Meet ZIIP, my skin’s new best friend
I love a good skincare tool, whether high tech or manual (such as a massaging gua sha stone or dermaroller). I try to treat my face to one of these anti-aging add-ons every day, but I have a brand-new, shiny toy that has been monopolizing my bonus skincare time since it arrived last week.
It’s called ZIIP, and if you haven’t heard of it, you’re going to want one after you read this. If you have heard of it and don't have one, you’ll want one even more—and if you do have one, you’re probably as obsessed with it as I am.
Say hello to my little friend…
But let me back up for second… In all of my years as a beauty editor and writer, one of my most memorable treatment experiences was an electro-stimulation facial performed by Dr. Nicholas Perricone. (A close second was a facial with Jo Malone—during which she told me I should be on Accutane—but that’s another story.) It’s hard to explain what it feels like when an electrical current is directed through your face, but the results can be described up as nothing less than astonishing. Although temporary, you literally look like you got a facelift.
The ZIIP is basically the only device out there that lets you give yourself an electrical facial at home, and the technology does more than just mitigate the pull of gravity. The combination of nanocurrents and microcurrents stimulate cellular communication and jumpstart the skin’s healing process to prompt the production of collagen and elastin. This aspect of the ZIIP’s action can take several weeks or more to become visible—BUT whatever the device is “saying” to my cells leaves me looking incredibly refreshed and rejuvenated immediately after every time I use it (which has been almost every day). Perhaps it’s all the growth factors, snail-venom peptides, bio-placenta (yup) and 24-karat gold in the oil-free Golden Gel that you apply before treatment to create conductivity—or maybe it’s the fact that your face muscles get a workout. (Honestly, I don’t care.)
The not-so-secret sauce.
What’s really cool is that you use the ZIIP app to select from several “treatments” designed to prep and brighten your skin, lift and enhance radiance, depuff and define contours, calm irritation, sculpt and energize, rejuvenate the eyes, minimize pores, treat unwanted pigment, and even improve acne. Each treatment has a different combination of currents and “roadmap”—but you don’t have to do anything except follow the video tutorial in the app. Once you select your treatment your phone syncs with your ZIIP and you’re ready to go.
You’re probably wondering what it feels like, and the sensation is different depending on the treatment you choose. I’ve tried most of them, and some come along with a sensation of warmth or prickling, some cause major involuntary muscle contractions and some don’t feel like anything at all. But rest assured none of them are painful.
This morning I layered the Primer, VitalEyes, Instant Gratification and Quick Fix treatments (based on the “schedule” I received via email) and though this may sound like a lot of work, it only took about 15 minutes. And this was definitely time well-spent because my skin looks so amazing that I don’t even want to put on a stitch of makeup. (And I really don’t have to.)
To call the ZIIP a game-changer would be a major understatement because it’s more along the lines of a life-changer. If my skin looks this incredible after a week, I can’t wait to see what happens from here!
ZIIP Golden Gel
EWG/Skin Deep® Score: 5 (via the “Build Your Own Report” tool)
Silicone-free and paraben-free
