Building an At-Home Device Routine

The most common mistake with at-home devices is not using them too little. It is buying three at once and using all of them in the same week.

Introduce one thing at a time

Start with a single device and use it for two weeks before adding anything else. If your skin reacts, you will know exactly what caused it. Add the second device only once the first feels routine.

Do not stack energy on the same area

IPL, diode laser and radio frequency all deliver heat into the skin. Using two of them on the same area on the same day is how people end up with burns. Separate them by at least 48 hours, and never combine RF microneedling with light-based hair removal in the same week.

LED, microcurrent and cryo are different. They add no meaningful heat and can sit alongside anything.

A workable weekly shape

• Daily: LED for ten minutes, or microcurrent for five
• Weekly: IPL, on a day with no other treatment
• Monthly: RF microneedling, with nothing else that week
• As needed: cryo after any session, or on a puffy morning

Where skincare fits

Treat on clean, dry, product-free skin. Apply serums and moisturiser afterwards, not before — anything on the skin surface changes how energy is absorbed, and oils in particular can cause hot spots.

Pause retinoids for about five days either side of RF microneedling. Sunscreen is not optional on any day you have treated.

Give it time

Hair removal shows in three to four sessions. Tone and clarity from LED takes four to six weeks. Firmness from microcurrent needs daily use for eight weeks and fades if you stop. Texture from RF takes three monthly sessions. Nothing here works in a week.

Read Device Safety before combining anything.