Nira Pro Review: Anti-Aging Skin Treatments and Long-Term Use

I’m on a mission to share information on how to look and feel good for as long as possible. Three years ago, when I was just starting to focus on anti-aging skin treatments, I reviewed the Nira at-home laser.

If you haven’t heard of it before, it’s a little handheld device with a small round tip that delivers shots of non-ablative laser light into your skin. This heats up your dermal layer to just under 46 degrees Celsius, according to the makers, with the aim of triggering the skin to produce more collagen as a stress response.

The idea is to use it pretty much every day, with the best results seen after two to three months.

Three years ago, I used it to target the lines on my forehead. Based on what I was seeing in the mirror every morning, I didn’t think I had experienced significant results.

However, when we compared the before and after footage, I did notice that it appeared to reduce the depth of the deeper lines on my forehead. I stopped using it after that trial, and before too long, the lines were back to pretty much where they were before.

Introducing the Nira Pro

Now, the makers of Nira have released a new, improved model called the Nira Pro. It’s designed to target slightly larger areas, making it quicker to use.

Its laser head is positioned slightly further back from the tip of the device, and it has a lighter power engine, making it harder to overheat our skin.

This means the treatment should be more comfortable. I used the new model daily for three months on my décolletage to see if I could reduce the darker pigmentation and lines and generally rejuvenate the surface of my skin in that area.

Today, I’m going to share my results, talk about some of the more dramatic eye-lifting results that other YouTubers have been sharing, and discuss what we might need to consider with long-term use, bringing in the perspective of aesthetic specialist Dr. Emmaline Ashley. So, we’re really digging into how this laser works and whether I would use it long-term.

How the Nira Pro Works

The new Nira Pro works very similarly to the old one in that it’s cordless and you recharge it using a USB cable. You switch it on at the front and choose from five power levels.

Then, you have to place it flat against your skin, which can be a little fiddly. Sometimes, you have to readjust it before it will work, but you don’t have to press anything to fire the laser. It senses when the tip is flat against your skin and will automatically flash as you move on.

You know it’s working when you feel a warm flush against your skin and then hear two beeps, which let you know to move to the next area. You just keep moving on to cover the whole area once in each session.

Using the Nira Pro

For smaller areas like around the eye, this takes only about a minute or so, but for my chest area, it took me more like three minutes. Nira estimates it would take three minutes to do your full face.

I must say, covering a larger area with this for 90 days in a row did get a little tedious. The makers say that used on clean, dry skin daily, you should see fewer wrinkles on the area you’re treating within days, with the full results being visible between 8 to 12 weeks.

Mechanism of Action

But what exactly is the Nira laser doing?

While ablative lasers work more aggressively and produce faster and more dramatic results by heating our skin’s outer layer typically down to around 1.5 millimeters, non-ablative lasers like the Nira create controlled wounds in the upper to mid-dermal layer to trigger a healing response in your skin and ideally an increase in collagen.

The Nira is FDA-approved and considered safe, but it’s important to note that the indications for use are for the treatment of periorbital wrinkles, where we have the most clinical evidence of it being effective.

The company is founded by engineer and laser industry entrepreneur David Bean. His company, SemiNex, has provided laser diodes for in-clinic machines for over 20 years.

He said that since most of these treatments can be expensive, painful, and cause some downtime in recovery, he invented the Nira as an easy and painless alternative that can be used at home.

The Nira heats the skin to the point where the dermal cells send out what’s called a heat shock formation, which is a cell stress response.

Nira says it does this just below the pain threshold and below the point where the tissue is damaged, hence why they say it’s pain-free. However, if you use a higher setting, particularly on the original model, many users say it’s not pain-free. I found the old device quite nippy on the higher settings.

This new model is noticeably more comfortable, but when using devices like this, you want to make sure you’re setting it to a comfortable level to avoid overheating your skin and getting any undesired effects. You should feel warmth but no pain.

Clinical Evidence

David Bean says for best results, you should use the device for one minute a day on each eye and select the intensity that feels most comfortable on your skin. When I was using it on my chest, I used it on level 5 without any discomfort. I just felt a warm flash as I was moving on.

Now, let’s take a look at Nira’s published clinical study, in which it was used to treat periorbital wrinkles (the lines around the eyes) and involved 76 participants.

An improvement of at least one score was seen in 69% of subjects on wrinkles, so two-thirds of users saw results, and a third didn’t.

The study said that of the two-thirds who saw some wrinkle reduction, 68% of them maintained some wrinkle improvement for at least three months after users stopped using the Nira.

So, the numbers experiencing longer-term results were shrinking but still significant. The study report goes on to say there were no unanticipated or severe adverse events noted.

Adverse events reported included skin warmth and stinging, dryness, and temporary skin color changes where the skin became darker in color, but these were not unexpected. David Bean also says they’ve carried out biopsies that show the Nira is creating collagen within the skin.

The reason I’m digging into the duration of the results is that a few YouTubers have reported really visible results in eyelid rejuvenation using the original Nira, which they said has given them an obvious lift.

However, I was struck when watching one of these reviews that the YouTuber mentioned that after stopping using it for just three days following the initial full treatment period, her eyelids started to sag again. So, the suggestion was you just have to keep using it and not take a break.

When I asked Nira if they recommend resting the skin after the initial three-month treatment period, they said they would continue to use the Nira Pro at levels three to four long-term without breaking.

Expert Opinion

The experience of the YouTuber whose eyelids started to droop after three days of stopping use did make me wonder why there would be sudden sagging. Here’s what Dr. Emmaline had to say on this:

“Hi Clare, so I had some thoughts. I’m always going to be skeptical about home devices because, by definition, they cannot be as powerful as in-clinic devices.

A big reason for that is safety. In lasers, there’s always a potential risk if devices are used improperly, and those risks go up astronomically if you are dealing with medical treatments that are only meant to be performed by medical professionals like doctors.

So, if you have a laser that is available to the general public, logically, you know it’s not going to be very powerful. Then the question is, does that have a substantial benefit for our skin? The Nira laser is FDA-approved, but we have to remember that the FDA is more interested in safety, not in efficacy or how well it works.

The FDA is a very high benchmark, of course, but again, they’re focused on safety. The reason why the Nira skin laser was granted approval is that it doesn’t vary greatly from devices that already exist on the market, which is what the FDA said.

The approval for its use to help the eye area was based on a clinical study. I did try to find the study, find the protocol, and find the full write-up. It just was not available.

All I could find was a brief summary of the study, and it was quite revealing, but I wasn’t that surprised. The study looked at the use of the laser in 76 people, which in medicine is a tiny, tiny sample size, and it was an open-label study.

This means that people knew which treatment they were getting. They knew if they were being treated with the Nira laser, and they knew it was meant to improve the eye area.

In comparison to something called a randomized control study, which is the highest standard of evidence in medicine when we’re looking at whether or not something works, those studies are specifically designed to remove any potential bias, any risk of the placebo effect,

and any chance of something happening where, say, I’ve been told this light treatment is going to make your eye area look amazing, and I’m very focused on the eye area, doing the treatment religiously, and I’m looking in the mirror thinking, “I think, yeah, I think it does look better.

” That’s not robust evidence. So, look, if you like this treatment and think it’s making a difference, then go for it. I’m not going to say for sure that there’s no potential benefit.

It’s certainly not going to do you any harm. For me, is the evidence robust enough that I would personally buy this product or recommend it?

I don’t think so. We all know that the skin can be temporarily plumped up with heat and energy. I don’t think there’s strong evidence that there’s anything more going on here. I hope that was helpful. Those are just my thoughts on that.”

My Personal Experience and Results

Now, when it comes to my own results, having used the new Nira Pro for 90 days straight, here is my before picture on day one.

You might notice there’s a deeper crease or wrinkle running down from my shoulder on the left of the picture, and there is quite a lot of pigmentation.

Ninety days later, there’s a softening in that line and potentially a slight softening in the pigmentation as well, but not a total rejuvenation of that area. It was actually later last year that I did this treatment over the three months, and since then, I stopped using the laser but have been using all my face products on my neck and chest as well, including vitamin C, Bluelene, retinol, and a Calecim moisturizer.

I take collagen and hyaluronic acid supplements, and I must say that the line is still faded, and I think the skin on my chest looks even better now that I’ve been applying anti-aging products to it and also making sure to apply sunscreen there as well.

So, the bottom line for me is that this device can achieve results, though the visibility of the results is going to vary depending on where you use it and your skin type, which we really can’t predict at the moment.

It has a lot of positive reviews for treating wrinkles around the eyes, although it appears to require daily or very frequent use long-term to maintain the results. For me, it’s not so much a question of whether it does anything because we know that putting heat or energy into the skin will have an impact.

The questions I ask myself are: Do I think I can see myself standing and doing this pretty much every day or very frequently? And secondly, do I think creating a stress response in my skin daily or very frequently long-term is the best thing I can do to support its health and volume?

For some, the answers to those questions might be yes. Personally, I couldn’t see myself doing this, especially on a larger area like my whole face and chest, on a regular long-term basis.

I feel a bit cautious about using it around my eyes, where there is the most evidence for its effectiveness, but because I have worked to bring the volume back and improve the skin texture around my eyes, which are hooded—that’s just how they’ve always been—but I have been able to reduce the sagging through my skincare routine.

Final Thoughts

I’ve talked a lot on this channel lately about how I’m opting for gentler options for my skin that I can easily incorporate into my routine. This includes using a red light face mask for six minutes most nights.

I use it for six minutes because of a very enlightening discussion with scientist and skincare founder Bev May Sanderson about the benefits and optimum use of red light.

I now also use a red light eye mask from CurrentBody for three minutes every morning. Because they’re goggles, I can wear them while I’m exercising, so that is totally hassle-free.

My husband does say when he walks into the room, he’s either greeted by Darth Vader or a Power Ranger, but having poured over the science behind red light, also known as low-level laser therapy, I’m fully persuaded of its benefits and on board with it.

With red light therapy, the results are more gradual because it’s a gentler approach, and I find it really easy to incorporate into my routine.

I feel my skin is in great shape right now.

When it comes to eye lifting, you might be encouraged to hear that although I have genetically hooded eyelids, which were at one point sagging quite obviously as per this photo, I have been able to restore the volume through skincare, and it continues to hold up.

I’ll run through my entire routine in a video this summer. In the description below, I’ll link to both the Nira and the red light devices I recommend, along with some of the other products I use regularly as part of my skincare routine. I’ve got a few discount codes in there too.

If you’ve used the Nira or another at-home laser device, do tell us about your experience in the comments.

I love to hear your thoughts and opinions. If you enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up; it’ll help it reach more people. If you haven’t already, hit subscribe to watch more reviews and interviews on this channel. As ever, thank you for watching.

I hope you found the video helpful, and I’ll see you next time.