Tria SmoothBeauty Laser vs NuFace Trinity

While the Tria SmoothBeauty Laser and NuFace Trinity are both skincare machines they work in completely different ways. The SmoothBeauty is a laser machine designed to cause cellular disruption and help skin grow healthier after the fact. The Trinity instead relies on microcurrents to help the muscles in the skin gain definition.

If you've landed here then you've probably tried everything you could think of to reduce wrinkles and skin sag. And don't worry, I've been there too. Time is something that none of us can fully avoid, but that doesn't mean we can't try to control some of its effects right?

When it comes to skin health and particularly skin toning there's no shortage of products out there. We have lifting creams, topical gels, and so on. Nobody wants their skin to age, and when it comes to our faces we all want to go the extra mile. But it can be hard to find the perfect product for your skin, even though we all could use one.

Today I'll go over two very specific products that aim to improve the look and feel of our skin. These are the Tria SmoothBeauty Laser and the NuFace Trinity. These two machines work under completely different principles, and yet they claim to fulfill the same role. So which one is better at its job? Who will win the Tria vs NuFace match? Stick with me as I go over all the fine details and let's find out together in today's review.

The Tria SmoothBeauty Laser Summed Up

Chances are you've already heard of the Tria brand before, as their selection of beauty products has a strong reputation behind them. I've tried Tria machines in the past, but never for wrinkles and sagging skin, and I must confess it made me curious.

Tria is first and foremost famous for its lasers, and the SmoothBeauty is no exception. It's a small and compact laser machine designed to apply flashes on affected areas to improve your skin health. I'll go over how exactly lasers work on this condition below, but for the time being, I want to focus on what the SmoothBeauty does as a machine on its own.

The first thing I must admit is that the SmoothBeauty is comfortable to grab and use. It's not too big and the handle fits perfectly, plus the laser nozzle is close to the handle. All of this means that applying the SmoothBeauty wasn't tiring at all, and sessions pass by without any complication. When it comes to the settings it's the usual Tria set of features, and this is a good thing. There's a battery indicator so it doesn't power off by accident and 3 energy settings so you can choose the one you prefer. Though the instructions do suggest that you increase the level eventually. Last but not least there's a contact light that lets you know that the nozzle is touching your skin. I was surprised at how practical this was. Since the SmoothBeauty isn't that big this helps ensure the angle is perfect, and it's a great addition.

When it comes to treatment it's what you would expect from any laser. Press it on your skin, thank the contact light for its help, and press to flash. Laser treatments do tend to leave that lingering "sting" due to the heat, but I've felt it more on the SmoothBeauty. The fact that I mostly used it on my face had to play a role, but it just wasn't as comfortable as other alternatives or even other Tria products.

The NuFace Trinity Summed Up

On the other corner of the Tria vs NuFace match, I have the NuFace Trinity, just as interesting but with completely different functions. NuFace describes the Trinity as a "microcurrent facial toning device", and if that sounds just a little bit too convoluted, don't worry I had the same initial reaction.

In short, the NuFace Trinity is a machine that improves your skin through the use of electricity. But don't expect anything drastic or scary, the charges are very subtle hence the "microcurrent" moniker. Below I'll go into more detail on how this works, but you can think of it as electric therapy for your muscles instead of skin.

Using the Trinity is even easier than the alternative since it has only one setting. Some suppliers offer extra attachments for the Trinity, but I'm using the default package NuFace offers. Which means there's only one head and a bottle of gel primer. The Trinity requires that you apply a coat of gel on your face before treatment since this acts as the conductor for the microcurrents. The packaged gel is easy to wipe off and feels p good on your skin. But since the bulk of the work lies on the Trinity feel free to switch to your preferred brand once it runs out.

Now that I'm finally at the machine itself just turn it on and press on key points in your face. The instruction manual suggests a few, but the official youtube channel is where all the great tips are. And once you have it on... it is kinda hard to tell it's on. I don't mean this in a bad way, you do feel some currents. But they are so light they didn't bother me at all. The real effort with the Trinity is setting up the gel, but the machine itself is as painless as it can be.

How Do Lasers Help Your Skin Health?

"Laser" can be a scary word, and when it comes to skin treatments I feel this applies. The heavy-duty laser treatments straight-up damage your skin, and this is intentional. They are designed to destroy the epidermis and then stimulate the lower layers to regenerate in a healthier tone. This has always felt a bit extreme to me, but the science is there. However, it's important to note that other treatments go alongside this laser therapy, to stimulate the proper recovery of the skin. So laser therapy is more than just a laser.

The Tria SmoothBeauty of course isn't that strong, it's a portable laser machine after all. But once you look at its specifications the idea is not that different. The flashes from the SmoothBeauty are designed to penetrate the skin and create "cellular disruption" as they put it. So it still works by damaging your skin and making it heal back. The issue with this is that Tria does not offer any extra treatment or even recommend any cream alongside the SmoothBeauty. So the machine feels too much like a gamble. I haven't had any real marks, but I would never use a laser without other products. And I can easily imagine a more sensitive skin getting marks and not healing as the company intends.

How Do Microcurrents Help Your Skin Health?

Microcurrent treatments by comparison are much more subtle and dare I say "natural". Before I compared them to electric therapy for muscles, and that's exactly what they do. The key to microcurrent therapy is finding the right voltage to stimulate the skin to the point of "exercising" it, but without causing damage or discomfort to us.

And the logic is incredibly sound once you get down to it. Skin after all has muscles, and it's a fact that electricity can help condition them. This means that through constant use of microcurrents your skin is bound to get a better definition and turn more firm. The best part is that the NuFace Trinity is a complete microcurrent machine any way you look at it. It does offer the complete package that you would find at a spa, and that sold me on it very fast. It feels good, and the logic is sound so I can't deny I'm quite smitten with it.

Pros and Cons

The easiest way to wrap up the Tria vs NuFace match is to compare them at their weakest and strongest points, so I'll go straight to the pros and cons of each product.

Tria SmoothBeauty Laser Pros:

• It has the perfect grip, I just love how it feels on hand.
• The contact light is super practical and helps a lot.
• Comes with 3 settings for additional comfort.

Tria SmoothBeauty Laser Cons:

• It's designed to last 400 flashes, which doesn't feel like nearly enough for regular use.
• The laser still is designed to damage your skin to some degree.
• There are no suggested treatments or skincare products to go along with it.
• There's a very real risk that it can damage more sensitive skins.

NuFace Trinity Pros:

• It's a true spa-level treatment that I can use at home.
• It's more affordable than the SmoothBeauty.
• It's super comfortable on the skin.
• I saw results almost immediately, as you can tell your skin feels different.
• There are zero risks of your skin getting damaged.

NuFace Trinity Cons:

• It takes so much more prep time thanks to the gel.
• It's not as ergonomic as I would like.
• While my copy is intact I've read enough opinions that are concerned about the durability of the plastic components.
• You'll need to keep buying gel to use it.

Let's Sum It Up

In short, both machines are very good representatives of their technology. And the real match is laser vs microcurrent rather than Tria vs NuFace. But at this scale, this comes with some caveats for the Tria SmoothBeauty. Laser machines will always damage the skin to a degree, and without any external help from creams or vitamins, I don't trust the SmoothBeauty to work so well. It's a sturdy and brilliantly designed machine, but laser treatment shouldn't be used so lightly.

On the other hand, the NuFace Trinity is a rather straightforward machine, but the results and science speak for themselves. Microcurrents are safe and can be easily delivered in this compact package. I feel safer using the Trinity, and I did feel results. So the Trinity is by far the more approachable of both machines. Where the SmoothBeauty is something I wouldn't recommend without a proper skincare plan to go along with it.

Rose Desrosiers

2 years ago  6 min