The Beauty Sleuth

This segment is part of a series of reviews on home-use personal beauty devices. I will be uploading these in depth reivews and news in the coming weeks. Here is the first of the series:

Everyone wants to have gorgeous skin, regardless of age. But eventually, we all begin to see an interesting transformation—for some it may come as early as mid-twenties and for others, not until later but regardless which hits closer to home, it can make many feel more than a little anxious and hyper-aware of the passage of time, owing to the fact that they can now see evidence of this on their faces. For me, I have always appreciated ( as have many of my beauty obsessed friends ) that the aging thing doesn’t really happen overnight, even when this seems to be so. It’s an stealthy decline that gives the illusion of happening quite without warning. All of a sudden, we become acutely aware of a deep crinkle here, a plethora of age spots there, a blurred jawline —the result of gravity taking its inevitable toll. All of this can lead us to look for some external help. Of course for those who are acquainted with my beauty philosophy know how much I abhor facial surgery, fillers, Botox and the like. I have observed far too many people who have gone this route only to be left with a thoroughly surreal looking visage afterwards. Notice, I didn’t say “Youthful”.

Perhaps you have been contemplating potential options for aging gracefully. Doing your due diligence, checking and cross checking the Dermatologist / Spa / Personal therapists laundry-list of procedures for improving one’s aging countenance can not only be overwhelming but confusing as well. For some, you have embraced The List. That being the game plan outlined by your Dermo, Spa or Skin Therapist and having dropped some serious cash, very likely look Pretty Damn Good. And so you should. However, for many others, this may have been a solution that was out of reach and have made do with whatever their pocketbook could bear. Now, I believe there is a third option that lies somewhere in between. Rejoice the non-invasive beauty overhaul! Recently, I have come across a number of home-use, Spa class beauty appliances which will not only help to maintain your youthful features but help keep skin taut, smooth and blemish free as well. Some of these home devices could help stave off major cosmetic procedures altogether. Who wouldn’t love that?

To be fair, I don’t want to mislead you. Most of these home devices aren’t cheap. In fact, this may be a factor which stops some from purchasing. But consider this: If you opt for the aforementioned List, which could entail a cocktail of Microcurrent Therapy, Laser treatments, Light Therapy, Micro Dermabrasion etc etc etc you know that will fetch a very pretty penny. By contrast, the home-devices I have reviewed retail for about what one may expect to pay for a single service from The List. In essence, after the first few uses, you’ll be in the clear as far as primary costs. With that in mind, my goal was to test drive a few devices to see which were worthy of laying down cold hard cash ( yours and mine!) for. I test drove each device for 6 weeks so that I could document real results for each. Here are my findings:

BMR- bio medical research

BMR Slendertone, an Irish-based company, has created a trilogy of body and facial contouring devices for home use. The BMR Beauty Lift series uses Electronic Muscle Stimulation (EMS) technology which creates strong, deep muscle contractions that tone the body and and has been using this technology for over 40 years in hospitals, clinics and physiotherapy practices around the world to strengthen and rehabilitate muscles. In addition to this BMR are one of the few home devices, with proven results that has FDA approval.

For my purpose, I focused on the facial device, however BMR makes three additional devices for use on arms, buttocks and tummy areas of the body. BMR Facial Toner was created to stimulate the musculature of the face by engaging the facial muscles under the skin to strengthen and firm. The device looks a little like a headphone, with two square facial pads on each side of a headset, and sticky conductor gel pads on each head. The first time using this device feels pretty strange, as you can feel the contractions at distinct areas all over the face. The muscles that are slack, will contract more than the muscles that are not and afterwards there is definitely a muscle ache, similar to when you work out your body. It is not an uncomfortable feeling and once you get used to the sensation it is quite relaxing. After my first treatment, I noticed that I could feel a slight tenderness and warmth all over my face but this dissipated after a day. The more you use the device the easier it gets and after the 12 week session, you can maintain the muscles just like you would with any other workouts with a maintenance treatment once or twice a week. I like to think of it like this: It really comes down to consistency. If you consistently use these devices, you will see results. It’s about being commited to integrating the program into your life that and feeling confident that the results will follow.

The device has a rechargeable battery which is nice because you won’t have to be tethered to a power source which allows you to do other things while working out your face. The device has a control unit which regulates the strength of each contraction as well as a therapy timer. Its important to note that while BMR suggests a full twelve weeks of daily use before results are seen, but it is possible to use the device a little as three times a week, for half an hour and see tangible results. My male tester ( YES, guys can use this device too! ) did this and we saw results. His jawline was more defined, and the wrinkles around his mouth and eyes were lessened. To date, he is still using the device, which says a lot. Most guys won’t stay with a product unless they see real results.

For the body devices, I tested the tummy contour belt. Like the facial device it works in the same way to stimulate abdominal muscles using Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) technology for deep contractions which are designed to mimic natural body movements. Again, like the facial device, it has a rechargeable battery, and a control panel to adjust the strength of the contractions (up to 99 levels) as well as a timer.
As with all the BMR devices, it is advised not to use at the same time as any other. I found this to be very effective and after my six week trail noticed muscles that I had not seen in some time despite all the ab work done at the gym. Nirvana!

Overall, the BMR series of devices are a clear winner for those who want to take control of their beauty regime and at roughly $200.00 for the body device and $395.00 for the Face, it is an economical way to go for long term results. Treatment series similar to these in a spa setting would run you about $200-$300 per visit so do the math, it works out to be a pretty good deal overall.

BMR Beauty devices are available at www.bmrbeauty.com