Every Branded Gel in This Category, and What Each Costs Per Session
Medically reviewed by
4 independent reviewers
Andrew Conrad Barile, kinésithérapeute, DPT
Doctorat en physiothérapie (DPT), physiothérapeute agréé (PT)
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Le Dr Andrew Conrad Barile est docteur en physiothérapie et PDG ainsi que fondateur de Xtreem Pulse LLC. Il a obtenu son doctorat en physiothérapie à Daemen College et possède plus de vingt ans d'expérience clinique et entrepreneuriale en physiothérapie pédiatrique, thérapie craniosacrale et innovation en dispositifs médicaux. Sa profonde connaissance de l'anatomie humaine, de la physiologie musculaire et des technologies thérapeutiques offre une approche scientifique précieuse pour le rajeunissement du visage et les solutions anti-âge.
Bertica M. Rubio, M.D.
Directeur Médical, Clinique de Médecine Régénérative Anti-âge | Médecin Certifié par le Conseil | École de Médecine de Dartmouth
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Le Dr Bertica M. Rubio est une médecin certifiée et directrice médicale de la clinique de médecine régénérative anti-âge à Redlands, en Californie. Elle a obtenu son Bachelor of Science à l'Université Loyola Marymount et son Doctorat en médecine à la Dartmouth Medical School (Geisel School of Medicine). Elle a effectué sa résidence en pédiatrie au UC Irvine Medical Center.
Forte de plusieurs décennies d'expérience clinique, le Dr Rubio est spécialisée en médecine de gestion du vieillissement, médecine régénérative, cicatrisation des plaies et thérapies par facteurs de croissance. Sa pratique intègre la science médicale fondée sur des preuves avec des traitements esthétiques et régénératifs avancés, aidant les patients à atteindre une santé optimale et une vitalité juvénile.
Le Dr Rubio est passionnée par l'éducation des patients sur la science derrière les soins de la peau, le rajeunissement du visage et les technologies non invasives comme l'EMS (stimulation électrique musculaire) pour le tonus facial. Ses articles pour PureLift LAB allient connaissances médicales rigoureuses et conseils pratiques pour obtenir des résultats réels et durables.
Daniel Grinberg, MD, FACS
Otolaryngologiste et chirurgien de la tête et du cou certifié par le conseil | Membre, American College of Surgeons | Professeur clinique adjoint, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
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Daniel Grinberg, MD, FACS, est un oto-rhino-laryngologiste certifié par le conseil et chirurgien de la tête et du cou chez ENT and Allergy Associates à West Nyack, NY. Il a obtenu son diplôme de médecine au Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, a effectué sa résidence en oto-rhino-laryngologie au New York University Medical Center, et est professeur clinique adjoint à la Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Il est membre de l'American College of Surgeons et de l'American Academy of Otolaryngology.
La perspective chirurgicale de la tête et du cou du Dr Grinberg offre aux lecteurs de PureLift LAB une vision clinique élargie — reliant la pratique EMS à domicile à l'anatomie médicale sous-jacente avec la même rigueur scientifique que celle que nous appliquons à chaque spécification d'appareil.
Prof. Dr med Ivo Buschmann
Président d'Angiologie, Hochschule Medizinische Brandenburg | Directeur de clinique, Clinique universitaire d'angiologie, Hôpital universitaire de Brandebourg | Ancien consultant principal, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin
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Le Prof. Dr. med. Ivo Buschmann est titulaire de la chaire d'angiologie à la Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg Theodor Fontane (MHB) et directeur de la clinique universitaire d'angiologie à l'hôpital universitaire de Brandebourg. Il a effectué sa formation médicale à l'Université de Hambourg, a été boursier de la Société Max-Planck à l'Institut Max-Planck de recherche sur le cœur et les poumons, et a occupé des postes de consultant principal à la Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin Campus Virchow avant d'être nommé titulaire de la chaire à la MHB en 2016.
Le Prof. Buschmann est l'une des principales autorités européennes en arteriogenèse — la croissance et le remodelage des vaisseaux sanguins induits par le flux — avec plus de 150 publications évaluées par des pairs et plusieurs brevets américains et européens sur des dispositifs stimulant la croissance des vaisseaux collatéraux par une thérapie contrôlée du taux de cisaillement. Ses recherches relient la stimulation mécanique et électrique à l'adaptation vasculaire, à la microcirculation et à la perfusion tissulaire.
Les contributions du Prof. Buschmann apportent aux lecteurs de PureLift LAB une perspective en biologie vasculaire qui complète notre expertise clinique, en physiothérapie et en anatomie chirurgicale — expliquant comment la stimulation EMS engage non seulement les muscles faciaux mais aussi la microcirculation qui les alimente, et pourquoi une administration intelligente est aussi importante au niveau du flux sanguin qu'à celui de la contraction musculaire.
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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.