Skin care is a forever-evolving science. It's crazy how once upon a time, you could just wash your face and get by. Today there are tons of lotions and potions that promise to shave years and damage off.
All of this is to say I'm usually a little skeptical of things that promise to make a huge difference in your skin's condition. I am, however, a sucker for a good multitool, which is why SolaWave caught my attention.
SolaWave claims to do the work of four skin care tools: gua sha stone, jade roller, UV mask, and heated massager rollers. As someone who uses two of those tools and had curiosity about the others, I decided to give the SolaWave a shot and see if it lived up to the hype.
After checking out SolaWave's options, I decided to get the Skincare Wand With Red Light Therapy & Serum Kit. The wand combines microcurrent, red light therapy, therapeutic warming, and facial massage to help with signs of aging and promote smooth, healthy skin while boosting the skin's natural radiance.
I was surprised at how everything fit into such a compact box. It kind of reminded me of unboxing a cellphone, in a good way. The directions on the box explain that the SolaWave's head only turns in one direction. You've got to fully charge it when you get it before first use.
Once it's charged, prepare for it to turn on when it comes in contact with your skin's warmth. The wand uses smart-touch activation. To turn your wand on and off, you just put the head of the wand against the skin of your face. It's a nice size, too, which makes it easy to move around your face.
As I mentioned before, I sprang for SolaWave's Renew Complex serum. It's formulated with blue tansy, hyaluronic acid, and all-natural aloe vera to evenly carry the microcurrent across the skin. You can use the SolaWave with any serum you choose, however.
Start with a clean, dry face. My skin here is actually in pretty good shape. I'm prone to stress/hormonal breakouts on my cheeks and dryness everywhere but my nose. Pretty much all of my face experiences a bit of redness.
I applied a few drops of the serum and was surprised to find that a little bit goes a long way. I was able to cover my whole face and neck with just five drops.
I turned the head on the SolaWave and got to work. You're supposed to start from the center of your face and draw the wand up and out. The microcurrent felt nice, but I didn't feel the heat as much as I expected. After a few swipes, it felt like my skin had soaked up all the serum.
SolaWave's instructions say to start with five minutes of use a day each day for the first few days you use it. You can work up little by little from there, with a maximum recommended usage of 30 minutes each day.
While you don't necessarily have to use a serum with the wand, it turns on when it comes in contact with hydrated skin. If it's charged and not working, try moisturizing before trying again.
The difference isn't very drastic, but I definitely saw some changes after about a week. My skin seemed to be staying moisturized for longer than usual, which could be the serum or the wand but was nonetheless a welcome surprise.
One of the great things about using this was taking some time to actually do it. It feels pretty nice, and that heated element really helped on those extra-cold February days. That first little bit of change motivated me to keep it up.
After a few more days, the changes were more evident. I was told by a few people that I looked well-rested, which was definitely not the case but nice to hear.
Here's what my face looked like after two weeks flat. I definitely do see some improvements, which is cool since I wasn't looking for any particular changes.
I'm now intrigued with Solawave's blue light wand, which helps with breakouts and acne while providing some of the same benefits as the red light wand. While I debate that one, I'm going to keep using my red light wand and reaping all the benefits.
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