Skin care for the do-it-yourselfers

If you want to maintain results from office treatments (or go it alone), gadgets are available. Here’s what you should know:

We live in an on-demand world — with the expectation that our meals, entertainment and transportation will be available in a few minutes — or in an instant.

That “right-now” mantra is also transforming the way we approach skin care and anti-aging treatments as we continue to spend big on cosmetic surgery and in-office procedures. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons estimates that we shelled out $16 billion on liposuction, tummy tucks, fillers and laser treatments, among other procedures, in 2016.

Although doctors are often quick to point out that their professional machines deliver stronger, more-intensive treatments than the gadgets that a consumer might order online, the market for hightech devices that can be used at home — micro-needling rollers, LED chromotherapy tools, radiofrequency wands — is flourishing.

Now, if you’re hoping for a collagen-stimulating extravaganza while texting and live-streaming at 1 a.m., you’re in luck.

“Many of today’s women don’t want their mother’s plastic surgeon or the results,” says Amy Kamin, chief executive of EndyMed, an Israel-based company that introduced a use-athome radio frequency machine last year. “They want to look like themselves, but they want to see the results at home. Everyone is busy.”

The device, called the NEWA, is a small version the EndyMed machines in medical offices and spas. It is, Kamin says, for consumers who want “to maintain what they’ve done at the doctor’s office — or someone who can’t pay thousands of dollars for a series of treatments.”

Many of the use-at-home products fall into one of six categories:

• Machines, like the NEWA, that deliver radio-frequency energy into the skin with the goal of increasing collagen and elastin production to lift and tighten the skin.

• Nano-current machines that deliver electrical waves to the skin to stimulate adenosine triphosphate, a nucleotide that plays a crucial role in skin rejuvenation (and a naturally occurring cellbuilding block that declines with age).

• Micro-needling machines that prick the skin with tiny needles. The healing process is supposed to stimulate collagen growth.

• LED chromotherapy lights, which are used to eradicate acnecausing bacteria, stimulate collagen growth and reduce irritation.

• Sonic-cleansing devices, a category pioneered by Clarisonic.

• Gadgets with sensors that were created to check your skin’s moisture levels and pigmentation or provide data on UV rays, humidity levels and temperature.

“The amount of research that is going on to develop things is wonderful,” says Dr. Jenny Kim, a professor of dermatology and the director of cosmetic dermatology at UCLA. Many of the technologies can improve skin conditions, she says, but she cautions that in-office and at-home treatments may not result in the same outcomes.

“Red LED light,” Dr. Kim says, “has been shown to help with inducing collagen — reversing photo damage and things like that.”

Microneedling, where the skin comes into contact with tiny needles in a roller, “has become very popular in the last five years or so. A tiny injury to the skin is done, and that creates healing and, therefore, new collagen and regeneration.” But, she adds, “You have to develop something that is effective and safe for everybody. It’s hard to monitor home devices.”

Radio-frequency technology “and what it does in terms of getting thermal stimulation to our tissue and activating collagen stimulation is true,” she says. “Whether a [home] device gets the clinical outcome it is touting is less clear. For many consumers, it comes down to what works for your friends and family.”

Some over-the-counter gadgets have prompted conversations and warnings about safety issues. The U.S. government “requires medical device manufacturers to get marketing clearance before offering them for sale,” according to the FDA website, but not all of the useat-home machines fall in the “medical devices” category. A little homework is in order for anyone considering a purchase.