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ELLE Edit: 12 Needle-Free Botox And Filler Alternatives To Use At Home
Leave the needles to the pros.
When wrinkles start appearing and gravity takes hold of your face, it might cross your mind to try an invasive treatment. And there are some brilliant ones out there - botox and fillers included.
However, with technology improving and brands bringing out some seriously impressive skincare formulas, it might be worth parking that idea for the time being. Not only could you save a lot of money, but you could find something just as effective which doesn't involve needles, the risk of sometimes irreversible unwanted results, and even leaving your front door.
Not only can super serums, retinols and treatment kits help to erase lines like botox, and hand-held tools help to sculpt like fillers, but more and more technology is available to mimic results of in-clinic machines too. 'Our LED mask was designed to bring the salon experience home', Hannah Measures & Laura Ferguson, founders of the The Light Salon (where the technology is used in treatments and facials) told ELLE. 'It uses the same clinically-proven wavelengths as in-salon.'
From lasers to frozen balls (yes, really), try one of these at-home alternatives and save yourself the price (and pain) of an invasive treatment...
Vichy LiftActiv H.A. Epidermic Filler - £38
This sounds too good to be true and well, it sort of is. It's obviously not actually a filler but it comes really quite close. The potent serum is bursting with hyaluronic acid and vitamins to plump from deep within the skin, smoothing and lifting. Works well on sensitive skin too.
Fraîcheur Ice Globes - £59.99
This is not a practical joke: we really want you to roll frozen balls around your face. Not only does it just feel soooo good (refreshing, awakening, hangover curing) the cryo treatment helps to increase circulation to the skin, reduce inflammation and de-puff.
SkinCeuticals H.A. Intensifier Serum - £90
One of the main functions of fillers is not to exaggerate cheeks, but to lift where gravity has taken hold. For example, those marionette lines between the lips and chin, or sagging at the jawline. This editor-adored serum is one of the best for plumping things back up, and can go a surprisingly long way to mimicking the effects of the needle.
Medik8 Crystal Retinal 1 Serum - £39
Proven to make light work of wrinkles and skin texture more than any other at-home ingredient is vitamin A. Medik8 are famed for their vitamin A formulas: retinols, retinoates, and this crystal retinal. It encourages cell-turnover to minimise fine lines and wrinkles, for about a 10th of the price of botox...
Omorovicza The Cure - £205
Many skin rejuvenating treatments require the use of needles, but not this one. Used over nine days, this treatment plan resurfaces, revives and replenishes skin just as well, if not better than, many aesthetic treatments. Served in dose-sized ampoules, it's great for newbies to active ingredients.
NuFACE FIX Line Smoothing Device - £150
111Skin Celestial Black Diamond Lifting and Firming Mask - £140 for 4
Treatments like Profhilo involve injecting hyaluronic acid or other hydrating agents into the face to smooth, plump and improve the tone of the skin. This mask, loved by beauty editors and celebrities, does that too, but without any scary needles. It also comes with portions of the hydrogel mask for the neck, to battle the tech-neck wrinkles.
Dr Barbara Sturm Hyaluronic Ampoules - £115 for 7 day course
Famed for her red carpet ready treatments, an appointment with Dr Sturm would usually include a whole host of gadgets, techniques and yes, sometimes botox and fillers. But one of her staples in her skincare is hyaluronic acid, which deeply hydrates to refresh and renew the skin. This course, which comes in mini doses, is a great pre-event ritual.
The Light Salon Boost LED Mask - £395
One of the most popular in-salon treatments right now is using LED light - to calm, rejuvenate, lift or firm skin (depending on the colour of light used). The Light Salon is one of those places, but if you can't get there you can get a taste of it at home. Red 633nm and Near-Infrared 830nm wavelengths are industry-leading and clinically-proven to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
The Lyma Laser - £1,999
One of the main causes of wrinkles is lack of cell turnover and regeneration, which just happens as we get older. This laser - which claims to re-train those cells to mimic their younger years - is the most powerful you can use safely at-home, giving you results you'd normally only get under a aesthetician's hands. Those results? Smoother, clearer, bouncier skin. The technology is pretty game changing in the market, hence the price tag...
Foreo UFO 2 Smart Mask Treatment - £249
In many facials, tools (light LED, steamers, etc) will be used to make treatments more efficacious. This small-but-mighty device does just that, at home. You insert your desired treatment or mask, this customises the settings to modes that can help boost collagen, clear spots, calm redness, tighten with cryotherapy, relax with sonic waves.... . the list goes on
'The device’s full-spectrum LED therapy is clinically tested to rival in-salon treatments therefore adding maximum power to your at-home facial treatment', Chris Luckham, Head of Education at the brand, told ELLE. 'Which dramatically improves results of skincare products.'
Sarah Chapman The Facialift - £32
Developed by the facialist to models, actresses and a certain actress-turned-Princess, Sarah Chapman's facial massager rolls up and down your jawline, neck and face to help drain toxic, reduce puffiness and define contours. It's especially great for mimicking the results of skin tightening treatments on the lower face.
Jennifer George is Beauty Editor across both ELLE UK and Harper's Bazaar, creating content for print and online, from zeitgeisty features to conceptual still life and make-up shoots. Despite a career that's focused mainly on luxury (from events to editorial), her ride or die hair product is a £4 bargain. With a Little Black Book of London's clinics, doctors and hotels, she's the team's resident 'Tweakment' and spa expert.
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