Have You Tried These Unconventional Skincare Tools?

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A month or so ago I was watching the Today Show and Whitney Cummings was a guest. She is an actress and I have seen her in a few movies, like one of my favorite chick flicks, Made of Honor. But I hardly recognized her when she was on the Today Show.

Apparently, neither did Hoda or Kathie Lee, because they immediately started telling her that. Her skin was radiant and she looked so elegant and she had cheekbones. She said that contrary to conventional advice, she had put on weight, like 25 pounds, which she thought filled out her face nicely. She also said she had started using a device called the NuFACE Facial Trainer Kit .

A few days later when Hoda and Kathie Lee were doing their favorite things segment, Kathie Lee said she had purchased a NuFACE and had only been using it for a few days but her makeup artist from the show said she could see a difference. Since I do not believe that putting on 25 pounds will make my face look better, I decided to give this little gadget a try. 🙂

I have used other products with similar technology to the NuFACE, including the FaceMaster Facial Toning System by Suzanne Somers 🙂 and the Microcurrent Facial Toning System by Serious Skincare. All of these products use microcurrent technology with a conductive gel to firm facial muscles.

With the NuFACE, you put the gel on your face and move the device along your jawline, cheeks, and forehead in a systematic manner. I saw this product demonstrated on an infomercial and the creator stressed that we should use it at least five times a week for a month before deciding if we are seeing results. I’m still in that time frame, so I will keep you posted!

I like this little device. It looks like a little frog to me. 🙂 Even on the highest setting, I don’t find the current to be uncomfortable as long as I have applied enough of the gel. If you don’t apply enough, you will probably feel an unpleasant tingly sensation, especially as you approach your hairline. So make sure you use enough.

Some of these gels can be a bit pricey, and I have read reviews that some women like to use aloe vera gel, but I haven’t tried that myself. You can’t use these type of devices if you have a pacemaker, and I have read reviews from those with metal fillings that said it can be uncomfortable if you have them when you pass over that portion of your face.

By the way, there is an app you can download and use to learn how to use the product and personalize your treatment based on your skincare goals.

Here are the instructions that come with the device:

Once I purchased the NuFACE I started reading more about toning facial muscles. Several years ago I purchased a book called Five-Minute Face-lift: A Daily Program for a Beautiful, Wrinkle-Free Face.

I have done the exercises on and off over the years, but I’m not comfortable with some of them because they require scrunching your face up in ways that to me would cause MORE wrinkles, not less.  🙂 But I do like the ones I choose to do.

I’m kind of obsessed with facial toning because we have some pretty potent “puppet mouth” and bad turkey neck mojo in our family. My niece and I were talking about it at Christmas and decided the one cosmetic procedure we would consider down the road is to fix a turkey neck. But I don’t want to do that so I’m trying to stave it off with an ounce of prevention.

So one day I ended up in a YouTube rabbit hole watching videos about facial toning. Have you ever done that? Look up one thing and next thing you know an hour is gone. 🙂

While doing my YouTube research I came across some unconventional skincare tools I had not heard of before. These have been around for many years, and include a jade roller , the Jade Gua Sha Scraping Massage Tool , and here’s a wild one, Silkworm Cocoon Facial Scrubs .

If you have read my blog before you know I’m a bit of a skincare junkie. I just couldn’t resist these so I decided to give them a try.

The jade roller is the first product I tried.

I really like how cool it feels on my face. The more I researched it, the more I learned that many feel it doesn’t necessarily have firming abilities but is a wonderful tool to use to reduce puffiness and to help ingredients in a collagen sheet mask penetrate the skin. (By the way, facial recognition doesn’t work on my phone when I’m wearing a sheet mask. 🙂 ) So while I really like the roller, I will try using it with a mask and maybe not expect so much in its ability to firm the face.

Then I tried the silkworm cocoon facial scrubs with more than a little bit of trepidation. I had never heard of these before and was curious. First of all, the packaging on this particular item is really beautiful.It comes with instructions on how to use the cocoons. You should soak one in warm water for about five minutes to soften it a bit. Then you place one over your fingertip and scrub your face in the recommended pattern.

It made my face a little red when I finished, but not in a bad irritated way, but rather in an increased circulation kind of way. 🙂 And my face was REALLY soft after using the cocoon. It is not recommended for everyday use, so I try to use a cocoon a few times a week. I think it is a really good exfoliator.

After using the jade roller, I decided to try the jade gua sha scraping massage tool in my facial firming quest. Its shape makes it very easy to use on the contours of your face. In learning how to use it, it very much mimics the action of the NuFACE, without the microcurrent. This is the O.G. NuFACE. 🙂

You simply apply a serum or oil to your face to help the tool move along your face without dragging on your skin. Beginning at the neck, you then move along the jawline, the cheekbones, and forehead. The theory behind gua sha is that it promotes cell repair and regeneration.

I learned that this tool is also used by licensed practitioners in many ways to promote healing from injuries and to ease chronic pain. I just want it to firm up my face, so I’m going to keep at it. 🙂 I find it very relaxing. As with the silkworm cocoons, my face is red for a minute after I use this, but again in an increased circulation kind of way.

So I probably need to quit watching the Today Show since it led me down quite a little goose chase. 🙂 But I really like all of these products and will continue to use them in hopes of keeping my face from falling. I know that some of these may seem like some unconventional skincare tools, but only in certain cultures. In others, they have been used for thousands of years. I’m just a little late to the party. 🙂

Do you have a favorite tool you use to pamper your skin or improve firmness? Let me know in the comment section. And I’d love for you to follow me on Pinterest!