Devices for Crow's Feet and Under-Eye Wrinkles, a Safe Guide
Medically reviewed by
4 independent reviewers
Andrew Conrad Barile, PT, DPT
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) | Licensed Physical Therapist (PT) | CEO and Founder, Xtreem Pulse LLC
Read bio
Dr. Andrew Conrad Barile is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and the CEO and Founder of Xtreem Pulse LLC, the engineering company behind PureLift. He earned his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Daemen College and is a licensed physical therapist.
He brings over two decades of clinical and entrepreneurial experience across physical therapy, craniosacral therapy and medical device innovation, built on a working knowledge of human anatomy and muscle physiology.
For PureLift LAB he reviews how current is delivered across all ten levels, from sub-sensory nanocurrent and skin-level microcurrent to motor-level EMS, and how the Infuse pass fits into the same ten-minute routine.
Bertica M. Rubio, M.D.
Board-Certified Physician, Dartmouth Medical School | Medical Director, Antiaging Regenerative Medicine Clinic
Read bio
Dr. Bertica M. Rubio is a board-certified physician and Medical Director of the Antiaging Regenerative Medicine Clinic in Redlands, California. She earned her Doctor of Medicine from Dartmouth Medical School and completed her pediatrics residency at UC Irvine Medical Center.
With decades of clinical experience, she specialises in age management medicine, regenerative medicine, wound healing and growth factor therapies, and her practice integrates evidence-based medical science with advanced aesthetic treatment.
For PureLift LAB she reviews articles for medical accuracy across the whole dial, from the gentle nanocurrent and microcurrent settings through to muscle-level EMS and the Infuse pass.
Daniel Grinberg, MD, FACS
Board-Certified Otolaryngologist | Head and Neck Surgeon | Fellow, American College of Surgeons | Mount Sinai
Read bio
Daniel Grinberg, MD, FACS is a board-certified otolaryngologist and head and neck surgeon at ENT and Allergy Associates in West Nyack, New York. He earned his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
He completed his otolaryngology residency at New York University Medical Center, serves as Assistant Clinical Professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and is a Fellow of both the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Otolaryngology.
For PureLift LAB he brings a wider clinical lens, connecting at-home facial stimulation from microcurrent to EMS to the anatomy underneath, with the same rigour we apply to every device specification.
Prof. Dr. med. Ivo Buschmann
Chair of Angiology, Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg | Clinic Director, University Clinic for Angiology
Read bio
Prof. Dr. med. Ivo Buschmann is Chair of Angiology at the Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg Theodor Fontane and Clinic Director of the University Clinic for Angiology at the Brandenburg University Hospital.
He trained at the University of Hamburg, was a Max Planck Society Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, and held senior consultant posts at the Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin before his appointment as Chair in 2016.
One of Europe's leading authorities on arteriogenesis, with over 150 peer-reviewed publications and US and EU patents, he reviews for PureLift LAB how the evidence on electrical stimulation is read and where its limits lie.
Share
The eye area is the thinnest skin on your face and the place where careless device use does the most harm, so the rules here are stricter than anywhere else.
This guide covers working near the eyes safely, such as:
- Why this skin behaves differently from the rest of your face
- Where the hard boundaries are, and why
- What the research shows for the muscle around the eye
- Why crow's feet respond differently from under-eye lines
- The habits that beat any device here
and many more!
By the end you will know what to do around your eyes and what to leave alone.
Key Points:
Skin around the eye is markedly thinner with fewer oil glands, so it shows lines earlier and reacts sooner.
Never run a device over the eyeball or the eyelid, and never use light over the eyes or eyelids.
Work only on the bone around the socket, on the orbital rim, at the gentle end of the dial.
CT imaging showed the muscle around the eye thickening after eight weeks of stimulation, so the layer does respond.
Sunglasses and an up-to-date spectacle prescription do more for crow's feet than any device.
The eye area is where people most want results and where the most caution is warranted, which is an awkward combination.
So this guide leads with the boundaries rather than burying them at the end.
Why this skin is different
The skin around the eye is markedly thinner than facial skin elsewhere, with fewer oil glands and less structural support underneath.
It also moves constantly, since you blink tens of thousands of times a day and squint whenever the light or your prescription demands it.
That combination means it shows lines earlier than the rest of your face and reacts to irritation sooner, so a routine that suits your cheek can be too much here.
The hard boundaries
Never run a device over the eyeball itself, and never over the eyelid.
On GLOW, never use the light over the eyes or eyelids.
Work only on the bone that surrounds the socket, meaning the orbital rim, where there is a firm surface underneath.
Follow your own model's guidance for the eye area, and where this article and your instructions differ, follow the instructions.
If you have any eye condition, have had eye surgery, or wear anything implanted near the area, ask a clinician before starting.
Crow's feet and under-eye lines are different problems
Crow's feet radiate outward from the corner of the eye and come primarily from repeated squinting and smiling, so they are movement lines.
Under-eye lines and crepiness are more about skin quality and thinning, so they respond to different things.
That distinction matters because the treatment that helps one is often irrelevant to the other, and a device sold as an answer to both is being oversold.
For set crow's feet, the treatment that addresses the actual cause is botulinum toxin administered by a qualified clinician, since the cause is a muscle contracting frequently.
What the research supports here
CT imaging in one study showed the muscle around the eye thickening after eight weeks of stimulation (Okuda 2026), which is the most directly relevant finding for this area.
One split-face study found the microcurrent side improved eye-wrinkle volume and dermal density while the EMS side improved lifting measures (Kwak 2023), which suggests the gentler currents are the more relevant ones for the appearance of lines here.
Small facial studies of low-current use report smoother texture and softer lines with regular use (Saniee 2012).
Those are category studies run with their own devices and protocols, so they show what the technologies can do rather than what any product does for you.
How to run the eye area
Use the gentle end of the dial here, since level 1 nanocurrent sits below the level your nerves report and level 2 microcurrent is the skin-level current, and both are appropriate for thin skin.
Apply plenty of water-based conductive serum, because dragging is what damages this skin and a generous layer prevents it.
Move outward along the orbital rim rather than inward toward the eye, with a light touch and no stretching of the skin.
Give this area a small share of the three minutes on each side rather than a session of its own.
Stop immediately if anything stings or the skin reddens beyond a light flush.
The habits that beat any device here
Sunglasses, because squinting into bright light is a leading cause of crow's feet and the sun is also damaging the skin while you do it.
An up-to-date spectacle prescription, since an out-of-date one has you squinting at everything all day.
Sunscreen up to the orbital bone, applied properly rather than skipped because it stings a badly formulated one.
Sleep and salt, since the under-eye area shows fluid changes before anywhere else and a lot of what people read as lines is puffiness.
Not rubbing your eyes, which is worth more than most products and costs nothing.
What to expect
Improvement here is measured in softening rather than removal, and a line set into thin skin will not disappear from device use.
Judge it monthly in matched light with a neutral expression, and take one photograph mid-smile too, since crow's feet only appear in motion.
The twelve-week clock applies here as everywhere else, with the first clear difference around week six.
Model notes
All five PureLift models run nanocurrent at level 1, microcurrent at level 2, EMS from level 3 to 10, and Infuse as a second pass, and the gentle settings this area needs are identical across the range.
That means no model is better suited to the eye area than another, since you will be working at the bottom of the dial regardless.
Face at $499 and Pro at $699 reach up to 7 milliamps, Pro Edition at $799 reaches up to 7.7, and Pro Plus + at $899 and GLOW at $999 reach up to 9, all measured at 500 ohms and always written as up to.
GLOW alone adds light, red at 634 nm cleared for the treatment of wrinkles, blue at 465 nm cleared for mild-to-moderate inflammatory acne, and purple, which is red and blue running together, and none of it is ever used over the eyes or eyelids.
Every model is cleared through the FDA 510(k) pathway, under records K190269 for Face, K230506 for Pro and Pro Edition, K221443 for Pro Plus + and K243587 for GLOW.
All five are made in Japan in an ISO 13485 facility.
Anyone with a pacemaker or another implanted electronic device, anyone pregnant, and anyone with epilepsy or a seizure disorder should not use the device at all.
For the forehead and brow area, read forehead wrinkles and eleven lines, and for the routine, read the beginner's guide.
Model figures verified on 9 September 2026 against the PureLift LAB store and FDA records K190269, K230506, K221443 and K243587. Every model runs nanocurrent, microcurrent, EMS and Infuse; consumer copy always says up to. This article is general cosmetic information and is not medical advice.
Two related questions come up often alongside this one, and we have answered both in full: how to work the eye area safely, and which kind of under eye bag responds and which needs a surgeon.