The biggest surprise of this £2,000 wand? It works!
Like so many gadgets, it promises to zap wrinkles and plump skin, so beauty cynic VICTORIA WOODHALL wasn’t expecting miracles. But guess what...
Depending on how you look at it, the black wand in my hand, with its eerie blue beam, could be something out of Mission: impossible or Ann Summers.
This torch is, in fact, a world first in at-home beauty gadgets, which is why i’m gliding it over my face rather than taking it outside to see if there’s a hedgehog in the garden.
gadgets using Led light to treat acne and boost skin quality are nothing new. But this six-inch cylinder claims to be 100 times more powerful than an Led light, and is in fact a laser.
its makers, Lyma, says the wand can penetrate up to 8cm below the surface of the skin, right to the muscle, to give you firmer skin, even out skin tone, decrease pigmentation and help heal conditions such as acne and rosacea, as well as fade scars. And it’s yours for a pass-the-smelling-salts £1,999.
it was an accidental discovery. The technology of low-level laser therapy has been used medically since the 1970s to rejuvenate joints and tissues, and to heal wounds and scars after surgery.
it made the leap into a beauty treatment when Lyma’s scientific adviser dr paul Clayton was shown ‘after’ pictures of a healed knee injury by medical colleagues and realised he was looking at an extremely powerful skin rejuvenator.
There are other at-home lasers, which are mainly used for hair removal, so what makes this so special?
According to Lyma founder Lucy goff, this is the first time a hospital-strength laser with diffuser technology has been made safe for use at home. ‘it won’t damage the retina and can be used around the eyes for fine lines and dark circles,’ she says.
That’s why i’m not lying on a medical couch but on my own sofa, watching TV as i carry out the second of my 15minute daily treatments.
Unlike many beauty gadgets i’ve tried, the Lyma is completely silent. There’s no flashing or clicking or beeping, and it’s cordless.
i’ve had to take all my make-up off and cleanse my skin, so that i can spray on the Lyma Active Mist and apply the Lyma priming Serum that come with the wand.
AS we age, the energy banks of cells that power the production of collagen, elastin and muscle tissue start to flag — and we start to sag.
The laser sparks these cell batteries back to life, to get them to behave as they did when you were in your 20s. The laser makes your skin work like new every day, while the skincare provides the fuel to keep it running, in the form of oxygen and other goodies.
it won’t make me look like my 20-year-old self, Lucy explains, but i will start to notice the expression lines on my forehead and around my eyes snapping back when my face is at rest. My skin will also become plumper and smoother, because the laser is rejuvenating my collagen and going deep enough to boost my muscle tissue, too.
Unlike other anti-ageing power treatments such as microneedling, the laser does not damage the skin to get a healing response. it simply gives it back its youthful energy.
next, i apply my favourite facial oil and glide the laser over my cheeks, forehead and chin. i pay particular attention to my trouble zones: sun spots on my cheeks, my crow’s feet, my deep forehead furrows and my emerging marionette lines. it feels relaxing. Unlike the beauty lasers i am used to from professional facials, there is no uncomfortable heat, or the sensation of having an elastic band twanged on to the skin which leaves you red-faced. This is a ‘cold laser’ that stimulates the deeper layers of the skin without me being able to feel anything. i have been given one of only ten prototypes to test. Lyma’s own doctor-controlled tests on ten people aged 35 to 65, using both the laser and the skincare, showed pigmentation reduced by 64 per cent, rosacea by 42 per cent, acne by 56 per cent and wrinkle depth more than halved in five weeks. So far, so impressive. They also gave the kit to plastic and aesthetic surgeon dr graeme glass, associate professor of clinical surgery at weill Cornell Medical College in new York. initially sceptical, he tried it on himself, his wife, his colleagues and even his children’s cuts and grazes.
‘The main indication was skin rejuvenation,’ he says. ‘in my case, fine wrinkles around the eyes and face, bluish discoloration around the lower eyelids, roughness of my skin, and textural irregularity of my skin and razor burn.’
HiS wife noticed the effects on her pigmentation more. ‘when it was used regularly we all felt that it gave the skin a brighter, fresher, more even complexion that looks healthy and youthful,’ he adds.
Facialist nichola Joss has also seen good results after six weeks using the Lyma.
‘My skin looks and feels totally rejuvenated — it’s brighter, tighter and more toned, with wrinkles and broken veins visibly reduced,’ she says.
As for me, i’ve been using it for just over a month now, twice a day. At first i didn’t notice a thing. But towards the end of week three, i started to notice the smile lines round my eyes softening. now my dark circles are less visible and, despite wearing a mask every day, i have no ‘maskne’ spots. in general, my skin looks really good.
dr glass says to expect a difference after three weeks, and adds that i would need to keep using it every day long-term. As i’m looking for results on some pretty deep expression lines, i ought to wait at least three months, adds Lucy.
debbie Thomas, of the d. Thomas Clinic in London, has not seen the laser but says: ‘i love light therapy…These wavelengths of light have been proven to heal, repair and reduce inflammation.’
For the next few weeks you’ll find me on my couch in front of the TV preparing to emerge with a face as wrinkle-free as a 20-year-old’s knees.
would i buy the Lyma? Yes, i would. But like my sofa, which cost the same, the promise of pillowy plumpness is good but two years’ interest-free credit would seal the deal.
THE Lyma starter kit costs £1,999 (lyma.life)