Eczema, Dermatitis and Facial Devices
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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Eczema is a disorder of the skin barrier, and the barrier is precisely what ten minutes of probe contact and serum challenges.
This article sets out what to check before you start, such as:
- Why the barrier is the issue
- What is genuinely in the device's favour
- The absolute rule
- Between flares
- The serum matters as much as the device
and many more!
Whether to use a device on clear skin between flares is a question for the dermatologist treating you.
Key Points:
Broken, weeping, crusted or actively inflamed skin rules out a session entirely.
Friction is a recognised trigger, so glide matters more here than anywhere else.
The serum is as likely to cause a problem as the current, and fragrance is the usual culprit.
If you use a topical steroid, ask the prescriber how it interacts with a routine like this.
Electrical current does not heat or abrade, which removes two routes but not the friction one.
Why the barrier is the issue
Eczema involves a barrier that does not hold water in or keep irritants out as well as it should. That is why skin is dry, why it reacts to things other people tolerate, and why flares follow triggers rather than arriving randomly.
A device session challenges the barrier in two ways: friction from the probe moving across the skin, and a product applied across the whole face and worked in for ten minutes.
Neither is dramatic on intact skin. On skin that is already struggling to hold itself together, both are meaningful.
What is genuinely in the device's favour
Electrical current does not heat tissue, unlike radiofrequency, and heat and sweat are common eczema triggers.
It does not abrade or exfoliate, so the mechanical disruption that scrubs and acids cause is not in play.
What remains is friction and the serum, which are the two to manage.
The absolute rule
Do not use a device over an active patch. Not at a low level, not briefly, not with extra serum.
Broken skin, weeping, crusting or anything actively inflamed means the session does not happen on that area, and if the flare is widespread it does not happen at all.
Working over compromised skin risks worsening the flare and introducing irritants exactly where the barrier cannot exclude them.
Between flares
This is the question worth asking your dermatologist, with specifics: "a facial device that moves a metal probe across the face for ten minutes with a water-based serum, applying up to 7 milliamps".
If they are comfortable, start on a small area away from where you usually flare, at level 1. On PureLift, levels 1 and 2 are nanocurrent and microcurrent and do not contract anything.
Two minutes, then leave it two or three days and watch. Some reactions take a day to appear and the same evening tells you nothing.
Build one variable at a time over weeks: duration first, then area, then level. If anything flares, stop and go back to the dermatologist rather than adjusting on your own.
The serum matters as much as the device
Use something you have tolerated for months, not a new product and not a sample.
No fragrance, no essential oils, no exfoliating acids, no retinoid. Fragrance is the most common avoidable trigger in this group and it appears in a great many serums marketed as gentle.
Plain humectants are the safest choice: glycerin, hyaluronic acid, or a simple hydrating serum with a short ingredient list.
Apply generously and reapply the moment the probe stops gliding, since a dry patch is where friction happens.
If you use prescribed treatment
Topical steroids and calcineurin inhibitors are prescribed with instructions about how and where to apply them, and adding a device that distributes products thoroughly is a change worth raising with the prescriber.
Do not have any prescribed topical on your face during a session.
If your eczema is severe or being managed systemically, a facial device is a small question inside a bigger one, and the bigger one comes first.
The honest position
A device addresses muscle tone and contour, which is unrelated to your eczema and is the only reason to consider one.
If the answer from your dermatologist is no, or if two attempts both end in irritation, a device may simply not suit your skin, and that is a reasonable conclusion rather than a failure.
For rosacea specifically, see rosacea-prone skin and facial devices, and for the gentler routine, a gentler session for skin that reacts easily.
This is general information and not medical advice. Eczema is a diagnosed condition and decisions about your skin belong with the clinician treating you.
Two related questions come up often alongside this one, and we have answered both in full: what the microamp and milliamp figures mean, and whether microcurrent and EMS are the same thing.