EXCLUSIVE: Therabody’s New Facial Device Depuffs On-the-go

Therabody’s latest skin care device has arrived.

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On Tuesday, Therabody is teasing its latest facial device — the TheraFace Depuffing Wand, $149 — which uses heating and cooling technology to reduce puffiness, brighten dark circles, reduce the appearance of pores, increase product absorption, prompt circulation and boost skin’s overall radiance.

The device, which is FDA-registered and TSA-approved, will be available to purchase starting Sept. 3, exclusively on Therabody.com, at Therabody stores and for the first time, on Sephora.com. Four months after its launch, the device will roll out into additional retailers, including Best Buy, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus and Goop.

To develop the device, the Therabody team tapped into consumer insights. The company began meeting with Sephora and learned that depuffing was a top need among the retailer’s consumers. In addition, Therabody customers were requesting a device that employed both heat and cold and could be used on hard-to-reach areas of the face — think under eyes. This consumer insight came directly from the brand’s TheraFace Pro, $399, which launched in 2022 and is a larger device with hot and cold attachments that are sold separately.

“It’s intended to be [an] all-in-one device that’s portable for you to be able to travel with,” said Karen Chien, director of sales, hospitality and spa and in-house aesthetician at Therabody, of the new wand.

This also follows the launch of the TheraFace Mask , $599, last September, which uses blue, red and infrared light to address myriad skin concerns, including acne and fine lines.

The new device spans temperatures from 50 degrees Fahrenheit to 108 degrees Fahrenheit — though there are three different temperatures for both hot and cold — offering a full contrast therapy -style treatment, which is a growing trend across wellness whether for the face or entire body. Ice rollers have also been a fan favorite tool for beauty fanatics for several years, though the Therabody team emphasized cold therapy should be accompanied by heat for best results.

While puffiness can be caused by many factors, spanning from allergies to lack of sleep, the Therabody team found that no matter the reason, it was crucial to address the issue with both hot and cold therapy.

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“When you want to move that fluid, it’s more effective if you go heat first,” said Tim Roberts, vice president of science and innovation at Therabody. “It basically opens up all the vessels… and it allows more fluid movement.”

Roberts continued: “What cold does is that vasoconstriction, and so following that fluid movement, you want everything to constrict and not allow fluid to come out in that area, so you have that more sculpted and smooth appearance.”

Chien likened this approach to buffing and priming a nail before applying polish, rather than painting an unprepared nail.

“The heat helps to move everything, helps with that lymphatic, helps with the bringing that color up to the skin, and the cold is what sets it in to help define that area,” she said.

Therabody is currently conducting a clinical study of 58 adults spanning gender, age and skin type and tone, which is expected to be completed in September. However, early results show that 78.9 percent of participants “saw improved firmness of skin” and 91.2 percent “experienced improved biological skin elasticity.” To define these results, Therabody employed clinical testing technologies like the Cutometer, a device that reports viscoelastic properties.

The team did not comment on sales figures directly, but shared that the lower price point of the wand was in an effort to broaden the company’s audience.

At the time of the TheraFace Mask launch last year, WWD reported that Therabody founder Dr. Jason Wersland called the TheraFace Pro a multimillion-dollar opportunity and that the mask would be as well.

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