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When it comes to skincare, I’ve seen it all.
Heck, I’ve almost tried it all—so whenever I see trendy new cosmetic devices blowing up on TikTok, my immediate response is “yeaaaah right.”
Naturally, the first time I saw my sister pull her SolaWave red light therapy wand out of her bag, I laughed out loud—thinking “there’s no way this tiny little device was doing anything for her skin.” However, she insisted that I couldn’t be more wrong.
After gushing about how glowy her skin has been since she started using the SolaWave wand and showing me a dozen articles about celebrities (like Reese Witherspoon) who use it too, she convinced me to try it out. Since SolaWave has a 30 day money-back guarantee, I figured I might as well…
In case you haven’t heard about SolaWave, let me get you up to speed.
SolaWave: the “holy grail of skincare devices”
Founded in 2020, SolaWave is making waves on TikTok—primarily because of their oh so portable, affordable red light beauty wand. Although the company is young, they’ve harnessed the power of decades of research to create a 4-in-1 tool that combines the rejuvenating benefits of red light therapy, microcurrent, therapeutic warmth, and vibrating facial massage. Or so they say.
Alright, so here’s the thing…
I know red light therapy is all the rage in skincare today—I’ve even done a few sessions with my esthetician. I know it works, and I even know how it works: low-wavelength red light is able to penetrate deep into the skin and stimulate collagen production, which reduces the appearance of wrinkles, uneven skin tone, and blemishes. But it’s not the red light that’s the problem.
From my experience, a red light therapy session with an esthetician requires some serious hardware and involves about 20 minutes of consistent exposure. So it was hard to believe that the SolaWave wand could deliver noticeable results in five minutes a day.
That said, I don’t have the time or the money for weekly facial appointments—so I was attracted to the idea of a $150 wand that could potentially do the same thing.
Time to test this baby out
While the size of the wand is one of the reasons I was most skeptical about it, that’s also one of the best parts. It’s about the size of a razor and it’s USB-rechargeable, making it easy to bring with you on-the-go (since SolaWave recommends using it daily). It’s also sturdier than it looks and the rotating head is perfect for reaching tough spots, like around the eyes. So far so good.
As for how to use it, the instruction card says to cleanse and dry your skin and apply a serum (I went for their hyaluronic acid and blue tansy serum for the full experience, although any serum works). Since the head is powered with smart-touch activation, you just have to place it against hydrated skin to activate it. As soon as the wand senses your skin, it lights up and starts humming—which is lowkey pretty soothing.
Ok so at this point, I was kinda vibing with it
Literally. The vibrating head feels like a gentle massage, and after about 15 seconds or so, the wand warms up, making the whole experience quite relaxing.
I don’t like to admit when I’m wrong, especially to my little sister. And though I was impressed by how the wand feels, I still didn’t think I was wrong about it actually working—so I decided to do a bit more research.
Clicking around on the SolaWave website, I learned that the warmth and vibration help to relax your skin, allowing the serum to absorb better—while reducing inflammation, redness, and puffiness. Meanwhile, the microcurrent stimulates the facial muscles and increases blood flow.
Fast-forward a few weeks
My sister was adamant that I use the wand morning and night initially, to help kick-start my *magic* transformation. And after about two weeks, I was stunned when I actually started to see changes in my skin.
My biggest pain points have always been the Birkin bags under my eyes and the old acne scars from my post-IUD hormonal acne, so that’s what I was most interested in to begin with. And while I can’t say it looks like I got plastic surgery, my under-eye bags look less severe—and the scarring on my jawline is noticeably lighter.
As much as I hate to admit it (and certainly won’t ever tell her to her face) my little sis was right about SolaWave after all. Suffice to say, I was happy enough with the results I saw in the first few weeks to keep the wand. Plus, it’s supposed to slow down signs of aging, and I’ll take all the help I can get.
I guess you can call me a SolaWave convert
If my sister hadn’t gone out of her way to convince me, I never would have given SolaWave a chance on my own. After the first month, I switched to just using it at nighttime, and it’s become my favorite part of my evening skin routine. I’d almost go so far as to say that even if it didn’t work, the experience of using the wand is soothing enough to keep it.
If you’re a skincare skeptic like me, all I can say is that the red light wand is worth a shot—especially because you can always return it if you’re not seeing results.
Seriously, if you want to take a risk-free chance at significantly improving your skin (and pampering yourself with an at-home facial), I couldn’t recommend SolaWave more.
