I Used the Ziip Halo for a Month and the Results Were Uplifting

• Ease of Use: 19/20
• Product Design: 20/20
• Value: 18/20
• Effectiveness: 18/20
• Wow Factor: 20/20
  
  TOTAL: 95/100

Pronounced under-eye circles. Furrowed forehead creases. Totally un-funny laugh lines. These are some of my recurring skin-care woes, so when I learned of a new home skin-care device called the ZIIP Halo ($349) that promises face-freshening results, I was curious. Would this device, which uses two types of electric currents to yield both short- and long-term benefits, be worth the investment? I've loved the mini-lifting effects of other facial skincare devices in the past, and I'd heard celebs used this treatment before red-carpet events, so it had to be something special right? Skeptical and hopeful at the same time, I decided to give the ZIIP Halo a try; here’s what I discovered.

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I used the ZIIP Halo five days a week for a month straight. I'd use it in the mornings, right after brushing my teeth, since the temporary lift it provided made me look a little more awake and snatched after I followed the four-minute Lift treatment, which I accessed via an accompanying app. At least once a week, I'd treat myself to a longer 12-minute treatment, which required slightly more involved instructions for where to swipe the device and for how long. Fortunately, all of the 13 treatments offered through the app are fairly simple to follow since they come with video tutorials led by facialist and founder Melanie Simon.

There’s a temporary plumping effect you get because you’re drawing blood to your dermal tissue, so your skin appears more "pumped up" and thus, higher and tighter right afterwards. There’s also a longer-lasting effect since the microcurrent also strengthens your facial muscles over time to support your skin so your face will look more taut. Additionally, the nanocurrent part of the dual-wave technology stimulates something called adenosine triphosphate, which is one of the nucleotides linked to cellular replication and skin repair. Long-term benefits are slow, but cumulative, and whereas I’d spent a couple hundred dollars on a single in-office treatment, this device lets you zap away to your heart’s content anytime you want (after your initial investment of $349 for the device and first bottle of conductive gel, of course).

First, you slather your face and neck with four to six pumps of a conductive gel. ZIIP offers four formulations: I used the ZIIP Electric Complex Gel ($25), which comes with the device, though previously I used their Golden Gel ($129), which contains more smoothing and plumping ingredients like peptides, niacinamide and aloe leaf extract. These gels are necessary to create a pathway for the electricity to move through, which I can confirm because one morning, while half-asleep, I accidentally used the device on dry skin, and I didn't feel the device's little hum or gentle jolt, nor did its little light glow, as it does when the Halo is functioning correctly.

Using the ZIIP Halo was surprisingly simple, because all of my questions were answered either in the tutorials or by the device itself (it’s programmed to beep or vibrate to signal when you need to move on to the next stroke). I started by running the device over one side of my neck (two swipes upward) and then proceeded to my lips, nasolabial folds, under-eye area, cheekbones and forehead. The key move? Always keep both silver knobs on the skin during each swipe, which can last anywhere between two to 10 seconds.

The NuFace Trinity+ Device ($395) is s another popular microcurrent tool on the market (that PureWow also loves).The primary difference between the ZIIP Halo and the NuFace is the NuFace doesn't deploy nanocurrents in addition to microcurrents, as the ZIIP Halo does, which further activates collagen and elastin production to deliver more lifting and smoothing benefits. Additionally, the ZIIP Halo is designed to look more like a computer mouse, so it feels easy to cradle in the hand, while the NuFace Trinity+ looks more like a paddle with two contact points and feels in my experience a bit more awkward to use.

Melanie Simon, the device's inventor, recommends using the Halo no more than six times a week, and suggests that using it two to three times weekly is enough to achieve your desired results. And because the device is so powerful, there are special precautions regarding use simultaneous with Retin-A and on rosacea flare-ups, as well as contraindications against using the device if you have a pacemaker.

Considering a microcurrent facial costs upwards of $200 in Los Angeles, where I live, and this device has both immediate and cumulative long-term effects, I'd say it's a bargain for people who take good care of their skin. Also, it makes a great gift for beauty enthusiasts, since the face-sculpting results are satisfying and it adds a little moment of zen to your day, with the calm voice of founder Melanie Simon coaching you from the app.After comprehensive testing, I'd recommend starting with the Electric Complex Gel, then upgrading to one of the performance-targeted gels infused with ingredients for mature, sensitive or sluggish skin once you've committed to your new regimen.