I used the Foreo Bear every day for a month: here’s what happened

This Foreo Bear Review contains affiliate links

The older I get, the more I start to realise that the beauty magazines have been lying to us all this time.

The thing is, for most of my life, I’ve been encouraged to worry about wrinkles: the prevention of which I must have spent hundreds – maybe even thousands – of pounds on over the years. The truth is, though, it’s not the wrinkles you have to worry about. It’s the sagging.

No one ever warns you about the sagging, do they? Probably because there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it – facelifts aside, obviously. There is no lotion or potion in the world that can put your sagging jowls back where they used to be once they’ve started the journey south, and that’s one of the greatest tragedies of life, I think, because, WOW, why is my skin trying to escape my face, all of a sudden?

As I was saying, there’s no skincare product out there that can stop the southward shift once it’s started. There is, however, the Foreo Bear (BUY IT HERE): a little facial toning device which claims to provide “the ultimate workout for your face” and an easy – if pricey – way to “sculpt” your face, and make everything look a little bit firmer, tighter, and <whispers>younger.

Naturally, then, I had to have one. Because, no, I NEVER learn.

Foreo Bear Reviews by other people…

In my defence, the reviews of this device are nothing short of amazing:

“I see a lot of difference around my neck and cheeks!” says Robyn.

“I honestly look 10 years younger,” says EliteGirl, who apparently now looks like she did in her 30s. Imagine!

“I look more sculpted, taught and defined just after one go,” says Olivia, who, OK, on closer inspection appears to actually work for the website I found these on. Kinda wish I’d noticed that a few weeks ago, tbh. But still. All of these women couldn’t possibly be wrong, could they? Your intrepid reporter decided to take one for the team and find out by writing a Foreo Bear review of her own. First though:

What is the Foreo Bear?

In their own words, it’s…:

…the world’s first microcurrent device with Anti-Shock System^™, BEAR^™ combines FDA-cleared anti-aging microcurrent tech with T-Sonic^™ massage to safely & effectively train & tone the 65+ muscles in your face & neck with pro-level power, for lasting results. Offering the same treatments found at celebrity spas, BEAR^™ helps improve facial contour, sagging & the appearance of fine lines & wrinkles in just 2 mins, so your inner esthetician can enjoy a professional spa routine from the comfort of home.

So, it’s a straight-up miracle treatment, in other words: a kind of easy alternative to facial yoga, which will lift, sculpt and tone your facial muscles in just a few minutes per day. I was ALL IN. But would my “inner esthetician” be suitably impressed, I wondered? Well, let’s see…

Using the Foreo Bear Facial Toning Device

For the best results, the Foreo Bear should be used at least once per day, and, to use it, you’ll need to download the Foreo App. I actually found this a slight disadvantage: I’d prefer to be able to just pick it up and use it immediately (Ideally while scrolling mindlessly through Instagram, say), rather than having to connect to an app, and be unable to use my phone for the duration of the program, but I DO have an unhealthy attachment to my phone, so that’s probably just me.

Next up, you apply a serum, which provides a conductive layer for the micro-current. Foreo recommend their own their own crazily expensive serum, and provide a small sample of this along with the facial toning device itself. The serum in the sample was, admittedly, very nice, but, at £56 for 30ml (Yes, you are reading that correctly…) this is a great way to make an already-expensive treatment even pricier, so I was relieved to find at least one Foreo Bear review claiming that any water-based serum will do – and even more relieved to discover that pretty much ALL of the many serums already in my stash were, in fact, water-based. Win!

The treatment itself involves placing the device against your serum-soaked skin, and then moving it upward and outward, while pressing down firmly (but not too firmly, obviously…) to target the muscle underneath. To help you do this, the app contains three set programs, which present you with a video of an extremely beautiful, very young woman (I’m going to assume she’s actually 132, and her youthful appearance is 100% down to the Foreo Bear here, rather than that they used a model who doesn’t actually need it…) using the device. All you have to do is copy her moves, and you’re done.

There are three different programs here, each of which lasts for just a couple of minutes, and targets a different area of the face. If you prefer, however, you can choose to simply use the “manual” option, which allows you to start the device, and just freestyle it. In my case, I diligently followed the videos for the first couple of weeks, after which I switched to the manual option. Essentially, as long as you’re always moving the device in the correct direction (i.e. up and out, rather than dragging the face downwards), it will work its magic, so it’s totally up to you how you use it.

Does the Foreo Bear hurt?

One of the big selling points of the Foreo Bear, as opposed to other facial toning devices, is the Bear’s Anti-Shock System, which constantly adjusts the intensity to make sure you don’t get an electric shock from it. Having been using it daily for just over a month now, I can confirm that this claim is legit, and the only shock I’ve had from it is the one I got when I saw the price tag.

It does, however, create a range of interesting sensations: when I use it on my forehead, for instance, the hairs around my brow will literally stand on end when the device gets close to them, and last week I discovered a certain point on my neck which, when the current is applied, makes the corner of my mouth twitch. Yes, I might have tried it a few times, just for kicks. I… don’t get out much.

At no point, however, has it ever been painful. There’s been a few times when I’ve noticed a kind of a “hot”, almost stinging sensation on certain parts of the skin that I haven’t applied my serum thoroughly enough on, but that’s totally on me, obviously, and a useful reminder to use your serum. That aside, it’s totally comfortable to use, and, most of the time, I’m barely even aware of the current, so it’s completely drama-free.

Which brings us to the important part: the results!

Does this thing actually work?

No Foreo Bear review would be complete without some decent before and after photos, but, unfortunately for you guys, this is MY blog you’re reading, and you should know by now that I suck at taking before and after photos. Sorry about me.

At the time of writing, I’ve owned the Foreo Bear for just over a month, and I’ve been faithfully using it every single day, for the past 30 days. I tend to use it in the evenings. I find it fits nicely into my evening skincare routine – it doesn’t take up too much time, and it’s also a useful way to make sure I don’t skip the serum step, so that’s another plus point right there.

I’d say it was on day four that I first noticed any kind of a difference, although it was more of an an, “I think I look a bit better than usual today,” kind of a difference rather than anything specific. With that said, my mum did tell me I was “looking nice” when she saw me on day 3, and people don’t generally tend to comment on my appearance much these days, so maybe I have the Foreo Bear to thank for that, too?

After that, I continued to notice subtle improvements in the condition of my skin, but, again, nothing that I could really pinpoint by saying, “It’s THIS: this particular wrinkle has disappeared!” or “That sagging jowl is less saggy!”

And this, I think, is the main issue for me.

The good news is that, at the end of my 30 day experiment, my skin looks healthier than it has in years: maybe even ever. It’s smooth, soft, clear, and the large pores which have plagued me for most of my life seem to have shrunk. So, in terms of the condition of my skin, I couldn’t be happier.

The thing is, though, that’s not actually why I bought a facial toning device. In all honesty, the condition of my skin wasn’t my problem. My jowls were my problem –– and guess what? After 30 days of daily Foreo Bear use… my jowls are STILL my problem.

Gah.

Now, you’re going to have to take my word for that, obviously, because although I DID take some ‘before and after’ shots to analyse my results, I’m going to politely decline to show you them, because they’re hideously unflattering, and, well, I might make the mistakes so you don’t have to, but I’m not going to post photos of my sagging jowls on the internet, just to prove I still have them.

If I look really closely, I can just about convince myself I see a little bit of a difference, but I somehow suspect that if you’re spending this amount of money on something, you’re probably not looking for that indefinable kind of improvement that you have to talk yourself into thinking you can see, are you? No, you’re looking for the kind of difference that Robyn, Olivia and EliteGirl up there all witnessed –– and, sadly, that just hasn’t happened for me. Or, at least, not yet.

This post does, however, come with a massive caveat, and here it is:

Massive caveat to this rambling Foreo Bear review:

Although many of the Foreo Bear reviews I found online suggested that I could expect to see almost instant – or, at least very quick – results from the Foreo Bear, Foreo themselves would dispute that, suggesting that the device requires at least two months of daily use in order to make a difference. I’ve actually taken a break from it this week, thanks to the Headcold from Hell, which has made skincare one of the last things on my mind, but, as soon as I’m feeling a bit better, I’ll be resuming my daily workouts, and will hopefully have another Foreo Bear review for you soon.

In the meantime, if anyone else has tried either the Foreo Bear itself, or any of the other similar devices on the market, come talk to me: I’d love to hear what you thought of it!

Want to try a different facial toning device? Here are 10 alternatives…

• MCSYPOAL Microcurrent-Facial-Device

• NuFACE Trinity Complete

• VITAPOINTE Microsculpt Device for Face and Neck

• VRAIKO Lily Neck Face Massager, Face Sculpting Tool

• Enarit Firming Wrinkle Removal Facial Massager Tool for Face and Neck