High-tech ways to look salon-gorgeous at home: LED treatments. Collagen boosters. Even a 'sonic facelift'. A new generation of devices takes DIY beauty care to a whole new level

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We're more than halfway through lockdown, and if you're anything like me, the effects of a last-minute salon dash are long gone. With no sign of a blow dry or a facial on the horizon, we're having to take matters into our own hands.

Thankfully, the tech industry has risen to the challenge once again, with plenty of super-sophisticated new gadgets out there to satisfy the demand for DIY treatments.

Now you can anti-age your decolletage while making the dinner, have a mini facelift in an ad break and deep condition your hair without leaving your sofa.

Or those are the claims. Do they live up to the hype? We take them for a test drive... 

Newa (£349, newabeauty.co.uk)

SHRINK WRAP YOUR FACE 

Newa (£349, newabeauty.co.uk)

WHAT IT IS: I was tipped off about this radiofrequency facial tightening tool by a doctor and an aesthetician, who both independently named the Newa as their choice for near-salon results at home.

Heat energy 'shrink wraps' your skin and stimulates the production of new collagen.

Apply the conductivity gel onto the metal head and sweep it in circles on cheeks and jaw. Use three to five times a week.

VERDICT: Radiofrequency is one of the most effective salon rejuvenation treatments, but until recently has not been available at home.

The heat in the Newa penetrates a good three millimetres into the skin and is just the right side of bearable so long as you keep the device moving. Full marks for the clear instructions. The whole face takes 24 minutes.

I got an immediate pleasant pinkness and my jaw felt less tense. I'm confident that this doctor-approved gadget will give me tighter skin in a month.

8/10

SmoothSkin Pure (£250, currentbody.com)

SEE THE LIGHT FOR SILKY SKIN 

SmoothSkin Pure (£250, currentbody.com) 

WHAT IT IS: This sold out in days when it launched this summer, with people clamouring to get their hands on the fastest at-home hair removal gadget yet. (It's now back in stock). The whole body — legs, bikini, armpits, face — takes ten minutes, as opposed to the usual half an hour.

Flashes of intense pulsed light (IPL) stunt the hair growth cycle so it grows back thinner and less often. The safety sensor means it only flashes in full contact with the skin. Winter is the perfect time to use it as your skin needs to be tan-free for it to work. IPL won't remove hair permanently but it puts the follicle to sleep so you'll need to repeat the course once or twice a year.

VERDICT: Very simple to use – no complicated interchangeable heads and only three settings, Power, Speed or Gentle. You only need to do it once a week after shaving for 12 weeks and then occasional top-ups. Already after four treatments my underarm hair has pretty much vanished.

7/10

The Neck and Dec Perfector (£270, currentbody.com)

A YOUTHFUL LIFT FOR YOUR DECOLLETAGE  

The Neck and Dec Perfector (£270, currentbody.com) 

WHAT IT IS: Celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen have raved about red light LED face masks as a gentle skin rejuvenator and collagen stimulator. Now comes a 'bib and collar' version for the neck and chest.  

Use three to five times a week for ten minutes.

VERDICT: Half the problem with beauty tech is sticking with it, but you'll forget you've got this on as you walk around the house, have dinner or work at your desk. 

It's an easy fix for an oft-neglected area where the skin is thin and fragile, and in my case has had more than its fair share of sun. The soft silicone feels comfortable and comforting. My skin is more dull when I don't use it.

9/10

STRAIGHT ANSWERS TO MIDLIFE FRIZZ 

Cloud 9 Original Iron Pro (£229, cloudnine hair.com) 

Cloud 9 Original Iron Pro (£229, cloudnine hair.com)

WHAT IT IS: The world's first vibrating straighteners arrived in September, promising good news for those of us with fragile hair. In its new 'Revive' mode, this ceramic iron vibrates 8,000 times per minute to radiate the heat through the hair more fully at a low temperature (150c). The vibration cuts down both heat damage and breakage caused by pulling.

VERDICT: I'd stopped using my beloved straighteners when my hair started to thin and break in my late 40s, but this new technology gives me the confidence to start again. The vibration is a more of a delicate buzz as you glide the mineral-infused ceramic plates over the hair, giving a good result for frizz and flyaways. 

8/10

ZAP MENOPAUSAL SPOTS LIKE A PRO 

Lustre Clearskin Trio (£110, current body.com) 

Lustre Clearskin Trio (£110, current body.com)

WHAT IT IS: These stick-on pimple patches have 15 blue LED lights to kill acne bacteria. Slap them on trouble spots — cheeks, chin, forehead, even your back — with double-sided sticky strips for 20 minutes once or twice a day for a 75 per cent reduction in acne over four weeks, is the promise.

VERDICT: These helpful little suckers don't make a noise or create heat or leak light, and beep when time's up. I did look like I was wearing giant leeches, however.

Blue LED is proven bacteria-busting technology and with the rise of 'maskne' (mask-induced acne) this is very timely tech. It feels a little weighty on the chin — my bottom lip was drooping, but a brilliant idea that your teens especially will love. Not an instant fix but it does make spots less angry. 

9/10

GIVE YOUR BROW A REAL WORKOUT 

DVS Face X’cerciser Visager (£276, davisage.com) 

DVS Face X’cerciser Visager (£276, davisage.com) 

WHAT IT IS: We all know we're supposed to do facial exercises to reverse sagging. But who wants to gurn every day? This stylish gadget makes it easy, acting as resistance for your muscles to push and pull against. Silicone resistance pads are infused with germanium that helps movement of oxygen into the cells.

Solar panels in the handle power a titanium microcurrent facial roller for more stimulation.

VERDICT: I focus on the brow lift. My face aches so I know it's working. You get a mild post-exercise glow, but I didn't see an immediate difference — although like any exercise you have to keep it up.

6/10

LEFT BUZZING BY A 3-MINUTE FACELIFT 

The Foreo Bear (£279, johnlewis.com)

The Foreo Bear (£279, johnlewis.com)

WHAT IT IS: Foreo are known for their colourful sonic facial cleansing brushes and have now brought out a face firming gadget with two metal spheres that look like teddy bear's ears. They deliver microcurrent to stimulate and energise skin cells and to firm muscles, plus 'sonic pulsations' as well for a buzzy face massage. You cleanse your face, apply a conductivity serum, open the Foreo app and follow the demo video, sweeping the tool along the contours of the face.

VERDICT: Microcurrent can feel a bit like an electric shock, especially on the brow, but the inbuilt anti-shock feature of the Bear meant I could have it on the highest of five intensity settings without worrying that I would jump out of my skin. I noticed only a mild tingling and the buzzing made it relaxing.

You can do the whole face in three to five minutes. You have to pay extra for a conductivity serum — they suggest their own called 'Serum Serum Serum', £49 — but you have to apply a lot of it to get the device to glide rather than drag over the face.

7/10

Franz Jet Dual Mask System microcurrent sheet mask (£28, pack of two, amazon.co.uk)

AN ELECTRIFYING WAY TO BEAT CROW'S FEET 

Franz Jet Dual Mask System microcurrent sheet mask (£28, pack of two, amazon.co.uk) 

WHAT IT IS: This clever sheet mask generates its own low-level electricity (microcurrent) to help its serum penetrate six times better. First apply the wet 'Enriching' sheet mask and then overlay the dry 'Empowering' mask, which you've activated with drops of a 'Boosting Essence'. Leave on for 25 minutes.

VERDICT: There was no electrical tingling with this mask, but afterwards my skin felt incredibly soft and bouncy. My crow's feet were noticeably plumped thanks to ceramides (to moisturise) and hyaluronic acid (to hydrate) and copper peptides (for collagen).

The mask started off sopping, but at the end the serum had all disappeared into my skin. The microcurrent could well have helped. At £14 a pop it makes for an affordable weekly treatment. 

9/10