At-home tweakments

We’ve put the latest gadgets to the test to find out if you can achieve professional results without leaving your house. Fiona McKim reports

- MARTINIQUE STEVENS

For a glow: try LED

IN THE CLINIC Quick, gentle, and relatively affordable, LED therapy sends various wavelengths of light into the skin, each with its own benefits. The shallowest light, blue, blitzes surface bacteria, red stimulates collagen, and invisible infrared digs deeper for an anti-inflammatory effect.

AT HOME Light therapy works best with a ‘little and often’ approach, meaning regular DIY LED could be a better bet than a professional session once in a blue moon. Best Beauty Buys LED Light Therapy Mask with neck piece, R2 495, is a sizeable investment and looks a bit unsettling, but offers powerful customisable combos of seven types of LED in sessions of 10 to 20 minutes.

HOW IT FEELS It’s satisfyingly weighty, similar to sitting under an anti-anxiety blanket. You can watch TV through the eyeholes (just about), and it’s a warm, relaxing way to soothe, repair, and brew up new collagen.

For plumping: try microneedling

IN THE CLINIC If you think this sounds torturous, you’re not entirely wrong. Needles of 0,5 to 1,5mm are rolled over the skin to encourage healing collagen and elastin to form. The punctures help products absorb, and feel anywhere between prickly and painful, sometimes with swelling and downtime.

AT HOME Needling fanatics have been buying budget dermarollers online for years, but there’s also an impressive array of salon-grade options like Environ Instruments Cosmetic Gold Roll-CIT, RRSP R3 120, with 0,3mm needles.