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.
时间已是星期天晚上9点，过去20分钟里，本人一直背紧靠墙坐着，听由一股湿热气体朝自己脸部吹送。这并非某种新型水刑，而是丹尼斯医生(Dr Dennis Gross)的蒸汽治疗仪（Steamer Solutions，售价125美元，目前仅美国市场有售），这款DIY护肤设备号称可以打开全身毛孔，使无光泽的皮肤恢复亮丽；它也是美容越来越流行的一个活生生例子。
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.
从牙齿洁白、紧肤按摩到脸部整形美容，如今家用美容仪器似乎就能修复身体的全部缺陷。美容产品连锁店丝芙兰(Sephora)的网店上可供选择的家用美容设备超过15款，从售价500美元的Silk’n SensEpil可携式激光脱毛器到售价119美元的Clarisonic Mia皮肤清洁器(Skin Cleansing System)，应有尽有；而且销售此类产品的美容品商场及门店越来越多，丝芙兰仅是其中一家。
“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.”
“消费者对自己给自己美容的想法越发痴迷，”纽约西奈山医院(Mount Sinai hospital)皮肤科美容与临床研究部主任约舒亚·蔡克纳博士(Joshua Zeichner)说。“这些设备是家用化学换肤术的升级换代版。”
The question is: is this a great leap forward for skincare, or a dangerous step down the slippery slope of amateur treatments?
问题是：这是否属于护肤术的巨大飞跃，抑或向非专业治疗术的不归路迈出的危险一步？
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.
正如某些广告代言所吹嘘的，这些DIY设备许诺能让外观发生脱胎换骨的变化，这一点非常诱惑消费者。有些设备（如丹尼斯医生）是由皮肤科医生所研制；其它设备（如售价249美元的JeNu，这款运用超声波技术的手提设备声称可以“彻底消除皱纹、鱼尾纹、虚肿以及黑眼圈”。）也是极力渲染其临床效果：在七天时间里，就能使眼部的水化作用增加75%，28天时间里则能增加95%。其它设备具有与皮肤科医生一样的美容疗效，如PaloVia皮肤紧致仪(Skin Renewing Laser)使用“点阵式光热分解作用技术”来消除粉刺。
“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.
“很多人不愿出此费用，或是没时间去做激光治疗，”纽约皮肤美容及激光手术研究所(New York Institute of Aesthetic Dermatology and Laser Surgery)主任霍华德·索贝尔博士(Howard Sobel)说。相比诊所治疗，使用家用治疗仪要低廉很多。举个例子，在索贝尔诊室做三次（每次30分钟）皮肤紧致治疗的费用为3000美元，而NuFACE 生产的Trinity微电流紧肤仪就能有效改善面部轮廓、调节肤色，减少细纹与皱纹，而售价只有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.
参加四-六次索贝尔脱毛讲座的费用高达2200美元，而雷明顿(Remington)生产的i-Light Pro设备只需要249.99美元，这款强脉冲光设备能去除肌体表面的毛发，而且已经得到美国食品药品管理局(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.
但这些家用仪器的安全性又如何呢？预先设置好后，许多仪器会自动关机，但若使用不当、或是不理解操作规程，则对使用者存在一定风险。索贝尔也坦承，消费者买回设备后，如今缺乏行之有效的监控体系。
“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.”
“所有激光治疗仪都会发射特定波长的光，它们会被照射区里的皮肤或毛发的色素所吸收，”蔡克纳说。“这些家用设备的能耗极低，因此使用起来比较安全。”
I tried the Tria Blue Light Therapy for acne (·229), even though the warnings that accompanied the device had made me a little anxious.
我曾用售价229英镑的Tria蓝光治疗仪(Blue Light Therapy)消除粉刺，尽管仪器上的安全使用警示让我略微有些不安。
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.”
耗时也是这些家用治疗仪的一大问题；蔡克纳指出，永久性除毛的概率存在，但“每次只能去除一小部分，医生30分钟的除毛效果，个人使用家用仪器可能要耗费好几个小时。”
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.
此外还有疼痛问题。我的一位朋友使用售价375英镑的Tria4X加强版专业激光脱毛器(Hair Removal Laser)后，对唇部、大腿根部的除毛效果很是满意，但说自己以后不打算再使用它，因为脱毛后身体有些部位特别疼。
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.
本人在两周时间里试用三款设备后，最满意的当数蒸汽治疗仪。我无需读使用说明书、给公司打电话以获取使用密码，也无需先在自己身上一小块皮肤上试验治疗仪效果。我打算坚持使用——尽管我不由自主地期望能有一位美容专家能为我脱毛，但那样一来就得预约，还得离开自己家。