The Device (And Gel And App) For Glowing Skin

Full disclosure, and true story: For the past six months, I’ve been working with ZIIP. I’ve been using the ZIIP Nano Current Device for the past three years, during which time I would tell anyone who would listen that it was the real deal.

I first met its co-founder, Melanie Simon, eight years ago, when I started as the beauty director of Town & Country. One of the first stories I assigned was a profile of her, and I distinctly remember her talking about the strange looks she would get at airport security when she rolled through with giant probes and professional aesthetician machines that delivered electrical current—pico, nano, micro, you name it—to the skin. When she visited me in New York a few years later with her partner, David Mason, and a device that fit into a snug plastic bag the size of a computer mouse, I was intrigued.

Like all the beauty devices that passed through my office, I took it home. The difference? I kept reaching for it—and the gel and the companion app—again and again, through wildly different skincare regimens and daily routines.

I would wake up. Feel tired. Look even more tired. Sync VitalEyes.
I had a pimple coming. A big one. Sync Total Clearing.
I didn’t have time for a facial but wanted one. Sync Energize.
I didn’t have time for a facial at all. Sync Instant Gratification.

Simply put: Every time I used it, my skin looked better. A lot better. Glow might be the most overused word in the beauty industry right now. But, really, it delivered on glow in a major way. And on sculpting. And on lifting. And on reducing breakouts. I couldn’t just attribute its effects to the device itself. The Golden Gel I put on before each treatment acted as a masque that allowed the current to flow from the ZIIP to my skin, while the same current helped to push in peptides, growth factors, and bio-placenta.

And then Silver Gel came along, and I fell in love all over again. It has the same Electric Complex as Golden Gel, a highly-calibrated and hydrating base of dehydrated seawater filled with electrolytes, minerals, and pharmaceutical-grade glycerin that Melanie landed on after testing 40 different versions. It does the conducting and ensures the most effective transfer of electricty. It took her almost as long to land on the Electric Complex as it did to develop ZIIP. But Silver Gel is paired with a finely crushed pearl powder that plumps and brightens, and a completely wild teeny-tiny hyaluronic acid molecule from Japan that draws moisture into your skin for 24 hours after you apply it. Melanie calls it an octopus because it latches onto your skin and stays there, even after you wash your face. I use it on its own as a masque (on the nights I’m not doing Biologique Recherche Masque Vivant, Sisley Black Rose, or Omorovicza Silver Skin Saviour), I use it with ZIIP, and I leave it on afterward.

Facialists are my rock stars, and Melanie is my Mick Jagger. Even though I’m in the band now, I’m still a fan. I still sync a treatment at least two or three times a week. And I’m still talking about it to anyone who will listen.

 

WHAT ZIIP DOES
ZIIP emits electrical currents that increase ATP in your skin. ATP is kind of like a nudge for your skin cells—it helps them communicate with one another more effectively, making it possible for them to heal, retain moisture, increase collagen and elastin production, and basically be the best version of themselves. It’s “you do you,” but optimized and on a cellular level.

HOW I ZIIP
CLEANSE: You have to thoroughly remove makeup and wash your face. Oil blocks electricity, so avoid an oil cleanser before you ZIIP. If you use toner, do it now. I’ve just started using the Doctor Rogers Restore face wash followed by Biologique Recherche P50.

APPLY CONDUCTIVE GEL: You have to apply a lot of conductive gel. Melanie uses nine pumps; sometimes I use even more. I put it all over my face and my neck. (Side note on which gel to use: I alternate. I use Silver Gel when I want more brightening and plumping; I use Golden Gel when I want more firming and filling of lines.)

SELECT A NEW TREATMENT: Here’s where the app comes in. Open it and choose from one of seven electrical treatments. I still use the original one, Energize, the most. It’s a 12-minute nanocurrent and microcurrent facial that really does it all, from the neck to the jawline to cheekbones and eyes and lips and forehead. I also layer treatments one after the other. One of my new favorite combos is VitalEyes followed by Pigment and Quick Fix.

SYNC IT & ZIIP: Send the treatment to your ZIIP. Watch the video in the app and follow along with Melanie. It’s the next best thing to having her give you a facial herself.