TheraFace PRO Against NuFACE Trinity Plus, Multi Tool or Specialist
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
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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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TheraFace PRO bundles percussion, microcurrent, cleansing and light into one handle, while NuFACE does microcurrent and sells everything else as a separate attachment.
This article compares the two on what decides the result you actually see, such as:
- what each device actually contains at its price
- published microcurrent figures on both sides
- the percussion feature and who it is really for
- attachment costs that change the NuFACE price
- which approach survives contact with a real routine
and many more!
Neither of these devices is ours, and both are reasonable purchases for different people.
Key Points:
TheraFace PRO is $419.99 and publishes 500 microamps for its microcurrent ring, plus 633 nm red and 415 nm blue light.
NuFACE Trinity+ is $395, publishes no output on its page, and its family filings give 335 microamps for the MINI+.
Therabody lists China as the country of manufacture and holds records including K212238; NuFACE publishes no country.
NuFACE sells modality as attachments, with the eye and lip applicator and the red light wrinkle reducer at around $160 each.
Neither device's microcurrent reaches the level at which a facial muscle contracts.
Two philosophies at the same price
TheraFace PRO is a multi-tool. Swap the attachment and you move between percussion massage, microcurrent, cleansing and LED light, and the pitch is that one purchase replaces four gadgets.
NuFACE Trinity+ is a specialist that can be extended. The base device is microcurrent, and the eye and lip applicator and the red light wrinkle reducer are bought separately at around $160 each.
So the like-for-like comparison is not $419.99 against $395. It is $419.99 against $395 plus whatever attachments you add, which can take a Trinity+ well past $700.
Whether that matters depends entirely on whether you would use the extra modalities, which most people overestimate when buying and underestimate when planning.
The microcurrent on each
Therabody publishes 500 microamps for the TheraFace microcurrent ring on its own materials, and states plainly that the ring sits below the motor threshold.
NuFACE publishes no figure on its pages; the 335 microamps in its FDA file is for the MINI+, and the Trinity line's records do not give a comparable published number in the same form.
Both devices are therefore in the microcurrent band, and neither contracts a muscle.
On disclosure, Therabody is ahead here, publishing its microcurrent figure and its LED wavelengths on the product page along with a named country of manufacture.
Percussion, and who it is for
The percussion attachment is the thing TheraFace has that nothing else in this comparison offers, and it is a genuine differentiator rather than a gimmick.
If your complaint includes jaw tension, clenching or general facial tightness, percussion addresses something microcurrent does not touch, and Therabody has more experience in that field than anyone.
If your complaint is purely cosmetic, the percussion attachment is a feature you will use twice and then leave in the box, which is the honest pattern with multi-tools.
Be clear with yourself about which of those two you are before paying for the breadth.
The light
TheraFace includes LED rings at 633 nm red and 415 nm blue, which are sensible wavelengths and a real inclusion at this price.
The coverage is small, because a ring on a handheld treats what you hold it against rather than the whole face, so the delivered dose over a session is modest compared with a mask.
Lee and colleagues ran a split-face LED study worth reading before buying anything light-based, and the general lesson is that dose and consistency matter more than the presence of a light.
NuFACE's answer is the red light attachment at around $160, which has its own clearance and the same coverage limitation.
Cleaning and build
TheraFace includes a cleansing attachment, which is a pleasant extra rather than a reason to buy, since a cleansing brush is a $30 product.
Both devices are well made, both are widely stocked, and neither has a reputation for failing.
Therabody publishes China as its country of manufacture; NuFACE publishes no country on its own pages, and its filings list its California address as the specification developer rather than a factory location.
Which to buy
Buy TheraFace PRO if tension and massage are part of your complaint, if you genuinely want several routines from one purchase, and if you value a brand that publishes its figures.
Buy NuFACE Trinity+ if microcurrent is the point, you want the deepest clearance history in the category, and you would rather add capability later than pay for it now.
Buy neither if the shape of your lower face has changed rather than its surface, since both sit below the motor threshold. Our comparisons against each are here and here.
This article 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.