all of the lights

11 LED Light-Therapy Masks That Will Make Your Skin Glow

Looking glowier already! Photo-Illustration: The Cut; Photo: Retailer

At-home skin-care routines have really leveled up over the past few years, especially in the tool arena, and no skin-care gadget is as intriguing as the LED light-therapy mask.

Celebrities are no longer the only ones who get to wear luminescent masks and haunt the public’s dreams by Instagramming their LED selfies. There are now several regular-person versions available online, meaning anyone can harness the power of LED light — usually of the blue (bacteria-killing) and red (collagen- and elastin-stimulating) varieties — without a fancy dermatologist’s supervision.

Though they make you look slightly upsetting on the outside, and you can’t help but ask, “Does light therapy even work?”, these 11 LED light-therapy masks will get you glowing underneath by reducing inflammation, acne, wrinkles, and discoloration at depths your topical products can’t on their own.

The Colorful One That Gets Your Neck Too

This wireless mask features seven different color options to address every issue imaginable on the face: red and blue (the usual suspects) along with green (for discoloration), yellow (for fine lines and wrinkles), purple (for scar reduction), light blue (for a more soothing acne treatment), and white (which tightens and penetrates the deepest). It also comes with a bonus attachment for the neck, arguably the most overlooked part of skin-care routines (sad).

The Speedy One

If you have things to do and places to be, strap this baby on. Using two different wavelengths of red light, it focuses all its energy on firming and evening everything out. Stick to ten-minute treatments three to five times a week, and you’ll look generally glowier and healthier in just four weeks.

The Flexible One

This soft, silicone mask is less hockey goalie and more like an actual face mask that molds to your face shape for a more comfortable treatment. If you have overall rejuvenation in mind, this pick delivers red light and near-infrared 830-nanometer light, considered one of the most powerful of the wavelengths, to stimulate healing and improve blood and lymph circulation while you kick up your feet, sit back, and relax.

The Popular One

This LED mask from Dr. Dennis Gross is one of the more fashionable ones on the market. It comes with gold accents, 162 LED lights, and three convenient three-minute treatment options to choose from: red-light therapy, blue-light therapy, or red- and blue-light therapy. This mask is lightweight, completely hands free, and now comes in limited-edition black if you’re looking to stand out from the other LED-mask selfies on the feed.

The One That’s Under $100

If you want to harness the power of LED light without dropping half a grand, this millennial-pink mask is a good place to start. You’ll have to wear it around longer than most models to reap the same benefits (15 to 30 minutes compared with the typical three to ten minutes), but it’s wireless, comes with three different wavelengths (blue for acne, red for anti-aging, and orange for a nice overall glow), and has a price tag that isn’t in the triple or quadruple digits.

The Celebrity Favorite

You’ve probably seen this haunting creation creeping on your Instagram feed thanks to celebrity aesthetician Shani Darden, who uses its whopping 770 LED lights on her celebrity clients. It will set you back $1,900, but you’ll probably end up looking like January Jones, Jessica Alba, Nina Dobrev, or a Kardashian in terms of skin texture.

The One That’s Clear

This mask is like those weird Kanye glasses except it’s for your entire face and you can actually see out of it without lines obstructing your view. It’s designed to be very wearable and suitable for when you’re on the go (the mask is set on a glasses frame so it won’t slip or fall off should you travel from room to room), so you can continue doing whatever you’re doing while treating your skin to red, blue, or yellow lights.

The One to Keep on Call

If your skin is temperamental, it’s nice to have a well-rounded, high-performance mask on call. Designed to replicate MZ Skin founder Dr. Maryam Zamani’s in-office treatments, it comes with five different light settings (red, blue, green, yellow, and white) so you can focus on anything from inflamed breakouts to the annoying scars and discoloration those pimples sometimes leave in their wake.

The Renowned, Wireless One

The CellReturn mask is one of the best-selling masks in Korea, where skin care reigns supreme, and its stats shed some light on why. Made with NASA-developed technology, an impressive 690 LEDs, three wavelengths of light (red, pink, and blue), zero cords, zero wires, and no control panel (you tap your forehead to switch wavelengths), it simply becomes one with your face and makes it firmer, plumper, and younger-looking.

The One for Targeted Areas

Photo: Retailer

This is definitely not a mask, and it isn’t a razor either (even though it looks like one). While it’s not conveniently hands-free like the majority of the products on this list, the small tool from Solawave is ideal for those who want to reap the benefits of red-light therapy, microcurrent, or a warm facial massage, but in targeted areas. Simply glide it for five minutes wherever you want to reduce the appearance of fine lines, blemishes, or dark spots to see the best results.

The One That’s Customizable

$299

This might look like an actual UFO, but before you say “nope,” hear us out. The Foreo UFO 2, alongside its accompanying app, offers customizable 90-second LED-light sessions that will depuff, heal, and rejuvenate your skin. Simply make sure to apply a face mask or serum before kicking off your at-home treatment.

11 Light-Therapy Masks That Will Make Your Skin Glow