Beauty Bioscience GloPro Review

TL;DR:

An at-home microneedling device that promises to help smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles with repeated use

I knew what I was getting into, but I tore the box open anyway. I looked at the gizmo inside, and my stomach dropped just a little. The Beauty Bioscience GloPro Microneedling Regeneration Tool — a device that’s supposed to smooth lines — looked more like an instrument of torture than the answer to wrinkles. Its sleek wand was topped with a bright red rollerball studded with needles. They looked very shiny and very sharp. I was supposed to put this thing on my face? Yep. Three times a week.

Rolling tiny needles over your skin is called microneedling, probably because that sounds better than “pretend your face is a pincushion.” It’s supposed to lessen wrinkles, acne scars, even stretch marks by creating microtears in the skin. “Wounding [the skin] triggers its repair functions, like producing new collagen to help smooth wrinkles,” Neil Sadick, a clinical professor of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, told Allure.

I’d been noticing fine lines creeping in across my forehead and around my lips and eyes, so I decided to go all in. I turned on the GloPro, and the rollerball started vibrating and glowing red (the movement is supposed to keep it from being too painful, and the red LED lights are supposed to promote collagen production). I closed my eyes, touched the needles to my skin, and rolled away. I wouldn’t say it felt good exactly, but it was way less painful than I expected — it reminded me of using a gritty facial scrub. So I stuck with it. After each go, my skin would sting a little and look red for a few hours, so I used it only at night.

Then something happened. I started getting compliments on my skin. And I’m not talking just once. Or even twice. Coworkers started telling me I looked glowy. Close friends, who could be a little more candid, said I had fewer pimples. In one week, I noticed fewer lines on my forehead. And after about three weeks, the little lines around my eyes and lips started fading away, though they never disappeared completely.

It’s been three months since I first started using the GloPro. Despite the initial intimidation factor, it’s become routine — and my skin’s looking better than ever. I never thought I’d say this about a tool for poking my face with needles…but I’m hooked.

A version of this article originally appeared in the April 2017 issue of Allure. To get your copy, head to newsstands or subscribe now.