Can Microcurrent Really Help With Jowls as We Age?

One of the changes many of us notice as we age is that the face that once appeared more triangular can gradually start looking squarer through the lower half.

The jawline softens, facial tissues change and — there they are — the beginnings of jowls.

In my forties, determined to put up at least some resistance to gravity, I started looking into microcurrent facials.

And that's how my relationship with CACI began.

My Introduction to CACI

I started having CACI (Computer Aided Cosmetology Instrument) facials at a local salon.

CACI has been part of the British professional beauty industry since 1992 and became particularly well known for what was marketed as the “non-surgical facelift.”

According to CACI's own history, the microcurrent technology it adopted had its origins in medical applications before being introduced into aesthetics. The company says the technology was associated with the work of Dr Thomas Wing and treatments for conditions including Bell's palsy.

Then came a rather famous client.

The Late Princess Diana.

CACI says Diana became a client during the 1990s, helping to propel the treatment into the public consciousness.

Over the years, CACI machines became more sophisticated, combining microcurrent with other technologies, including LED and ultrasonic treatments.

The company reports impressive clinical results for its more recent CACI Synergy system, including reductions in wrinkle depth of up to 75% and improvements in skin elasticity of up to 88%.

However, it's important to put those figures into context. They are CACI's reported results for that particular system, rather than proof that every CACI treatment — or microcurrent generally — will produce those results.

And that's an important distinction.

CACI treatments are normally recommended as an initial course followed by maintenance, with the number of treatments varying depending on factors such as age and muscle tone.

I liked the results I saw.

What I didn't particularly like was trying to fit regular salon appointments around work and family life.

So I started wondering:

Could I do something similar at home?

Discovering NuFACE

That's when I discovered NuFACE.

Instead of travelling to a salon, here was a small handheld microcurrent device I could use at home.

I'll admit, I was sceptical.

How was this little gadget supposed to make any noticeable difference to my face?

But I tried it.

And years later, I'm still using microcurrent and have recommended it to friends.

That's personal experience rather than clinical evidence, of course, but the fact that I've continued using it for so long probably tells you something about how I feel about it.

What Exactly Does Microcurrent Do?

This is where beauty marketing and science need separating slightly.

Microcurrent devices deliver very low-level electrical currents through the skin. NuFACE's Trinity+ and Mini+ devices, for example, operate at up to 335 microamps.

You'll often see microcurrent described as “exercise for your face.”

It's a lovely marketing phrase, but our faces aren't quite that simple.

Microcurrent is used cosmetically to stimulate facial tissues and improve the appearance of facial tone and contour. You'll also come across claims involving cellular energy, collagen and elastin, but the independent evidence showing exactly how much at-home microcurrent devices change these processes — and how that translates into long-term visible anti-ageing — isn't as substantial as some advertising might suggest.

That doesn't mean microcurrent doesn't work.

It means we need to be careful about defining what “works” actually means.

What Does FDA-Cleared Actually Mean?

Here's another phrase you'll frequently encounter when researching beauty devices.

FDA-cleared.

NuFACE devices have received FDA clearance in the United States as transcutaneous electrical stimulators for aesthetic purposes.

But FDA clearance shouldn't be interpreted as the FDA independently proving every anti-ageing claim you might see in an advertisement.

It's an important distinction whenever we're assessing beauty technology — particularly when impressive scientific-sounding terminology is being used to sell us something.

My Experience With NuFACE

For me, the biggest advantage of NuFACE was simple:

I could actually use it consistently.

I didn't have to make an appointment, travel to a salon or find an hour in an already busy week.

I could use it at home.

And, as with many beauty devices, consistency matters.

NuFACE currently recommends using its microcurrent devices five days a week for the first 60 days, followed by two to three treatments each week for maintenance.

That also tells us something important about microcurrent.

This isn't:

Do six weeks and you've permanently lifted your face.

It's maintenance.

Stop using it and you shouldn't expect whatever cosmetic improvement you're seeing to remain indefinitely.

That might sound like a negative, but I don't necessarily see it that way.

I don't expect my moisturiser to moisturise my skin permanently after I've stopped using it either.

The question for me is whether the benefit is worthwhile enough to keep using it.

Can Microcurrent Actually Prevent Jowls?

This is where my thinking has changed.

Years ago, I probably would have said:

Yes — microcurrent helps prevent jowls.

Today, I'd be more careful.

As I've explored in my article on jowls and marionette lines, facial ageing isn't simply caused by facial muscles becoming less toned.

Our skin changes.

Collagen changes.

Facial fat compartments change.

Supporting tissues change.

Even the bones underneath our faces remodel as we age.

Microcurrent can't prevent all of that.

So I don't think it's scientifically fair to say that using a NuFACE will prevent jowls.

What I think is much more reasonable is to ask whether regular microcurrent can help improve the appearance of facial tone and contour, particularly when the changes are relatively mild.

And that's a much less dramatic claim.

Unfortunately, “may modestly improve the appearance of facial contour when used consistently” doesn't look quite as exciting on a beauty advert.

Is Microcurrent Worth It for an Ageing Jawline?

For me?

Yes.

But with realistic expectations.

I don't believe my NuFACE is secretly performing a facelift in my bathroom.

I don't expect it to replace lost facial volume, tighten significantly loose skin or physically return facial tissues to where they were when I was twenty-five.

If that's the result someone wants, an at-home microcurrent device is unlikely to provide it.

What it gives me is a non-invasive treatment I can use regularly at home, without needles or downtime, which I feel helps keep my face looking more toned and defined.

And I've used it for years.

That's enough for it to retain its place in my collection of beauty devices.

But there's another technology I've also been experimenting with.

Radiofrequency.

Unlike microcurrent, which interests me primarily for facial tone and contour, RF uses controlled heating of tissue with the aim of stimulating collagen remodelling and improving skin firmness.

And that brings me to another device sitting in my beauty arsenal:

the Newa.

So the next question is obvious.

If you're concerned about an ageing jawline, which makes more sense — microcurrent or radiofrequency?

And that's where we're going next.