The ReAura experience and my tips + tricks
The ReAura is undoubtedly one of the most lavish at home beauty devices around right now. If you are thinking of buying one, a key question you should probably ask yourself is: will I continue to use it after a first flurry of excitement or will it end up at the back of a cupboard somewhere, collecting dust, never to see the light of day again.
When you are spending this sort of money – it costs £799 – you need to be sure that you will be able to (and want to) keep up with the treatment regime required. In this second and final post (first post here) I’m going to talk about the treatment process, what using the ReAura actually feels like, and finish off with some tips and tricks that I have picked up over the past 2 years.
The regime
The ReAura stimulates the skin’s natural cell renewal process to tackle multiple signs of ageing including skin tone, skin texture and fine lines. It can be used on the hands, neck, décolletage and arms, as well as the face. In part 1 I explained that for me what it does best is improve tone and texture.
The ReAura is used twice weekly for eight weeks per treatment cycle. Treatment involves putting a pea sized dollop of laser performance gel on the finger and applying it to one zone (the face has 3 zones). The gel helps the device to glide and keep optimal contact with the skin. You then move the ReAura across the skin in two different directions until you hear an audible tone telling you that treatment is complete. Next apply the included laser aftercare complex to soothe the skin.
So what does it feel like to use?
This is a serious piece of kit and it needs to be treated with respect and also those great results do come with a sting – literally!
By respect I mean it is important to follow Philips’ treatment guidelines, ie DON’T use products containing AHAs and Glycolic Acid, DO leave at least 48 hours between treatments, DO apply a sunscreen with a minimum SPF 30 if going outside, and DO leave at least 2 weeks between the end of one 8 week treatment plan and the start of another (I think a month gap is better to give the skin proper recovery time).
The sting I refer to is the feel of the ReAura on the skin, often described as like being flicked with a rubber band. For me this device is not pleasant to use. Never has been and still isn’t. The skin gets quite hot, red and a little swollen during and after treatment.
I treat in the evening and even by the next morning my skin is usually still a little pink – the redness gets worse as I progress though the eight week programme. Don’t let this put you off though. The discomfort is quite bearable and worth it for the results, plus there are things you can do to help to ease the pain.
Over the months and years, treatment has got easier and quicker. It currently takes me just 10-15 minutes to treat my whole face. So all-in-all it eats up just half an hour of my weekly timetable to use. But because my face is left a little swollen and hot, I spend a good 30 minutes or longer calming the skin after.
Tips and Tricks
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| ReAura: my layering devices help ease treatment discomfort |
I have experimented with various different things to ease the discomfort to the point where I have now settled upon a treatment protocol that works really well for me.
Immediately after a ReAura session I apply the laser aftercare complex. This contains calming chamomile as well as anti-inflammatory St. John's Wort and edelweiss extracts. It works, I do like it, but I have found that using it in conjunction with some of my other home tools helps to calm my skin more quickly.
So out next comes my Anti-Ageing LightStim. This is a light therapy device equipped with red, amber and infra red LEDs – infra red is anti-inflammatory.
I treat for 6 minutes on each side of my face, 3 minutes on the lower part of the cheek and 3 minutes on the upper (where the redness and sting is worse). Next, I treat with a home ultrasound device (Sqoom in my case) to push soothing and calming ingredients deep in to my skin.
Ingredients like Aloe Vera and hyaluronic acid will help soothe and hydrate skin, supplementing ReAura’s own laser aftercare complex. I highly recommend pure aloe vera gel from Holland & Barrett (£6.99 for 200ml), available here .
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| ReAura: my supplementary skincare products |
Two other masks I often use and which are extremely good value are Avene’s Soothing Moisture Mask (£11.50 for 50ml) available at Boots and Avene’s Antirougeurs Jour for redness relief (£13.50 for 40ml) also at Boots .
This layering of treatments has made a massive difference to my ReAura experience. The stinging improves very quickly and by the time I go to bed much of the redness has gone. By morning there is barely a trace of pink, even when I’m 8 weeks in to a programme.
Other tricks include placing an ice pack wrapped in a tea towel gently on your cheeks for a few minutes. This will provide relief from some of the heat. Or, put a damp muslin cloth in the freezer before treating and when finished take it out and gently drape over the face. For further cooling, spritz over the top a thermal water spray such as Avene (£3.15 for 50ml) available here .
Summary
The ReAura remains an amazing home device two years on. There are now other similar devices on the market, not least the Tria Beauty’s Skin Rejuvenating Laser which at £450 is considerably cheaper but there are differences – a key one is that the Tria requires daily treatment compared to the Re-Aura’s bi-weekly.
Furthermore, in this ever evolving and innovating world of beauty it surely won’t be long before something totally new comes along that will completely blow our minds.
