NuFACE

NuFACE is an American beauty-device and skincare company founded in 2005 [5]. It is best known for at-home microcurrent devices — handheld tools that pass a low-level electrical current through the skin to stimulate the facial muscles beneath — sold alongside a companion range of skincare. The company is owned by The Carol Cole Company [7], and the brand remains active, operating a direct-to-consumer site and a small number of in-person treatment locations in California.

The brand frames microcurrent as a non-invasive alternative to in-office facials, summed up in its tagline "Fitness For Your Face." Its devices are cleared by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and have been distributed through luxury retailers, spas and international markets since the early 2010s.

NuFACE began in 2005 as a small home operation. The company's own accounts differ on the founding location: its brand timeline places the original garage in Encinitas, California [5], while its "Our Story" page says the brand "begins in a garage in San Diego, California" [2]. Encinitas, Carlsbad and San Diego all lie within San Diego County, and the discrepancy is one of granularity rather than a genuine dispute; the company's current headquarters and treatment spa are in San Diego, while The Carol Cole Company is based in Carlsbad. According to the company, what started as a three-person team shipping devices from home grew to more than 100 employees.

The idea behind the brand was to let clients use microcurrent at home between professional facials, extending a treatment that had previously required a visit to an aesthetician.

A defining moment came in 2007, when NuFACE describes its device as the first in the beauty category to receive FDA clearance [2]. In 2008 the brand aired on the home-shopping channel QVC and, by its own account, sold out overnight. The following year, spas and retailers including Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus began carrying the line.

In 2010 the company launched the Trinity, which it has called its biggest innovation to that point [5]. (The brand's "Our Story" page instead lists a "2011 TRINITY+" introduction, but that wording conflates the original Trinity with the later smart TRINITY+ released in 2022; the original Trinity dates to 2010.) NuFACE reports that a third-party clinical trial in 2011 found the device effective at toning, lifting and contouring the skin [5].

International expansion followed from 2013, beginning in Hong Kong and extending to Italy, Australia and other markets. The product range broadened over the decade: the compact MINI arrived in 2014, the body-focused NuBODY in 2017, and the FIX line-smoothing device in 2019. In 2021 the company added a microcurrent skincare line powered by its IonPlex ingredient complex, and in 2022 it introduced smart versions of its devices — the MINI+ and TRINITY+ — paired with a companion app. In 2023 it opened The House of NuFACE and NuSPA for in-person treatments on the California coast.

NuFACE is owned by The Carol Cole Company [7], which is recorded in United States regulatory filings as the legal manufacturer of its devices; the FDA's 2007 clearance was issued to the Carol Cole Company. The company has made no acquisitions, and the brand has remained under the same ownership throughout its history.

The company positions microcurrent as work done beneath the skin's surface rather than on top of it. "While traditional skincare sits on the skin's surface, microcurrent goes deeper to help tone, lift, and contour the 69 muscles in the face and neck," the brand explains, describing the approach as "Fitness For Your Face." Its stated mission is to develop "non-invasive, science-backed solutions that are engineered to perform—and keep performing." The brand summarises its differentiators as FDA-cleared, clinically proven, aesthetician-created and clean skincare.

NuFACE sits at the prestige end of the beauty-device market. Editorial coverage has put its devices in a range from roughly $115 to about $399 [7], and the brand has presented its at-home tools as an alternative to professional microcurrent facials, which one outlet noted can cost more than $150 each.

The brand's core technology is microcurrent — described by the company as "a low-level electrical current that mimics your body's natural energy" that stimulates facial muscles and boosts cellular ATP energy to support firmness. Its signature device is the Trinity (now the smart TRINITY+), a facial-lifting system; the line also includes the petite MINI+, the pen-shaped FIX MicroWand for smaller areas, and the NuBODY device for larger areas of the body. On the skincare side, the company's hero ingredient is IonPlex, a hydra-gel complex used in its power patches and gel activators.

NuFACE attaches a number of clinical claims to microcurrent, stating it has been shown to increase ATP energy, improve facial tone and contour, reduce fine lines, support collagen production and aid lymphatic function. In figures cited on its science page, the company reports that 91% of users saw improved cheek contour and 95% saw improvement in sagging neck skin.

NuFACE received an Allure Best of Beauty award in 2020 [5], which the brand lists among accolades from organisations including CEW, Harper's Bazaar and Glamour. Its Trinity device has drawn strong editorial coverage: a reviewer for The Daily Beast called it her "holy grail" and "the gold standard in at-home microcurrent devices" [8], and PureWow described it as the brand's most popular device. The same PureWow review noted that NuFACE aestheticians have made house calls to celebrity homes, including those of Kate Hudson and Molly Sims.

NuFACE is active. Its direct-to-consumer site is live and running promotions, carries a 2026 copyright, and supports an ongoing smart-device line and in-person NuSPA treatments [1]. The brand's reach is global, with distribution across US luxury retail, several thousand spas and international markets.