This article is for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice. Individual results vary.
The most common question from new ageLOC LumiSpa iO owners is the simplest one: which treatment head should I be using? The head is the part that touches your face, it is the part you replace, and it is the one choice in the system that depends on your skin rather than on your bathroom shelf.
The honest version of the answer is shorter than most guides make it. Nu Skin sells three treatment heads for the iO device — Gentle, Normal and Firm — plus the Accent, which is the small head for the eye area. That is the whole range, and Nu Skin describes each one in a single sentence. Below are those sentences, what they mean in practice, and how to tell when you have picked the wrong one.
What Nu Skin actually publishes about the heads
We quote the manufacturer here rather than writing our own version. Anything beyond these lines would be ours, not theirs:
- "The Gentle treatment head is our gentlest choice and is great for those with sensitive or acne-prone skin."
- "The Normal treatment head is the standard choice and is designed for most skin types."
- "The Firm treatment head is for those who want the most aggressive experience but is not recommended for those with sensitive or acne-prone skin."
On the material they print: "Gentle, nonabrasive silicone surfaces contains antimicrobial silver and is more hygienic than brushes commonly used with other devices." And on how the head works with the device: it is "made of nonabrasive silicone, works specifically with your ageLOC LumiSpa iO device at the precise frequency needed to promote skin renewal."
The benefits Nu Skin lists for the head are the same three they list for the device: "Softer and smoother after one use", "Seven clinically proven benefits", and "Benefits intensify over time."
The three heads, in practice
Gentle
Nu Skin's line: "The Gentle treatment head is our gentlest choice and is great for those with sensitive or acne-prone skin."
Who tends to end up here: skin that flushes easily, skin that is currently breaking out, skin that has become thinner and more reactive with age, and anyone who has been put off devices before by a brush that felt like sandpaper. It is also the sensible head to start on if you are nervous, because you can always move up.
How to use it well: let the device carry its own weight. Pressing harder does not make a gentle head behave like a firm one; it just makes the treatment uncomfortable. If your skin is settling after a reaction or a procedure, start at once a day in the evening and add the morning treatment once you know how your skin responds.
Normal
Nu Skin's line: "The Normal treatment head is the standard choice and is designed for most skin types." Of the Normal head specifically they add: "It's designed to remove makeup and impurities and is the perfect choice for most skin types."
Who tends to end up here: most people, including most combination skin — an oilier forehead and nose with drier cheeks is the ordinary case, not a special one. If you genuinely do not know your skin type, this is where to begin and you can adjust later.
How to use it well: this is the head to judge the others against. Give it a few weeks of consistent twice-daily use before deciding it is too much or not enough. Skin that is simply adjusting to a new routine can look busier for a fortnight, and switching heads in week one tells you nothing.
Firm
Nu Skin's line: "The Firm treatment head is for those who want the most aggressive experience but is not recommended for those with sensitive or acne-prone skin."
Who tends to end up here: resilient, oilier skin that finds the Normal head underwhelming after a few months. Note the second half of Nu Skin's sentence, because it is unusually direct for a product page — if you are breaking out or your skin is sensitive, this is not the head for you, however tempting "most aggressive" sounds.
How to use it well: use less pressure, not more. A firmer head with a heavy hand is the one combination likely to leave skin looking irritated. If you see redness that has not settled by the time you have finished your moisturizer, step back to Normal.
And the Accent, for the eye area
Nu Skin lists the Accent alongside the three face heads, and it is the eye-area one. It is a different shape for a different job: the skin around the eyes is thinner than the skin on your cheeks, and the full-face device is not built for it. If that is the part of your face you actually want to work on, we have written it up separately in LumiSpa iO vs LumiSpa iO Accent. Shop the Accent in Blue or Rose Gold.
How to choose your starting head
| Where your skin sits | Head to start on |
|---|---|
| Sensitive, reactive, flushes easily | Gentle |
| Currently acne-prone or breaking out | Gentle |
| Rosacea, eczema or persistent redness | Gentle |
| Thinner and drier than it used to be | Gentle |
| Balanced, no particular complaint | Normal |
| Oilier T-zone, drier cheeks | Normal |
| Not sure of your skin type | Normal |
| Robust, oilier, wants more from the device | Firm |
When to switch
Your skin is not fixed. It changes with the season, with hormones, with medication, and with whatever else is going on in a given year. The heads are interchangeable precisely so you are not stuck with a decision you made once.
Step down to a gentler head when:
- Your skin has turned drier or more reactive, which often happens through the forties and fifties
- You are in a patch of redness or breakouts — Nu Skin puts acne-prone skin on the Gentle head, not the Firm one
- Winter has arrived and your skin feels tighter than it did in August
- You have had a facial treatment and your skin is still recovering
Step up when:
- Your skin has become oilier, through hormones or summer humidity
- Your current head has stopped feeling like it is doing much, and you have ruled out a head that is simply overdue for replacement
One caution worth stating plainly: if you are switching because you want faster results, switch cleansers or fix your consistency first. A firmer head is not a shortcut.
Care and replacement
- Cleaning: rinse the head under running water after every use. The silicone is nonabrasive and carries antimicrobial silver, and there are no bristles for residue to sit in. A weekly wash with a mild soap is plenty.
- Replacement: Nu Skin states that "a treatment head is designed to last for at least three months when used twice a day." That is their figure, not ours, and it is the one to plan around.
- Storage: leave it on the device or somewhere dry. A damp drawer is the one place it should not live.
What goes with it
The head is one part of the system. The other two that matter:
- The ageLOC LumiSpa Treatment Cleanser — Nu Skin formulates the cleansers to be used with the device, and the treatment is designed around that pairing
- The Nu Skin Vera app — for guided two-minute treatments and a record of what you actually did
Where to buy treatment heads
Replacement heads are in stock at NuBodyRx: LumiSpa iO Silicone Treatment Head in Blue, in Black, and the Rose Gold Firm head. Everything else that attaches to the device is in Accessories & Treatment Heads, and the device itself is on the LumiSpa iO page.
Sealed and genuine, fast US shipping, a 90-day money-back guarantee, and no membership or distributor account needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which LumiSpa iO treatment head is best for sensitive skin?
The Gentle head. Nu Skin's own wording is "The Gentle treatment head is our gentlest choice and is great for those with sensitive or acne-prone skin." The Firm head is the one they specifically do not recommend for sensitive or acne-prone skin.
Which head should I use for combination skin?
Normal. Nu Skin describes it as "the standard choice" and "designed for most skin types", and an oilier T-zone with drier cheeks is the most common skin there is. Start there and adjust only if your skin gives you a reason to.
How often should I replace my LumiSpa iO treatment head?
Nu Skin states that "a treatment head is designed to last for at least three months when used twice a day." If yours is older than that, replace it before you judge whether the device is still working.
Can I use any cleanser with the LumiSpa iO?
Nu Skin formulates the ageLOC LumiSpa treatment cleansers to work with the device, and describes the head as working "at the precise frequency needed to promote skin renewal" with that device. That pairing is what their claims are based on, so it is what we would recommend sticking to.
Do the different heads have different motors or settings?
No. The device provides the movement — Nu Skin's patented Micropulse Oscillation Technology — and the head differs in how firm it is. Gentle, Normal and Firm are three firmnesses of the same nonabrasive silicone.
Where can I buy LumiSpa iO treatment heads?
At NuBodyRx.com, sealed and genuine, with fast US shipping and no membership required. The full range is in Accessories & Treatment Heads.