $850 for legs, and $600 and $900 for face. With this one device you can treat multiple areas on the body and face for the price of one professional treatment.
Price: $449
Photo: Sephora
-
Riiviva Microdermabrasion
Ready for smoother skin? The Riiviva Microderm uses medical-grade diamond tips (like your derm office does) to exfoliate your skin. The device includes two tips (medium and coarse) and offers other specialty tips such as cellulite, acne scarring, and precision for purchase separately. Riiviva offers three suction levels for comfort and safety and can be used either with or without the cord (one five-minute treatment when fully charged). Each diamond tip is designed to last about a year, but you do need to put in a new filter before each use (fifty included). The kit also includes Riiviva's Vitamin C and Peptide Serum.
What it feels like: Suction and sandpaper.
Works best for: Uneven pigmentation, mild acne scarring, poor skin texture, fine lines, and dull skin.
My two cents: This was one of my favorite handheld microderm devices. While changing the filters is a minor pain, the performance, versatility, and the diamond tip just like the derm office make this a great choice for those looking for an at-home option. Especially at that sale price!
Price: $179 on sale (usually $269)
Photo: Riiviva
-
Trophy Skin Microdermabrasion
Serious about your microderm? You may want to upgrade to the Trophy Skin MicrodermMD Home Microdermabrasion Machine. Yes, it's a mouthful and requires more storage space than a handheld, but its performance beats the little guys, too. The self-contained unit includes a mirror, a diamond-tip exfoliating wand, a pore extraction tip for blackhead extraction, and an infusion tip that helps push creams and serums deep into the skin. Plus, it has an auto feature that shows you where and how to use it on your face while automatically adjusting between eight different suction levels (gentle around your eyes, firmer on your forehead). Like the Riiviva, you need to change filters (100 included), but it's kind of like looking at a Biore pore strip—you can see all the gunk and dead skin that just got blasted off your face.
What it feels like: With eight levels of suction, this microderm device can be as gentle (or rough) as you need.
Works best for: Uneven pigmentation, mild acne scarring, poor skin texture, fine lines, and dull skin.
My two cents: If you're new to microderm, this machine may be overkill (though you'll still love how user friendly it is). But if you're getting microdermabrasion done done at your derm multiple times a year, it will be worth your while to invest.
Price: $299
Photo: Trophy Skin
-
Wrinkle Correcting Laser
Similar to Tria's larger age-defying laser for the face, the Eye Wrinkle Correcting Laser is designed to decrease wrinkles and smooth the skin around the eyes with the help of thousands of microscopic fractional lasers. The two-minute process (one minute per eye) triggers a natural process of cell renewal through the formation of collagen and elastin, giving you brighter, smoother eyes.
What it feels like: Little warm rubber band snaps.
Works best for: Smoothing fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes.
My two cents: My early crow's feet have hit the skies thanks to this little laser. Unlike some other at-home treatments that are more cumbersome, the Eye Laser treatment is quick (two minutes a night) and easy, which means you are more likely to stick with it and see results. Also, there's a sweet ninety-day money-back guarantee if you don't.
Price: $249
Photo: Sephora
