家用美容儀器流行歐美, 是天堂還是火坑?

It’s 9pm on a Sunday and for the past 20 minutes I’ve been sitting with my back against the wall, with a jet of moist, hot air directed at my face. No, this is not some new form of water torture but rather Dr Dennis Gross’s Steamer Solutions ($125, currently only available in the US), a DIY Skincare device that promises to open my pores and restore brightness to my dull skin. It is also an example of a growing Beauty trend.

時間已是星期天晚上9點，過去20分鐘裏，本人一直背緊靠牆坐着，聽由一股溼熱氣體朝自己臉部吹送。這並非某種新型水刑，而是丹尼斯醫生(Dr Dennis Gross)的蒸汽治療儀（Steamer Solutions，售價125美元，目前僅美國市場有售），這款DIY護膚設備號稱可以打開全身毛孔，使無光澤的皮膚恢復亮麗；它也是美容越來越流行的一個活生生例子。

From teeth whitening to lipo-massage and facial toning, it seems there is now an at-home gadget to fix almost all your physical flaws. Beauty store Sephora offers more than 15 devices on its website, ranging from the $500 portable laser hair removal system by Silk’n SensEpil to a Clarisonic Mia Skin Cleansing System for $119. And it is just one of a growing number of beauty emporiums and stores selling such products.

從牙齒潔白、緊膚按摩到臉部整形美容，如今家用美容儀器似乎就能修復身體的全部缺陷。美容產品連鎖店絲芙蘭(Sephora)的網店上可供選擇的家用美容設備超過15款，從售價500美元的Silk’n SensEpil可攜式激光脫毛器到售價119美元的Clarisonic Mia皮膚清潔器(Skin Cleansing System)，應有盡有；而且銷售此類產品的美容品商場及門店越來越多，絲芙蘭僅是其中一家。

“Consumers are fascinated with the idea of fixing themselves,” says Dr Joshua Zeichner, director of cosmetic and clinical research in the dermatology department at Mount Sinai hospital in New York. “These devices are the next generation on from at-home chemical peels.”

“消費者對自己給自己美容的想法越發癡迷，”紐約西奈山醫院(Mount Sinai hospital)皮膚科美容與臨牀研究部主任約舒亞·蔡克納博士(Joshua Zeichner)說。“這些設備是家用化學換膚術的升級換代版。”

The question is: is this a great leap forward for skincare, or a dangerous step down the slippery slope of amateur treatments?

問題是：這是否屬於護膚術的巨大飛躍，抑或向非專業治療術的不歸路邁出的危險一步？

The physical changes this DIY sector promises are alluring, as are some of their endorsements. Some devices, such as Dr Dennis Gross’s, are created by dermatologists. Others, such as JeNu ($249) – a handheld device that uses ultrasound wave technology to create “an unprecedented reduction in wrinkles, crow’s feet, puffiness and dark circles” – come with impressive clinical claims: an increase in hydration around the eye area by up to 75 per cent in seven days, and up to 95 per cent in 28 days. Others offer the same technology as your dermatologist, such as the PaloVia Skin Renewing Laser, which uses “fractional photothermolysis” to combat acne.

正如某些廣告代言所吹噓的，這些DIY設備許諾能讓外觀發生脫胎換骨的變化，這一點非常誘惑消費者。有些設備（如丹尼斯醫生）是由皮膚科醫生所研製；其它設備（如售價249美元的JeNu，這款運用超聲波技術的手提設備聲稱可以“徹底消除皺紋、魚尾紋、虛腫以及黑眼圈”。）也是極力渲染其臨牀效果：在七天時間裏，就能使眼部的水化作用增加75%，28天時間裏則能增加95%。其它設備具有與皮膚科醫生一樣的美容療效，如PaloVia皮膚緊緻儀(Skin Renewing Laser)使用“點陣式光熱分解作用技術”來消除粉刺。

“Lots of people don’t want to pay the price, or have the time, for laser treatments,” says Dr Howard Sobel, director of the New York Institute of Aesthetic Dermatology and Laser Surgery. At-home devices cost a lot less than the equivalent treatment at a clinic. Three 30-minute skin-tightening treatments in Sobel’s office cost $3,000, for example, while NuFACE’s Trinity microcurrent device claims to improve your facial contour, tone skin and reduce fine lines and wrinkles for $325.

“很多人不願出此費用，或是沒時間去做激光治療，”紐約皮膚美容及激光手術研究所(New York Institute of Aesthetic Dermatology and Laser Surgery)主任霍華德·索貝爾博士(Howard Sobel)說。相比診所治療，使用家用治療儀要低廉很多。舉個例子，在索貝爾診室做三次（每次30分鐘）皮膚緊緻治療的費用爲3000美元，而NuFACE 生產的Trinity微電流緊膚儀就能有效改善面部輪廓、調節膚色，減少細紋與皺紋，而售價只有325美元。

Four to six of Sobel’s hair-removal sessions can run to $2,200, while Remington’s i-Light Pro, an intense pulsed light device that extricates hair from your body (and has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration in the US), costs ·249.99.

參加四-六次索貝爾脫毛講座的費用高達2200美元，而雷明頓(Remington)生產的i-Light Pro設備只需要249.99美元，這款強脈衝光設備能去除肌體表面的毛髮，而且已經得到美國食品藥品管理局(Food and Drug Administration)的批准。

But what about safety? Many of the devices will turn themselves off if necessary but there is a risk that at-home users may be using their devices in the wrong way, or not understand the instructions. As Sobel acknowledges, there isn’t a great monitoring system once someone takes a product home.

但這些家用儀器的安全性又如何呢？預先設置好後，許多儀器會自動關機，但若使用不當、或是不理解操作規程，則對使用者存在一定風險。索貝爾也坦承，消費者買回設備後，如今缺乏行之有效的監控體系。

“All lasers emit a beam of light in a specific wavelength that is selectively absorbed by a target pigment in the skin or hair,” says Zeichner. “These at-home devices work at a much lower energy, making them safe to use at home.”

“所有激光治療儀都會發射特定波長的光，它們會被照射區裏的皮膚或毛髮的色素所吸收，”蔡克納說。“這些家用設備的能耗極低，因此使用起來比較安全。”

I tried the Tria Blue Light Therapy for acne (·229), even though the warnings that accompanied the device had made me a little anxious.

我曾用售價229英鎊的Tria藍光治療儀(Blue Light Therapy)消除粉刺，儘管儀器上的安全使用警示讓我略微有些不安。

Time is also an issue for at-home devices; as Zeicher notes, permanent hair removal is possible but you “can only remove a small amount at a time. What a doctor can do in 30 minutes might take you hours.”

耗時也是這些家用治療儀的一大問題；蔡克納指出，永久性除毛的概率存在，但“每次只能去除一小部分，醫生30分鐘的除毛效果，個人使用家用儀器可能要耗費好幾個小時。”

Then there is the pain. A friend who tried the Tria Hair Removal Laser 4X (·375) loved the hairlessness on her lip and bikini area but said she wouldn’t use it again, as some spots were tremendously painful.

此外還有疼痛問題。我的一位朋友使用售價375英鎊的Tria4X加強版專業激光脫毛器(Hair Removal Laser)後，對脣部、大腿根部的除毛效果很是滿意，但說自己以後不打算再使用它，因爲脫毛後身體有些部位特別疼。

Personally, after trying three devices for two weeks, my favourite was the steamer. I didn’t need to read a booklet, call the company to get a passcode or test the product first on a patch of skin. And I intend to keep at it – although I can’t help wishing it came with an aesthetician to do extractions. But that would mean booking an appointment and leaving the house.

本人在兩週時間裏試用三款設備後，最滿意的當數蒸汽治療儀。我無需讀使用說明書、給公司打電話以獲取使用密碼，也無需先在自己身上一小塊皮膚上試驗治療儀效果。我打算堅持使用——儘管我不由自主地期望能有一位美容專家能爲我脫毛，但那樣一來就得預約，還得離開自己家。