This buzzing skin treatment is a truly electrifying experience.
The galvanic facials – nicknamed “Hannibal Lecter” – send electrical currents through the skin via a spooky beige mask, promising firmer skin, better circulation and smaller pores while promoting hydration and reducing breakouts.
But glass skin comes at a cost, at least in your wallet. While price points vary by location and duration, USA Today it is estimated that galvanic facials cost about $180 per session.
Despite youth-chasing evangelists singing its praises, the treatment may not be as killer as it seems—and, not to mention, research on it is scant—experts warn.
“For facial rejuvenation, it’s not really well studied,” a New York dermatologist Dr. Muneeb Shah he told The Post.
Apart from one study, little to no research has been done on the skin-boosting properties of the galvanic facial, despite the fad that comes and goes “in waves” every few decades, he noted.
“Now it’s coming back because it has this really cool look on social media where you basically like wrap your face and towel so you look like Hannibal Lecter,” he said of the procedure named after the serial killer who played by Anthony Hopkins. in the 1991 thriller The Silence of the Lambs.
Overhead LA editor Emily Bernstein took on the creepy fest earlier this year, heading to the SoCal Marianne Kehoe Skin Studio to undergo the electric treatment, where wet washcloths were placed over her face with a brown Lecter-esque mask on top.
In a video uploaded to YouTubeBernstein recorded the entire process from start to finish—including when she could taste metal under her tongue as the electricity ran through her skin.
“Hannibal’s face is to die for,” she said looking at her reflection and glowing complexion.
But Shah doesn’t expect any long-term benefits for the brave souls who brave the treatment, which has the potential to “increase the penetration of your skincare ingredients.”
“If anything, one of the main things galvanic energy has been shown to do is increase blood flow,” he explained to The Post, saying it could worsen the appearance of visible facial veins or redness in those who are prone to it. .
Those with pacemakers or any other metal in their bodies should also avoid galvanic facial treatments because of the electrical current.
And, worse, the “devices are poorly regulated” and could pose a burn threat if the technology goes wrong.
“They look kind of barbaric,” Shah said of the mask.
“Well, my concern would be that if one of them short-circuits because it gets some water in it, and then you end up with burns or something locally on the skin.”
But, if all goes well for the average person, it could, at most, make them look like they went for a run, “where you like to look a little refreshed,” he added.
“It will give you, for example, a temporarily refreshed look but probably nothing in the long term,” he said.
While the method is similar to iontophoresis—a treatment used to stop sweating in areas like the palms and underarms—Shah recommends sticking to tried-and-true methods.
A traditional facial, he said, is “more standardized” and “safer” because the equipment is “easier to use.”
“[The] The galvanic face hasn’t really been proven any more than any of them have been,” he said.
