Skip the Dermatologist with At-Home Treatments

by Grace Gold (Subscribe to Grace Gold's posts)
Posted Mar 29th 2010 at 12:00AM

Photo: Getty Images

Gadgets, gizmos, and treatments that offer the experience of the dermatologist's office at home have been rapidly growing in the floundering economy, and the technology they offer are more impressive and effective than ever.

While some women look to these new products to stave off pricey visits to the dermatologist and spa, others use the technology to maintain maximum skincare results between professional treatments.

"I love the microdermabrasion sets you can do at home now. If I use them regularly, I feel like I see similar results to when I used to buy the expensive treatment at the spa. I'll still save to get sunspots lasered at the dermatologist every couple of years, but I've definitely become a junkie for the at-home skincare stuff," says 33 year-old New Jersey resident Cheryl Waters.

Yet it's important to remember that at-home products won't meet the same level of results as professional and dermatologic treatments.

"For these kinds of products to be on the mass market, their strength has to be weakened from what you would get in the doctor's office," says New York Dermatologist Dr. Sapna Westley. "But that doesn't mean you can't overdo it. People have to be careful of overusing devices because you can cause irritation and do more harm than good," adds Dr. Westley.

Signs to look for that indicate you're overdoing it: red, raw or flaking skin that becomes overly sensitive and feels burned. To prevent reaching that point, always start treatments slowly, and gradually build up to more potent strengths as you go.

In the gallery below, we rounded up a group of dermatologist-suggested gadgets you can use at home to get the best skincare results available on the market today. Most of the line up isn't exactly cheap -- but compared to their professional equivalent, they're bargain buys. You'll get the best return on your investment by carefully following the instructions for use, and being diligent about how often you should use them.

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At-Home Dermatologist Treatments

Courtesy Photo

At-Home Dermatologist Treatments

When Clarisonic burst onto the beauty scene with the first electric facial cleanser, the parallel to the squeaky clean shine you get after an electric toothbrush scrub was obvious. Now Clarisonic has a new mini version that comes in fun different shades.

"The Mia is so cute and functional that I even packed it with me for my Moroccan trip. It's a superior way to clean facial skin and can even be used on the legs and feet to exfoliate and enhance blood flow after a long day of trekking!" says Dr. Alster.

Bonus? If you pick the pink shade, Clarisonic will make a donation to breast cancer research.

At-Home Dermatologist Treatments

If age, sun and lack of sleep are wrecking havoc on the skin around your eyes, there's a new device by Clarisonic formulated especially for you. The Clarisonic Infusion is a pod-shaped electric device that dispenses a sea serum into the delicate skin around the eyes with a gently vibrating motion.

"It's like an instant full night's sleep. I love mine," says Dr. Alster.

As a bonus, the sea serum acts as a smooth primer under concealer, to ensure a moist and flawless finish. Customers also say the tapping motion around the eyes feels comforting by bringing circulation to an area that shows age and fatigue first.

At-Home Dermatologist Treatments

Anyone who has ever had eyelash extensions done at a spa knows how time-consuming, costly and high-maintenance it is to maintain. Latisse made waves as the first FDA-approved lash growth product on the market, and dermatologists say that the effects are more than just eye-opening; many patients even experience lashes that extend so far that they flutter against sunglasses.

"I personally use it, and many of my patients do too. The results can be very dramatic!" says Los Angeles Dermatologist Dr. Jessica Wu.

One word of warning: there is a risk that the glaucoma drug ingredient found in Latisse may darken the pupils of light -eyed ladies, so proceed with extreme caution if you have a pair of baby blues or greens. You will also need a prescription from a doctor to get this product filled for at-home use.

Don't want to deal with prescriptions? Try RapidLash, an over the counter competitor to Latisse. While it doesn't contain the same glaucoma drug that spurs extra long lash growth, it does contain a blend of vitamins and nutrients that naturally make lashes grow longer.

At-Home Dermatologist Treatments

"The new Neutrogena Wave Duo offers a nice at-home exfoliation and deep clean reminiscent to an in-office microdermabrasion or spa facial. The vibrating gizmo uses soft textured pads with a foaming cleanser to remove dirt deep in the pores and buff away dead skin cells on the surface for soft, smooth skin," says New York Dermatologist Dr. David Bank.

Unlike other hand held cleansers on the market, the Neutrogena device uses two speeds; the slow cycle is perfect for daily gentle cleansing needs, while the faster speed makes for a deeper and more thorough pore sweep.

At-Home Dermatologist Treatments

Another eye cream to bring a laser-like effect to the market is Avon's Anew Reversalist Illuminating Eye System. This two-part eye treatment brightens dark undereye circles by first treating the area with botanical extracts that increase cell turnover and clarity. A sheer veil cream is then applied on top, which is chock full of brighteners like mica and titanium dioxide to luminously reflect light and fake a brightened look.

"Treatments you use at home aren't going to be as effective as a dermatologist's laser, but you can still see some results if you stay consistent with use," says Dr. Westley.

At-Home Dermatologist Treatments

For a classic can't-go-wrong treatment to try at home, microdermabrasion produces instant glowing results with just one treatment.

"The at-home microdermbrasion kits can make skin smoother and brighter right away. I just suggest you don't do exfoliation treatments like this more than twice a week, or else you risk irritating your skin," says Dr. Westley.

Olay's Regenerist Microdermabrasion & Peel System combines a fine scrub with a serum you layer over the crystals to plump and smoothe skin with peptides for even more instant gratification glowing results.

At-Home Dermatologist Treatments

Dr. Banks also has a preferred eye saver. "While not an actual gizmo, RoC's Brilliance Eye Beautifier cream has gadget-like properties in that when activated, the cream produces tiny electrical currents that mimic the skin's own cell to cell communications to help restore cells back to a more youthful state," says Dr. Bank.

"Like everything else in the aging process, your electrical signals gets weaker as you get old, so this product gets your electrical impulse up to the level of a 20 year-old, which in turn increases cell production, collagen, skin repair from the sun and aging and a decrease in inflammation," adds Dr. Bank.

The technology sounds very similar to a Neutrogena moisturizer we just covered; it looks like skin electricity is the newest flashy trend on the skin care market.

At-Home Dermatologist Treatments

"The device delivers Light Emitting Diodes (LED) therapy which have been shown to help kill bacteria, which is how you can help acne," says Dr. Bank.

Because acne thrives on bacteria, you'll see results rapidly when treating an active acne spot; there's usually even a difference in as little as 24 hours. In order to enjoy the most optimal benefits possible, be sure to use the Tända regularly, or else troublesome bacteria will be given the opportunity to grow back and multiply into another big, bad break-out.

At-Home Dermatologist Treatments

Dr. Bank says the light-emitting diodes in this hand-held device stimulates collagen, which can have the effect of minimizing and decreasing wrinkles. Tända also sells botanical gels which enhance the youth-defying effects when used in conjunction with the device.

And because collagen doesn't just pop up overnight, but rather takes weeks and even months to surface, you'll have to bring both patience and diligence with you to see palpable results with this gadget.

At-Home Dermatologist Treatments

Although the Tria Laser Hair Removal System doesn't match the power of lasers found in a dermatologist's office, Dr. Bank says the tool shows great results in reducing the rate and amount of hair growth. "Beams of laser energy are absorbed by the dark pigment in hair and converted into heat, which injures or disrupts the hair follicle, thwarting hair growth," explains Dr. Bank.

Best results are seen in women with a light skin and dark hair contrast, as the laser works by seeking out the darkness of the hair follicle. The DIY technology is not there yet for deeper ethnic skin tones who still need to see a professional for safe laser hair removal, but we think it's only a matter of time before someone brings a hair removal product for dark tones to the mass market.

At-Home Dermatologist Treatments

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