The global home-use beauty devices market was valued at USD 14,025.3 million in 2022, and the market size is predicted to reach USD 89,876.2 million by 2030, advancing at a CAGR of 26.1% during 2022–2030. The market is driven by the increasing prevalence of skin problems, growing prevalence of hormonal disorders, and technological advancements in home-use beauty devices.

    There are many types of beauty devices on the market, and after more than three years of research and investigation, I found that there are indeed many effective products that conform to medical principles, but there are also a large number of IQ tax products that rely on exaggerated publicity for sales.

    In this article, I will explain the different types and functions of beauty devices in detail, and also comment on some popular products of popular categories for your reference.

Radio frequency device

--The right technique can make a big difference

    Radio frequency devices heat up the dermis layer by using radio frequency principles, causing the water molecules in the dermis to rotate and rub to generate heat, which stimulates collagen regeneration and thickens the dermal collagen fibers. When the epidermal temperature reaches 40~42 ℃(104~108 ℉), the dermis reaches about 50 ℃(122 ℉), which is an effective radio frequency operation, which can tighten the skin, reduce wrinkles, and improve pore quality to some extent.

    The frequency of home beauty devices is mostly between 1~3 MHz, mainly using bipolar, tripolar and other multi-polar radio frequencies, which are relatively safe in terms of depth and temperature. The skin surface can withstand a maximum temperature of only 43~44 ℃(109~111 ℉), and any higher may cause burns, blisters and other problems, so the temperature control of the beauty device is quite strict. In addition, there is currently no sufficient and direct evidence to prove that home radio frequency devices can achieve fat dissolving effects under regular operation methods.

    There are also some advertisements on the market that claim that some devices can make the face plump and heat up to more than 60 ℃(140 ℉), which consumers can easily believe in these exaggerated claims that do not conform to skin science.

    Nowadays, radio frequency devices belong to medical devices.

The correct operation technique of radio frequency device

    The operation technique of radio frequency device is not correct, the heating is uneven, and it will also waste your energy.

    To debunk a myth, many people say that skin care products can replace radio frequency devices, but this is not the case. In addition to the changes in the dermis layer, the visual improvement of facial contours is mainly achieved by heating and tightening the zygomatic ligament, orbital ligament, masseter skin ligament, and facial superficial muscle tendon membrane system in the preauricular area, thereby lifting the entire facial contour. Therefore, anti-aging skin care products and radio frequency devices are not mutually exclusive, but synergistic. The synergistic effect of both can better promote collagen regeneration.

    The correct and effective technique can also promote the lifting of the fascia ligament. The most important principle of radio frequency devices is temperature, and the circular motion is the technique with the highest overlap on the skin.

    After the operation, do not wash your face or apply a mask to lower the temperature immediately, to avoid reducing the effect of this operation.
    Use anti-wrinkle and collagen-promoting products 2 hours later or the next day, which can synergistically increase the anti-aging effect.

Debunking the principle of radio frequency device operation technique

    ①Many people do not see the effect of tightening and reducing wrinkles after using radio frequency devices, because the heat accumulated in the dermis layer is not enough. The circle is the technique with the highest overlap on the skin.

    ②The semi-circle back and forth at the corner of the mouth is to enhance the fading of true nasolabial folds.

    ③After the zygomatic ligament and masseter skin ligament are heated by radio frequency, the ligament will shrink when heated. The contraction of the ligament can tighten the skin upward and backward. This is also the secret of many people who have done Thermage, Thermage and other treatments, and can immediately see the improvement of half of the face.
    ④The skin of the neck is thin, unlike the face with fat to absorb the temperature, so the temperature rises very quickly, and the sliding technique is relatively more controllable.

Radio frequency devices must avoid the following danger zones.

    ①Nose.
    ②Lips.
    ③The position of the thyroid gland in the middle of the throat.
    ④Upper eyelid and inner corner of the nose bridge.

    The upper eyelid skin is the thinnest, and radio frequency can easily penetrate the skin and heat the cornea, which can cause cataracts and corneal damage in the long term.

Prevent nasolabial folds

Key operation area: zygomatic ligament, facial superficial muscle tendon membrane preauricular area.

Prevent sagging cheeks

Key operation area: masseter skin ligament.

Prevent double chin

Operation forbidden area: thyroid gland position.

Prevent eye wrinkles

Operation forbidden area: upper eyelid position.

Microcurrent( eg. High Frequency Facial Wand)

--Repair skin, good safety performance

    Microcurrent projects use different current intensities, frequencies, and waveforms to achieve skin beauty purposes. Low-frequency current (1~10 Hz) contracts muscles and tightens contours; high-frequency current (>100 Hz) promotes the transdermal absorption of ingredients; microcurrent (<1 mA) can increase the activity of epidermal cells.

    In addition, a certain frequency of current can form an electric field effect on the skin's stratum corneum, causing the surrounding healthy stratum corneum cells to migrate and play a repair role. The stratum corneum of the skin is similar to the brick wall cement structure, and it can be interfered with by physical methods such as iontophoresis and direct current, forming temporary pores and introducing drugs. Among them, iontophoresis can generate voltage on both sides of the stratum corneum, and this voltage change can cause the alpha-helical keratin of the stratum corneum cells to redistribute and form new pores. In this process, drugs are easy to penetrate the skin.

    In summary, microcurrent devices can play a role in promoting penetration, tightening muscles, and epidermal repair, and are relatively safe, with no obvious adverse reactions. But it does not directly brighten the skin, promote collagen regeneration, or reduce wrinkles. If you have these needs, I suggest you choose a home beauty device that combines microcurrent and radio frequency functions, which will have a better comprehensive anti-aging effect.

Facial cleanser

--Beware of over-cleansing

    At present, the facial cleansers on the market mainly use ultrasonic brush heads, negative ion adsorption and other methods, but their concepts are contrary to medical dermatology. Excessive friction and cleansing will only make the skin more sensitive and damage the barrier.

    “Deep cleansing” is a pseudo-concept, and there is no product that can penetrate the pores and remove dirt. I suggest consumers use it with caution or reduce the frequency of use. Also because it is a pseudo-concept that has been debunked, the sales heat of facial cleansers on the market has dropped significantly, and some large brands of facial cleansers are not doing well in revenue.

Hair removal device

--A good choice for home hair removal

    Hair removal devices mainly use long-pulse strong pulsed light to heat up the hair follicles in the growth phase and inhibit their growth. Although the power of home hair removal devices is not as good as professional medical equipment, they are still effective for large areas (armpits, lower limbs, bikini lines, etc.). Compared with wax hair removal, it is safer for the skin. But you need to pay attention to the following points when operating:

①Wear goggles, because the strong pulsed light is very bright;

②Shave the hair before laser, otherwise the epidermal hair will compete for light absorption;

③Do not repeat more than 3 times in the same position, otherwise it may cause excessive skin heating and cause pigmentation.

Oxygen injection device

--Recognize the principle and choose rationally

    The oxygen injection devices on the market mainly spray essence and water on the face by negative pressure, just like the “water oxygen rejuvenation” and “needleless water light” projects in medical beauty institutions. Compared with the ordinary way of applying essence by hand, the oxygen injection device can relatively introduce it deeper into the skin because of the negative pressure. But the “oxygen injection” in the name of the “oxygen injection device” is purely nonsense, the device does not contain oxygen, the essence does not contain oxygen, where does the “oxygen” come from? If consumers are attracted by the concept of “oxygen injection”, they may not achieve the expected results.

Home fractional laser

--Reasonable operation, reduce pain

    Home fractional laser extends the function of dermatological fractional laser, using non-ablative fractional laser (1440 nm, 1450 nm, etc.) to emit micro-holes on the surface of the skin, stimulating it to regenerate more collagen tissue, repairing acne, acne pits, improving pores, skin texture, wrinkle problems. But there is a certain pain during the operation, and some manufacturers have designed contact surface freezing point analgesia to make up for the problem of experience.

    Fractional laser also has a certain damage to the skin, and the frequency and intensity of use should be adjusted according to different situations. For example, sensitive areas - both sides of the zygomatic bone, nasal alar groove can be operated less, or even not done. Tolerant areas, such as forehead, both sides of cheeks, mouth skin can increase the frequency of use.

Nano microcrystals and home microneedles

--Try with caution

    Currently, nano microcrystals and home microneedles are in a rather awkward situation. Although the needles are shallow and short, their functions of renewing skin, shrinking pores, hydrating and introducing are all based on invasion. Without invasion (penetrating the skin surface), the effectiveness of these functions is hard to guarantee, which is called “no breaking, no standing” in medicine. But the invasive and destructive properties make them difficult to promote and operate at home in the consumer product market. I still suggest that you choose a regular dermatology clinic for invasive operations such as microneedles.

LED red and blue light

--Not the higher the energy, the better

    At present, there are still many types of LED red and blue lights on the market, such as mask type, handheld type, large row light type. Among them, blue light (410~430 nm) has photodynamic therapy, that is, it targets the endogenous porphyrin contained in Propionibacterium acnes, can produce singlet oxygen, destroy bacteria, and reduce inflammation. Yellow light (570~590 nm) can inhibit the highly sensitive state of skin nerves and reduce skin redness and sensitivity. Red light (620~670 nm) can promote microcirculation, improve skin cell activity and nutritional status.

    Although red and blue light have relatively many effects, there are still many misleading operations and publicity. For example, applying a mask while irradiating. The penetration depth of red and blue light is relatively low, most of them can only reach 0.28~0.55 mm, if you stick to the mask, the light will be competitively absorbed and refracted, and it will not work.

The advantages and disadvantages of common LED red and blue light

The LED red and blue light on the market can be divided into mask type, handheld type, and large row light type according to their usage methods. I did an experiment in July 2021, studying the light intensity of different prices of LED red and blue light, and the results are shown in Table 1-10.

Table 1-10 Sampling and measurement data of LED light illuminance

	Blue Light (430nm)	Orange Light (590nm)	Red Light (590nm)	Composite  Light (590nm)
Large Row Light Type	/	/	/	3000~5000
	/	/	/	3000~5500
Mask Type	1900	1600	1560	2500
	5000	860	1300	/
Mask Type	6000	980	1500	/
Handheld Type	/	/	1500	3000
	/	/	1600	/

 

    The results show that the price and the number of lamp beads and brightness are almost not proportional. So it also corrects a misunderstanding for everyone, if you are looking for high-priced and high-lamp bead products for high energy, the actual results will disappoint you. And from the perspective of dermatologists, it is never the higher the energy, the better the effect, as long as it is within the effective range.

Below I will comment on the advantages and disadvantages of each type of LED product in detail.

(1) Mask type

Advantages:

①You can use it by covering it on your face, it is convenient to use, and you don’t need to turn off the light or lie down.

②The whole face can be irradiated, no need to move by hand.

Disadvantages:

①Many products on the market do not have composite light.

②You need to protect your eyes and prevent the light source from entering your eyes.

(2) Large row light type

Advantages:

①The light intensity is high.

②Most of them have composite light mode.

Disadvantages:

①The operation is very troublesome. The regular operation should turn off the indoor light, wear sunglasses when taking pictures, and sit or lie down.

②The cheek side absorbs less light energy than the front, so if you want to irradiate evenly, you need to turn your face left and right.

(3) Handheld type

Advantages: The light intensity is high in unit area.

Disadvantages: It takes too long to irradiate the whole face with handheld products, and can only strengthen the local area.

Laser cap

-- Auxiliary treatment for hair loss people

    Laser caps generally use low-energy lasers of about 5 mW/piece, which are clinically called LLLT (Low-Level Laser Therapy), which can penetrate deeper into the scalp hair follicle circulation and change the growth state of the hair follicle. Clinically, it is usually used in combination with products that dilate capillaries, so using it alone is not enough. People with hair loss are advised to seek help from a clinical doctor as soon as possible, and not to use it blindly.

Photon rejuvenation device

--A beauty device for home whitening

    They use the professional medical beauty principle of intense pulsed light, which can directly lighten and whiten the skin, and is also the type of beauty device with the most obvious whitening effect among home beauty devices. Some home photon rejuvenation devices with wavelengths of 500~650 nm on the market also have the advantages of DPL narrow spectrum, which can fade black and red, and are especially suitable for people with dull skin, red or black acne marks.

    Because its principle is to target melanin blasting, when using it, you need to avoid melanin moles and hair positions, to avoid producing more intense photothermal reactions, causing skin damage and hair burning.

    These are the mainstream categories on the market, and new products will continue to emerge in the active beauty market.

    Home beauty devices also need to be combined with skin care products scientifically to better play their role. For example, for some functional products, they need to penetrate deeper into the skin to achieve the corresponding effects. One is the combination type, clinically, vitamin C and tranexamic acid can be introduced by current to improve melasma, and home beauty devices with current can be used with some whitening, anti-aging and other ingredients to accelerate skin absorption. There is also a complementary type, for example, after doing home red and blue light, you can apply moisturizing essence and mask. Moisturizing can prevent the skin from losing water immediately after the light, and after the light, the transdermal absorption rate of effective ingredients will also increase, and the two are complementary to each other.

    In addition, for different skin problems and usage methods, home beauty devices still need to have some adjustments or more personalized choices. For example, oily skin, sensitive skin, dry skin medical beauty post-care, how to use beauty devices in conjunction, still need professional guidance and follow-up. Facial areas that have undergone hyaluronic acid filling are not recommended to use home radio frequency devices within 2 months; when there are flat warts, raised pigmented moles, inflammatory papules on the face, it is not recommended to use devices that rub the face, such as microcurrent, radio frequency devices, introduction devices, etc.

    Personally, I think that the sales of beauty devices will continue to grow in the next three years, and beauty devices will also be regarded as common daily necessities by most people. But the premise is that home beauty devices must be combined with clinical dermatology, and their effects must be approved by clinical trials, rather than blindly eye-catching marketing.