Using a Facial Device Alongside Retinol and Acids
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
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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
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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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Retinol works on the dermis and a stimulation device works on muscle, so there is no conflict between what the two are doing.
This article walks through the routine step by step, such as:
- They act on different layers
- Why the same session is a bad idea
- The arrangement that works
- What not to have on your face during a session
- The actives that are relaxed about it
and many more!
Separating them by a few hours solves the whole question, and it costs you nothing.
Key Points:
Never use an exfoliating acid or a retinoid as your conductive medium.
Infuse mode is a delivery technology, which is exactly why it is the wrong mode for a strong active.
Device in the morning and retinol at night is the simplest arrangement that works.
If your barrier is already irritated, pause the actives rather than the device.
Vitamin C, niacinamide and hyaluronic acid are far less fussy than retinoids and acids.
They act on different layers
Retinoids work in the dermis, encouraging collagen production over months, and they have the strongest evidence of anything available over a counter for that job.
EMS works muscle, which sits below the fat and the SMAS, several layers deeper. Kavanagh and colleagues measured an 18.6 percent increase in cheek muscle thickness over 12 weeks of motor-level stimulation (10.1111/jocd.12007).
So the two are complementary rather than competing, and using both is a reasonable plan. The interaction question is purely about the skin surface caught in between.
Why the same session is a bad idea
A device session is a thorough application. You apply the product across the whole face and then work it in for ten minutes with a probe, which is more contact and more distribution than the same product gets when you pat it on and go to bed.
With a gentle hydrating serum that is fine and is arguably the point. With a retinoid or a glycolic acid it means a stronger dose than the product was formulated to deliver, and the result is irritation rather than better results.
Infuse mode makes the point sharper. Infusion opens temporary routes through the outer skin layer and iontophoresis moves charged ingredients along them, with the mechanism set out by Prausnitz and colleagues (10.1073/pnas.90.22.10504). A mode designed to get more of something into the skin is the last mode you want carrying a strong active.
The arrangement that works
Device in the morning with a plain water-based serum, retinol at night after the skin has been undisturbed for hours. That is the simplest version and it suits most people.
If you would rather do both in the evening, run the device session first with a plain serum, then cleanse or wait, then apply the retinoid to skin that has settled. An hour is a comfortable gap.
Alternating days is the third option and is a good choice if your skin runs sensitive; device on Monday, retinol on Tuesday, and nobody is asking too much of the barrier on either day.
What not to have on your face during a session
Exfoliating acids, glycolic, lactic, salicylic and the rest. Retinoids of any strength. Benzoyl peroxide. Anything described as a peel.
Oils and thick creams for a different reason: they do not conduct, so the session works badly rather than dangerously.
What is fine as a conductive medium is a fluid water-based serum, ideally one you already tolerate. Hyaluronic acid, glycerin, niacinamide and peptides are all unproblematic here.
The actives that are relaxed about it
Hyaluronic acid and glycerin are humectants; they hold water at the surface, they conduct well, and there is no interaction to worry about.
Niacinamide is generally well tolerated and is a reasonable choice for a session serum.
Vitamin C is usually fine, though the acidic formulations sting on some people, so try it on a small area before committing a whole session to it.
If your skin is already unhappy
Pause the actives, not the device. A stinging, tight, flushed face is a barrier problem, and retinoids and acids are what caused it far more often than a current is.
Drop to levels 1 and 2, which on PureLift are nanocurrent and microcurrent and do not contract anything, or take a few days off entirely.
Rebuild with a plain moisturiser for a week before reintroducing anything, and bring back one product at a time so you learn which one was responsible.
Practical notes
Three minutes per side is the maximum on any PureLift model, and the ten minute session ends on its own.
Reapply serum if the probe starts to drag; a dry patch is the usual reason a session feels weak, and it is not a reason to climb the dial.
If you are using a prescription retinoid, or being treated for a skin condition, ask the clinician who prescribed it before adding a device to the routine.
For the full breakdown of which technology sits where, see how the nine PureLift technologies work.
Two related questions come up often alongside this one, and we have answered both in full: whether microcurrent and EMS are the same thing, and how microcurrent compares with a TENS unit.