Every Branded Gel in This Category, and What Each Costs Per Session
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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Nine brands in this category sell their own conductor, prices run from $15.99 to $100 a bottle, and not one of them publishes how many sessions a bottle delivers.
This article covers what actually decides the answer, such as:
- what every named conductor costs, by size
- which brands require one and which merely recommend it
- why a per-session figure cannot be calculated honestly
- the subscription discounts and what they tell you
- what to use instead where the brand allows it
and many more!
We sell a serum too, and we will tell you plainly that you do not need it.
Key Points:
NuFACE Aqua Gel runs $35 for 1.69 oz, $55 for 3.3 oz and $80 for 10 oz, with a silk creme at $100, and its FDA file lists a 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 is $29.99 and Skin Gym's is $24.
7E Wellness sells ReStore at $14 for 2 oz, $27 for 4 oz and $75 for 16 oz, and states that gels are non-returnable.
TriPollar's activator runs about $53 a bottle per treatment cycle, NEWA's is $29 and Silk'n's slider gel is $15.99 for 6 oz, the cheapest of the group.
Not one of these brands publishes how many sessions a bottle delivers, so every cost-per-session figure in this market, including ours, is an estimate.
The full list
NuFACE Aqua Gel Activator at $35 for 1.69 oz, $55 for 3.3 oz, $80 for 10 oz, plus a Silk Creme at $100 and a serum activator at $49.
ZIIP conductive gels from $29.99 to $79.99 depending on formula.
FOREO's conductive serum at $41.90, with the SUPERCHARGED Serum 2.0 at $59.
Therabody conductive gel at $29.99 for TheraFace PRO.
Skin Gym conductive gel at $24, described by the brand as required.
7E Wellness ReStore at $14, $27 and $75 across 2 oz, 4 oz and 16 oz, with ReNu and other formulas alongside.
Solawave LightBoost activating serum at $38, not included in the box.
TriPollar activator gel at roughly $53 a bottle, stated to last one six to eight week cycle.
NEWA lift activator at $29 single or $55 for two, and Silk'n slider gel at $15.99 for 6 oz.
Required or recommended
NuFACE's FDA file lists a conductive gel primer under special requirements, and the gel holds its own clearance, so the pairing is designed in.
FOREO states that BEAR 2 must be used with a conductive serum.
Skin Gym's FAQ says gel is required for proper conductivity and comfort.
Solawave describes its serum as what conducts the current and gives the wand its glide, while not including it in the box.
TriPollar, NEWA and Silk'n all supply a gel with the device and sell refills, which is the ordinary RF arrangement since those devices need a thermal couplant rather than only a conductor.
Why nobody can give you a real per-session figure
A per-session cost needs three numbers: the bottle price, the volume, and the volume used per session.
Every brand publishes the first, most publish the second, and not one publishes the third.
Usage varies with how generous you are, how large the treatment area is, how dry the room is and whether you reapply mid-session, and that variation is larger than the price differences between brands.
So treat any confident cost-per-session number you see, from anyone, as an assumption wearing a decimal point.
What can be said honestly is the range: a few hundred dollars a year on any device that requires its own conductor.
What the subscriptions tell you
Several of these brands offer a subscription at a discount of around a quarter off.
A subscription is a reasonable convenience and it is also a statement about where the brand expects its margin to come from over the life of the device.
A cheap device with a required consumable and a subscription attached is a different financial product from an expensive device with none.
We have set out the two-year arithmetic separately, and on the closest comparisons it can close most of a $300 gap in sticker price.
What to use instead
Where the brand does not lock you in, a plain water-based hydrating serum does the same physical job, and we have written a separate piece on how to test the one you already own.
Look for water or aqua as the first ingredient and no heavy oils or silicones near the top of the list.
Where the brand does lock you in, as Droplette does with its capsules by its own statement, there is no workaround and the running cost is simply part of the purchase.
Buying a larger size is usually the single biggest saving available, since the 16 oz options run at roughly a third of the per-ounce price of the smallest bottle.
Where we sit
PureLift devices work with any water-based serum you already own, and our Activator Serum is one option rather than a requirement.
We say that in the product specification rather than only in the marketing, because a device that works only with its own bottle is a subscription with a handle attached.
If you want to use ours, it is there; if you want to use the hyaluronic serum on your shelf, the device is specified to work with it.
That is a deliberate design decision and it costs us money, which is the only reason it is worth anything as a claim.
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 and pack sizes checked on 21 September 2026 against each brand's own shop.