LED face masks are everywhere. But do they actually work, or are they anti-aging snake oil?
Fans of the pricey masks swear they reduce wrinkles and increase firmness
We have smeared snail goo on our foreheads and taken swigs of marine collagen.
We have rigorously massaged our jawlines with jade rollers, lathered ourselves in petroleum jelly and called it "slugging" (not to be confused with snail goo), and even injected our own blood back into our faces in what we've deemed "vampire facials."
We have paid top dollar for fillers, plumpers and peels. We have visited exclusive spas just to be coated in nightingale poop.
When it comes to anti-aging regimens, it seems there's nothing some of us won't try in the hopes of younger, smoother skin. And now there's a new product out there generating a lot of hype, if you're willing to spend time looking like a cross between Michael Myers, Hannibal Lecter and a recurring childhood nightmare.
Yes, we're talking about LED face masks, which Vogue has coined the product "that launched a thousand selfies." The robot-like masks are seemingly everywhere lately, from TikTok to Cosmopolitan and are even available on the shelves at Costco.
Fans of the masks — which can cost from hundreds to thousands of dollars — swear they reduce wrinkles, increase firmness and give them dewy skin.
But do they actually work? Or are the pricey masks that give off serial killer vibes just hype?
"It's like anything that we see on Instagram or TikTok. If it seems too good to be true then it probably is," said Julia Carroll, a dermatologist and lecturer at the University of Toronto.
"If people want to play around with them, for most people there's no harm. I just don't know that the benefit is there."
What's the science?
LED stands for "light-emitting diode" and the idea is that different wavelengths of light can trigger a reaction in your skin cells.
LED therapy has been around over a century. In fact, in 1903, the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Prof. Niels Finsen of Copenhagen for his work "the treatment of diseases ... by means of concentrated light rays." Although, as NASA points out, "he remained reluctant to put it into practice without understanding why it worked."
It was NASA that pinpointed its medical uses and lent credence to the field in the 1990s, by accident, while trying to grow potatoes on a space shuttle using LEDs.
"The LEDs were red and blue because these are the most efficient light wavelengths for driving photosynthesis, and NASA scientists who spent time working with their hands under the lighting found that abrasions on their hands seemed to heal faster than normal," NASA wrote in a 2022 blog.
Now, it's thought that red and infrared wavelengths are "absorbed by a key enzyme in cellular metabolism, and probably by other light-sensitive chemicals, triggering a cascade of effects within the cell," NASA explains. It has also been used in pain therapies and by some athletes to aid in recovery.
As Popular Science points out, LED therapy started growing in popularity in dermatology offices by the early 2000s to slow aging and treat acne.
The at-home masks have been on the mainstream market for about a decade, according to the Washington Post, then were popularized by celebrities and beauty influencers during the pandemic — when sales suddenly jumped 55 per cent.
So, do they work?
Red light is known to boost collagen, which can help skin texture and smooth fine lines and wrinkles, says Carroll, the dermatologist. It works by applying positive pressure to the skin, which then causes "sub-level damage," causing the skin to repair itself and increase collagen in doing so.
But the LED masks you can buy to use at home use a lower frequency than what's used in a dermatologist's office, and there are very few studies on their at-home efficacy. Those that do exist are mostly observational, she added.
"There's maybe a mild efficacy, and it really relies on how well the person adheres to the program that the device recommends, how high quality the device is, and their underlying skin condition," Carroll told CBC News.
Generally, you have to use the mask for four-to-six weeks to see any kind of difference, she said. The devices can also vary widely, Carroll added, since it all comes down to the number of lights — and higher-end devices tend to have a higher concentration.
For instance, beauty retailer Sephora currently lists two LED masks for sale on its website, one for $615 with 100 red LEDs and 62 blue LEDs (for acne) and one for $2,500 with 238 LEDs in total.
The $275 Costco mask has 100 LEDs in total, a mix of several colours, with a red light frequency of 620 nanometres. According to Carroll, the proper wavelength should be 630 to 660 nanometres.
Any level that would be really effective also comes with risks of side effects, like blistering and pigmentation changes, so generally manufacturers "aren't going to put anything in the hands of the public that's strong enough to also have a dramatic effect."
Are they safe?
Generally, yes, the masks are safe, Carroll says. But certain people shouldn't use them, such as anyone taking medications that make them more sensitive to light, or with medical conditions such as Lupus that cause increased photosensitivity.
Caroll also wouldn't recommend LED masks for all those skincare-loving tweens. For most people, though, there's no harm.
But would she recommend shelling out hundreds or thousands of dollars for a mask?
"I don't," Caroll said, laughing. "I think they look cool on TikTok. I don't think for the amount of time you have to put in on these devices that you're going to get a very dramatic result."
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