What a Branded Gel Actually Costs You Over Two Years
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
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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
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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.
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Half this category needs its own branded gel, and over two years that hidden cost can exceed the difference in sticker price between two devices.
This article covers what actually decides the answer, such as:
- what each brand's conductor costs, from the brand's own page
- how long a bottle lasts at four sessions a week
- why a device can be designed to need its own gel
- what a water-based serum has to do to work as a conductor
- the two-year total for the devices people usually compare
and many more!
All prices come from the brands' own shops, checked on 17 September 2026.
Key Points:
NuFACE gel runs $35 for 1.69 oz, $55 for 3.3 oz and $80 for 10 oz, and the FDA file for the MINI+ lists a conductive gel primer as a special requirement.
ZIIP gels run $29.99 to $79.99, FOREO's conductor is $41.90 with the SUPERCHARGED serum at $59, Therabody's gel is $29.99 and Skin Gym's is $24.
7E Wellness sells ReStore gel at $27 for four ounces and $75 for sixteen.
PureLift works with any water-based serum you already own, so the running cost stays under your control.
On a cheaper device with a required gel, two years of use can close most of a $100 to $300 gap in sticker price.
Why some devices need their own gel
Every current-based facial device needs a conductive layer, because dry skin resists current and the contact has to glide rather than drag.
That much is physics and applies to us as much as to anyone.
Where brands differ is whether the conductor has to be theirs, and that is a commercial decision rather than a physical necessity in most cases.
NuFACE's own FDA file for the MINI+ lists a conductive gel primer under special requirements, and the gel carries its own clearance under K161654, so the pairing is built into the product rather than suggested.
FOREO states that BEAR 2 must be used with a conductive serum, and the device is designed around the brand's own bottle.
What the conductors cost
NuFACE Aqua Gel Activator is $35 for 1.69 ounces, $55 for 3.3 ounces and $80 for 10 ounces, with a silk creme version at $100 and a serum activator at $49.
ZIIP's gels run from $29.99 to $79.99 depending on the formula.
FOREO's conductive serum for BEAR 2 is $41.90, with the SUPERCHARGED Serum 2.0 at $59.
Therabody's conductive gel for TheraFace PRO is $29.99, Skin Gym's is $24, and 7E Wellness sells ReStore at $27 for four ounces or $75 for sixteen.
Several of these brands offer a subscription at a discount, which tells you how the category expects the relationship to work.
How fast a bottle goes
Usage varies by how generous you are and how large the treatment area is, and a small bottle covering the whole face four times a week is generally a matter of weeks rather than months.
Take a mid-sized bottle at $55 lasting around two months as a reasonable working assumption, which is about $330 a year.
Take a small bottle at $35 lasting a month and you are closer to $420 a year.
We are not going to pretend to a precision we do not have here, since no brand publishes a usage rate, and the honest range is a few hundred dollars a year on any device that requires its own conductor.
What that does to a comparison
NuFACE MINI+ at $175 on offer against PureLift Face at $499 looks like a $324 gap.
Two years of required gel at even the conservative end closes a large part of that, and at the generous end it closes most of it.
FOREO BEAR 2 at $339 against Face at $499 is a $160 gap before the conductor, and the conductor alone can exceed it inside two years.
None of that makes the cheaper device a bad purchase, and it does mean the number on the box is not the number you will spend.
What a serum has to do to work
A conductor needs to be water-based, so the current has something to travel through, and it needs to stay wet for the length of the session rather than drying on the skin.
Thick creams, oils and anything silicone-heavy are poor conductors, which is the real reason brands supply a gel, and a plain water-based hydrating serum does the job.
PureLift works with any water-based serum you already own, and the Activator Serum we sell is one option rather than a requirement.
If your serum starts to dry mid-session, mist or reapply, because a dry patch is where the sensation turns sharp and the current stops being delivered evenly.
The way to read a price
Add the device, then add two years of whatever it requires, then compare.
Ask whether the gel is genuinely required or merely recommended, since some brands soften the language while designing around their own bottle.
Check whether the brand sells a subscription, which is a reliable signal about how the product is expected to earn over time.
This comparison sits inside our full map of the category, where we set out all 33 devices we track, what each one carries and what each brand publishes: Nine Technologies on One Dial, What the Rest of the Market Actually Carries.
Prices verified on 17 September 2026 against each brand's own shop.