The PureLift–FaceGym History: Seven Years of OEM, Then April 2026
About the Authors
Bertica M. Rubio, M.D.
Medical Director, Antiaging Regenerative Medicine Clinic | Board-Certified Physician | Dartmouth Medical School
Dr. Bertica M. Rubio is a board-certified physician and Medical Director of the Antiaging Regenerative Medicine Clinic in Redlands, California. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Loyola Marymount University and her Doctor of Medicine from Dartmouth Medical School (Geisel School of Medicine). She completed her pediatrics residency at UC Irvine Medical Center.
With decades of clinical experience, Dr. Rubio specializes in age management medicine, regenerative medicine, wound healing, and growth factor therapies. Her practice integrates evidence-based medical science with advanced aesthetic and regenerative treatments, helping patients achieve optimal health and youthful vitality.
Dr. Rubio is passionate about educating patients on the science behind skincare, facial rejuvenation, and non-invasive technologies like EMS (Electrical Muscle Stimulation) for facial toning. Her articles for PureLift LAB combine rigorous medical knowledge with practical guidance for achieving real, lasting results.
Andrew Conrad Barile, PT, DPT
Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT), Licensed Physical Therapist (PT)
Dr. Andrew Conrad Barile is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and the CEO and Founder of Xtreem Pulse LLC. He earned his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Daemen College and brings over two decades of clinical and entrepreneurial experience in pediatric physical therapy, craniosacral therapy, and medical device innovation. His deep understanding of human anatomy, muscle physiology, and therapeutic technology provides invaluable science-backed approach to facial rejuvenation and anti-aging solutions.
Daniel Grinberg, MD, FACS
Board-Certified Otolaryngologist & Head and Neck Surgeon | Fellow, American College of Surgeons | Assistant Clinical Professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Daniel Grinberg, MD, FACS is a Board-Certified Otolaryngologist and Head & Neck Surgeon at ENT and Allergy Associates in West Nyack, NY. He earned his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, completed his Otolaryngology residency at New York University Medical Center, and serves as Assistant Clinical Professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He is a Fellow of both the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Otolaryngology.
Dr. Grinberg's head-and-neck surgical perspective brings PureLift LAB readers a wider clinical lens — connecting at-home EMS practice to the underlying medical anatomy with the same scientific rigor we apply to every device specification.
Prof. Dr. med. Ivo Buschmann
Chair of Angiology, Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg | Clinic Director, University Clinic for Angiology, Brandenburg University Hospital | Former Senior Consultant, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Prof. Dr. med. Ivo Buschmann is Chair of Angiology at the Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg Theodor Fontane (MHB) and Clinic Director of the University Clinic for Angiology at the Brandenburg University Hospital. He completed his medical training at the University of Hamburg, served as a Max-Planck Society Fellow at the Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research, and held senior consultant positions at the Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin Campus Virchow before being appointed Chair at MHB in 2016.
Prof. Buschmann is one of Europe's leading authorities on arteriogenesis — the flow-driven growth and remodeling of blood vessels — with more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and several US and EU patents on devices that stimulate collateral blood vessel growth through controlled shear-rate therapy. His research connects mechanical and electrical stimulation to vascular adaptation, microcirculation, and tissue perfusion.
Prof. Buschmann's contributions bring PureLift LAB readers a vascular-biology perspective that complements our existing clinical, physical-therapy, and surgical-anatomy authorship — explaining how EMS stimulation engages not only facial muscles but also the microcirculation that supplies them, and why smart delivery matters at the level of blood flow as much as muscle contraction.
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On 17 September 2019, PRNewswire published an announcement headlined "PureLift by Xtreem Pulse Launches 510(k) FDA-Cleared Non-Invasive Instant Face Lift Device." Buried inside that press release, in the list of brands that had already adopted the device, was a name that has since become much more visible in the facial-EMS market: FaceGym. Alongside Canyon Ranch, Jurlique, and Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, FaceGym was identified as one of PureLift's early adopting brand partners. That partnership ran for seven years. Every FaceGym Pro sold during that period — in London, in New York, online — was a PureLift product, manufactured by Xtreem Pulse in Japan, OEM-licensed to FaceGym under their brand.
In April 2026, that arrangement ended. FaceGym launched what they describe as a "next-generation" Pro device, "rebuilt entirely from the ground up" with design and material selection brought in-house (Hypebae, 2 April 2026). The new FaceGym Pro is manufactured in China.
This article is the full provenance story — what FaceGym kept from the original PureLift architecture, what they dropped, and what it means for the difference between the two devices on the market today.
2019 to April 2026: seven years of OEM
The September 2019 PureLift PRNewswire announcement was specific about which brands had adopted the Xtreem Pulse-engineered, Japanese-manufactured device. FaceGym was on that list. For the seven years that followed, the FaceGym Pro flagship was, in engineering terms, a re-branded PureLift Pro.
The architecture FaceGym sold during that period included PureLift's randomised frequency modulation, the patented diamond-faceted probe, the kHz operating band, and the Triple-Wave waveform layering. These were not generic features — they were the proprietary engineering specifications Xtreem Pulse had spent decades developing. FaceGym did not invent them. They licensed them through the OEM relationship.
During those seven years, the device earned international recognition. Professional spa adoption at Aman Resorts, Canyon Ranch, Grand Resort Bad Ragaz. International beauty industry awards. A global patent portfolio held by Xtreem Pulse, the engineering parent.
April 2026: the rebuild in China
On 2 April 2026, Hypebae reported that FaceGym had launched a new Pro device, describing it as "next-generation" and "rebuilt entirely from the ground up." The article confirmed that design and material selection had been brought in-house. The manufacturing location, confirmed via FaceGym's current product documentation, moved to China.
For consumers, the rebuild was marketed as an upgrade. The underlying engineering shift — from Japanese-manufactured Xtreem Pulse OEM to in-house Chinese manufacturing — was not the focus of the launch communications.
What FaceGym kept on the spec sheet
The current FaceGym Pro product page (facegym.com/products/facegympro) describes the device as combining "low, medium and high frequencies" reaching "up to 1.5 kHz" with "10 power levels." Two things follow from this description:
What was retained: the structural concept of three frequencies stacked together. This is the architectural skeleton Xtreem Pulse invented in Japan — the three-wave concept that became Triple-Wave™ in PureLift's branding. FaceGym's new product still uses this conceptual structure.
What was dropped: the randomised modulation that turns three stacked frequencies into a continuously varying delivery pattern. The diamond-faceted probe geometry (PureLift's 2019 design refresh introduced it; FaceGym's new device uses a smooth chrome head). The Triple-Wave™ trademark. None of these appear on the current FaceGym Pro product page. The marketing language that defined the device during the OEM years — much of which still runs on third-party retailer pages at Space NK, Lookfantastic, and Cult Beauty — has been removed from FaceGym's own copy.
The two devices today, side by side
Both devices reach 9 mA at maximum output. In absolute amperage terms, the power is identical. The difference is everything downstream of that.
The current FaceGym Pro delivers up to 1.5 kHz at a single fixed frequency, with 10 power levels. PureLift Pro Plus and Glow deliver between 1,370 and 1,730 Hz, randomized continuously across 361 distinct frequencies inside the operating band. Same peak amperage. The waveform delivery — what your muscle actually experiences — is generations apart.
From a neuromuscular accommodation standpoint, this matters. The published literature (Downey 2011, Russ & Binder-Macleod 1999, Binder-Macleod 1997, Thrasher 2005, Kesar 2008, Behringer 2016) consistently shows that varied-frequency stimulation outperforms constant-frequency stimulation for sustained muscle performance. A fixed-frequency device at 9 mA can produce strong session-one sensation, but the muscle adapts to a predictable input, and effectiveness declines as accommodation compounds. A continuously modulated device at the same amperage maintains effectiveness across sessions because the muscle never sees the same input twice in succession.
The engineering lineage
The continuity here is worth noting. The Xtreem Pulse engineering team — the people who designed the original PureLift architecture seven years ago — is still developing PureLift devices today, in the same ISO 13485 facility in Japan. PDM and PDM++ are the result of seven additional years of engineering iteration on top of the architecture FaceGym was OEM-licensing.
In other words: while FaceGym brought design in-house in China, the team that built the device they were selling for seven years has continued refining the architecture. The new PureLift devices are not the 2019 product. They are the 2019 product with seven more years of engineering investment.
What this means for the buyer
If you have used the original FaceGym Pro and liked it, the device you liked was a PureLift product made in Japan. The new in-house FaceGym Pro launched in April 2026 is not the same device. The spec sheet retains the architectural skeleton, but the randomised modulation, the diamond probe, and the Japanese manufacturing — the elements that defined the original — have been replaced or dropped.
PureLift devices are still manufactured in Japan, in the same ISO 13485 facility, by the same engineering team that built the original. PDM is the proprietary waveform delivery technology that continued evolving across those seven years. PDM++, the bipolar-pulse evolution exclusive to Glow, is the most recent step.
The honest summary: there are now two devices on the market with shared architectural ancestry. One continues to be manufactured by the original engineering team, in Japan, with seven additional years of refinement. The other has been rebuilt in-house in China with public spec changes that suggest the proprietary delivery architecture did not transfer.
For the architectural argument, see The Research Behind PureLift LAB. To experience the Japanese-engineered, continuously refined PureLift architecture firsthand, the PureLift Pro+ with Activator Serum is the cleanest expression of where the seven years of engineering have led.
References: PureLift by Xtreem Pulse Launches 510K FDA-Cleared Non-Invasive Instant Face Lift Device. PRNewswire / Benzinga, 17 September 2019. Facegym Drops Its Next-Generation Pro Tool for a Heavyweight Facial Workout. Hypebae, 2 April 2026. FaceGym official product page, facegym.com/products/facegympro. Downey RJ et al. (2011). A novel modulation strategy to increase stimulation duration in NMES. Muscle & Nerve 44(3):382–387. DOI: 10.1002/mus.22058.