I Tested Shark’s New At-Home Facial Device and It De-Gunked My Pores
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Over the years, I have gotten many a Hydrafacial. The Hydrafacial, a favorite of dermatologists and aestheticians alike, was basically the upgraded version of old-school microdermabrasion and would use a similar exfoliator tip to gently buff away layers of dead skin. But what made it different is it would pair that manual exfoliation with suction to extract debris from your pores while simultaneously infusing the skin with different targeted serums. The treatment, while relatively fast, was expensive. And you could only ever get it in office. Until now.
Shark Beauty, which has been on a run of impressive beauty-tech releases including its CryoGlowface maskand theFlexStyle air styler, has released the FacialPro Glow, basically an at-home Hydrafacial combined with cryotherapy. I was lucky enough to be one of the first to get my hands on the machine and put it through its paces.
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What’s in the box
The FacialPro Glow comes in three pieces: the base, the exfoliating attachment, and the DePuffi attachment. The DePuffi attachment is basically a giant gua sha that utilizes both cold and heat therapy to depuff, sculpt, and prep the skin. And the exfoliating attachment uses suction and water to extract and infuse hydration. When using the exfoliating attachment, you can choose between four “hydra-abrasion” tips, two gentle tips for gentler exfoliation or for those with sensitive skin, and two regular tips for a deeper pore extraction.
The system also includes two skin-care products that are meant to be used alongside the machine. Detox, an AHA- and BHA-infused active serum, and Infuse, a hyaluronic-acid serum meant to boost hydration.
How it works
I was able to attend a master class hosted by aesthetician Sofie Pavitt who walked me through each step of the process. After cleansing the skin and removing all makeup and sunscreen, the first step is to pop the DePuffi attachment on and set it to InstaHeat. This mimics the steam used in a traditional facial, with the heat softening the skin so it’s primed for the extraction process. I was immediately impressed by how soothing the DePuffi was. The contoured stainless-steel head was extremely ergonomic and, after finishing my face, I even used it to massage out my neck and traps that were sore from shoulder day at the gym. Sofie’s tip? Leave the skin slightly damp after cleansing to give the DePuffi some slip to glide against. This is sage advice. I tried it on dry skin and it definitely created some friction.
After that, I applied the Detox gel for three minutes to allow the glycolic and and salicylic acids to eat away at my dead skin cells. This is where the FacialPro Glow most differs from a true Hydrafacial. While a Hydrafacial sands away the dead skin cells using manual exfoliation from the tips, the HydroGlow relies on this serum step to chemically exfoliate.
While the gel sits, I filled the exfoliation attachment’s tank with water and selected one of the gentle tips. Once powered on, I slid the tip across my face, starting with my cheeks and forehead, then really focusing on my chin and jaw where my skin is usually the most congested. Midway through, I swapped for the more narrow gentle tip that is meant to get into the crevices around my T-zone. For this part, you want to hold the skin taut with one hand while gliding the tip along with the other. If the skin is slack, the suction can’t really “catch” onto the skin. This took some trial and error, but I eventually figured out that if I heard the device “popping” and breaking the seal each time I lifted it off my face, then I was doing it right. The machine was like a tiny vacuum, sucking debris, dead skin cells, and oil out of my pores. In other words, all the gunk. After this step was done, I dumped out the dirty water and had the gross-yet-satisfying pleasure of seeing all the gunk floating in the now-cloudy water.
I then refilled the tank with the Infuse serum and repeated the process, but this time the machine was busy infusing my skin with hyaluronic acid and peptides.
For the final step, I went back to the DePuffi, this time set to InstaChill, to soothe my skin and reduce redness. The InstaChill is excellent and reminded me of the same cryotherapy used in Shark’s LED light mask to reduce under-eye puffiness.
My results
After completing the exfoliation process, my skin was definitely quite red, which is fairly normal. The DePuffi is definitely an essential step. It really helped calm my skin and generally sculpted my face nicely so by the time I walked out of the master class, I felt confident enough to go straight to dinner, though I was still a bit rosy.
The next day, my skin looked more even and radiant and I do think it helped get rid of some pebbly texture I almost always have around my chin and jawline (no small feat, for sure). In the week since, I have also used the DePuffi attachment just on its own to reduce morning puffiness with the cold therapy. And, after an afternoon of stress clenching my teeth, I used the heat setting to massage out my perpetually aching jaw, so big bonus there. I have never been able to stick to any gua sha or lymphatic-drainage routine, but the temperature therapy of this device makes it much more enticing.
Final takeaway
The FacialPro Glow is not cheap. It’s $399 and, after that initial investment, you would have to repurchase at least the Hydro Infuse serum on the regular since you go through quite a bit of product each time to fill the water tank up. Though I do think you could use your own AHA or BHA active serum of choice as a prep step.
That being said, with the average cost of a Hydrafacial running somewhere in the $150 to $300 range these days, the FacialPro Glow would absolutely save money in the long run. Plus, the Hydrafacial was always meant to be done in a series for best results. Personally, I was never able to afford the service frequently enough to really see anything more than a temporary improvement in my skin. This is really where the FacialPro Glow shines. Being able to use it on a weekly basis at home feels like a real luxury, and I’m excited to add it in alongside my LED mask and microcurrent device for a full, at-home facial experience.
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