Welcome to your skin check-in with Life & Style’s resident health and beauty expert, Dr. Will Kirby, a celebrity dermatologist and Chief Medical Officer of LaserAway. Every week, he’ll be spilling his candid thoughts and professional advice on all things skin, beauty and wellness as it relates to you — and your favorite stars.
Ice rollers are unbelievably popular on social media these days! TikTok and Instagram stars swear by their benefits. But are these claims to be trusted? This week we take a deep dive on ice rollers to see if the purported benefits are true.
First off, what exactly is an ice roller?
Well, they look like and feel like the very popular jade rollers, the at-home instrument that beauty advocates love. A major difference, as the name suggests, is that ice rollers have the added benefit of providing a cooler temperature to the intended treatment area.
But the concept of applying a cold temperature to the face is nothing new. Celebrities and lay people alike have been putting their faces in ice water for many years. This is a well-established technique that helps to reduce puffiness in information.
Moreover, it’s not nearly as complicated as you might think. The cold temperature helps vasoconstrict blood vessels, which can decrease puffiness and the gentle rolling pressure is a mechanical mechanism that can help minimize facial swelling as well.
Where can you use ice rollers?
Well, if the temperature isn’t too cold and as long as you’re not using too much pressure and as long as you don’t have a condition called cold urticaria, you can literally use them anywhere on the face. They, of course work, best on the areas where are you experience the most swelling, so that delicate under eye skin tends to respond extremely well.
Some people also note that they can temporarily improve their jawline by using an ice roller in that area. Early morning swollen cheeks from the night of indulgence seems to improve with a nice roller, too!
Much like the slugging trend, ice rollers are extremely popular on social media, but I do have to question if one of the reasons is because we’re just running out of things to talk about. Trends come and go, and it seems that what’s old is now new again! In closing, yes, ice rollers are safe and effective, but they’re not revolutionary by any stretch of the imagination.
On a budget? Simply put your jade roller in the refrigerator and voila, you now have a nice roller! Butt-ass broke? Soak your face in a bowl of ice water!