Do It Yourself

Home beauty gadgets that mimic doctoradministered aesthetic treatments are becoming a staple in our everyday skincare routines - but are they as effective as the real thing?

- VANESSA CHIA

While the World Health Organization (WHO) recently downgraded Covid-19 to a non-public health emergency, one thing’s still for certain: The trend of at-home facial devices, which soared in popularity during the pandemic, is here to stay.

What’s more, the beauty industry’s current focus on promoting skin health has led to more women investing in not only skincare products, but DIY beauty gadgets as well.

For some, a skincare routine that includes the diligent use of a facial device can supplement their regular aesthetic treatments done at the doctor’s office. For others, it’s an easy first step to achieving a similar treatment result without the discomfort and downtime of in-clinic options.

"We have been seeing customers incorporating home tools into their daily routines for a few years now. Women like the science and the clinicals behind many of the technologies used in these devices and, having had similar treatments in the spa or clinic, they know and trust them," says Newby Hands, global beauty director at Net-a-porter.

Kim Byung Hoon, chief executive officer of APR Corporation, which owns K-beauty brand Medicube, says: "Beauty devices are as symbolic as smartphones are within the mobile phone market."

He shares that customers who are diligent in keeping up with their youthful-appearance goals have shown interest in beauty devices that "improve skin with effective anti-ageing effects".