Have you ever used a face roller? If you’re curious about this trendy beauty tool, Charlotte tried three popular Korean rollers. Here are her thoughts.
New viral beauty trends are a dime-a-dozen on Instagram, but one of the most prominent beauty trends that piqued my interest lately is the face roller. While face rollers (AKA face massagers, jade rollers, ice rollers) aren’t new, they’re starting to pick up steam as the new “it” beauty tool to have on your shelfie.
So, should you jump on the face roller bandwagon or pass? Here’s my take on three face rollers. I’ll tell you which one actually gave me results and will make it worth your money and time.
The Face Up Roller Massage
I’ve spotted this colorful, cute face roller on the shelves of Asian convenience stores in cheap and flimsy packaging. I know my cousin in Korea has one, and so do many of her friends, and I have personally witnessed her rolling away as she zones out in front of her favorite Korean reality show.
Here’s what the packaging on this face roller promised it would do for me: Improve my circulation and get this…remove my double chin and slim my entire face and neck! The skeptic in me thought: That’s a hefty feat for a $7 roller!
And it really was too good to be true. While I did enjoy the soft and stretchy feel of the roller on my skin (which undoubtedly helped promote blood circulation), it was not effective enough to slim my face and neck. In fact, the stretchiness and cheap material of the roller was not nearly enough to even give the area a really deep massage.
With that said, I will likely continue using it, not because it produced a slimmer jawline or a noticeable change in my complexion, but just because it is entertaining to use.
3D Massager
I saw many of these two-pronged ball rollers in beauty counters at conventions, and I even saw my own sister add this 3D massager to her skin care routine, so I was excited to test it.
The claims for this roller set my expectations sky high. The packaging said it would provide skin-tightening benefits and be good for sensitive and “unconscious” skin.
In short, it did not live up to its claims. The “360 degree” rotation design ended up latching onto my skin and pulling it down, which made me feel like I was loosening up my skin, the opposite result of the tightening effect that it promised me. I can’t see this be a good fit for sensitive skin since this roller would push too much on the skin, causing redness and irritation.
I was too paranoid to use it for much longer on my delicate facial skin, so I started using it on my arms and legs, which are the areas that are usually sore from my barre workouts. I do think it’s effective at massaging those sore joints on my body, and the handle grip makes it really easy to maneuver. So, if you do end up picking up this 3D massager, below the neck is the the only place I would suggest using it!
Ice Roller
Now, this is a functional roller I can get behind! The ice roller says it will make your skin feel more elastic and tight to the touch, as well as depuff and minimize the appearance of pores.
I can honestly say that I did achieve most of these results, although my skin feeling more tight and elastic was only a temporarily effect.
The ice roller is detachable so it’s easy to pop the head in the freezer to use it to tighten and cool your skin. Even when it’s not placed in the freezer, the metal is naturally cool to the touch, which helps tighten up the skin and minimize the appearance of pores. I used it once when I woke up to a bloated and puffy face, and after a 20 minute rolling session, it helped soothe and de-puff immediately.
The muscles along my jawline are also a bit sore from clenching at night (a new life development) so it does a great job at cooling, relaxing, and loosening my jaw muscles when I need it!
My biggest complaint is that the roller is detachable, so it makes this squeaky sound as I roll it across my face. It’s also a bit hefty in size, so it’s not as easy to get around the natural curves of my face, especially my eye area. If it was smaller, I could see me using it more to depuff the eye area, which I know is a huge concern for others who are in the market for a depuffing tool.
Bottom line:
A lot of the face rollers on the market are more gimmick than legitimate, but there are a few out there that do offer the benefits they claim. If you want to give face rollers a try, start with an ice roller!