Review: This home beauty gadget made my skin look like I had a luxe facial

When someone mentions Osim, I immediately think of massage chairs that have had a slew of celebrities from Korean oppa Lee Min-ho and Chinese actress Fan Bing Bing to Hong Kong Heavenly King Andy Lau and now, our very own JJ Lin.

And while the brand has launched various devices that focus on health and wellness, I was unaware that it had joined the beauty realm as well.

The uGlow range consists of four devices that work with your skincare products to take care of every step of your beauty routine, from cleansing and treatment, to hydration. 

Like every beauty enthusiast, I love a good beauty gadget. However, I have to admit that I’ve a drawer full of devices that are languishing. Some require a bit too much work, like having a really long programme to follow, and others just don’t seem to be very effective despite their exciting promises. 

But I remain hopeful that I’ll come across a beauty gadget that works for me and my routine. Of the four uGlow devices, I gravitate towards the uGlow Ioncare because it promises to do just that – give my skin a healthy, subtle glow. Bonus: it also has a deep-cleansing step to get skin clean and healthy. 

Osim uGlow Ioncare, $169 

A multi-tasking device that cleanses the skin and maximises the efficacy of your skincare products. Osim says you should see faster and better results, thanks to two pre-set programmes – Cleanse and Nourish. 

In addition, there is also a Warmth programme that soothes tense facial muscles, helping to reduce and prevent the appearance of lines and wrinkles. 

The key technology you need to know about

It harnesses galvanic ioncare technology, which emits positive and negative ions, along with pulsing micro-vibrations to enhance your skincare routine.  

What happened when we tried it

Picking up the device, it doesn’t feel too heavy and sits quite nicely in my hand. 

According to the instruction manual, the positive ions emitted during the Cleanse programme attract negatively-charged impurities like a magnet, drawing them out from deep within the skin for an extra thorough cleansing. 

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This totally sounds like what I need, especially since I feel like there’s a lot of gunk in my skin.

Plus, with facials hitting pause at the moment because of Singapore’s Phase 2 Heightened Alert measures, I’m hoping the Osim uGlow Ioncare will keep my skin clean and clear until I can head back into a medispa. 

I follow the instructions carefully, which say to first secure a cotton pad on the device. I struggle a little with this step because I realise that the cotton pad can’t be too thick, as the ring cap wouldn’t be able to fit. I end up splitting my cotton pad in two for this.

Once it’s secured, I spritz a few sprays of my toner and switch the device on. 

It’s pretty straightforward from there – the device is activated once it touches the skin. 

The micro-vibrations are a nice touch and I’d like to think that they are dislodging all the impurities in my skin. The only problem I had is having to stop the Cleansing programme mid-way to change cotton pads because the thinness made it tear faster. 

And in case you’re wondering, my face didn’t feel at all dry after this deep-cleansing step. In fact, it feels softer and more supple. 

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Next, I move on to the Nourish programme, which is supposed to work with a serum. This time, I place the cool metal plate directly onto my skin after applying the serum on my face.

According to the manual, the device emits negative ions along with micro-vibrations to enhance the absorption of the active ingredients, delivering them deep into the skin to where they are needed the most.

In addition, the negative ions are said to disarm bacteria and toxins in the skin, to keep your skin healthy. 

A few seconds in, I realise that my chosen serum is a little too water-light, and is being absorbed too quickly by my skin. I pause the programme in mid-use again, to apply more serum so the device can glide better.

Next round, I’m going to use a serum with a slightly more viscous texture to give the device more slip to move across the skin so I don’t end up dragging it and causing more lines instead.  

I finish with the Warmth programme, which consists of heat therapy and micro-vibrations, gliding the Osim uGlow Ioncare along my entire face and going back to areas like around the mouth to target the naso-labial lines, and the forehead for frown lines. 

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I found this the most relaxing. Alhough I’m wondering if I should either apply more serum or use it with my moisturiser as it needs some product to glide over the face. 

Immediately after, my face feels uber-soft and all the product I’ve used has been well-absorbed. 

In the morning, I can see that my complexion is brighter – I had used a brightening serum – and feels softer too.

It doesn’t look as dry as it usually does after a night with the air-conditioning switched on. I’m impressed and can’t wait to see what else it can do for me. 

The verdict 

I really like that it’s easy to toggle between programmes – pressing the power button allows you to select one of the three pre-set programmes, and I can adjust the intensity for each by pressing the arrow button up or down.

So while the programmes are pre-set, there are still slight options for a more personalised treatment each time you use it. This makes at-home self-care quite a pleasant experience. 

And even though each programme is four minutes long, I hardly find myself using it for the full duration – there’s no need to wait for each programme to finish before moving on to the next one.

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This is great because it allows me to decide how long I want to be spending in front of my vanity; sometimes I just want a quick self-care session after a really long day and I don’t have to skip a step to do so.

The only slightly annoying, albeit minor bit, is I’m still trying to figure out the right cotton pad to use with the Cleansing programme. Until then, I’m using half my regular cotton pad for each side of my face. 

Ultimately, the biggest thumbs-up I give to the uGlow Ioncare is that it works with my existing skincare – I don’t have to buy a special serum or gel for it, which means I’m motivated to use this more. And that’s great news because my skin will benefit from it too. 

The Osim uGlow Ioncare is available at Osim stores, Sg.Osim.com, Bhgsingapore.com.sg, Metro.com.sg, Tangs.com and Osim official stores on Shopee.sg and Lazada.sg

This article was first published in Her World Online.