With Christmas just weeks away, LED face masks are once again topping beauty wish lists.
The glowing, slightly sci-fi devices promise everything from fewer wrinkles to clearer skin, all from the comfort of your sofa.
But is it all a bunch of hokum?
To find out, I put one such product to the test. For the last few months, I’ve been using Silk’n’s LED Face Mask Pro, which is originally priced at £265 but is currently on offer for £220.
The wireless mask has seven light modes designed to target blemishes, pigmentation and signs of ageing, with 120 LEDs and full-face coverage that reaches down to the chin and jawline.
Each session takes just 10 minutes.
Silk’n says its own efficacy testing found the mask reduced wrinkles by 16.8% and evened out skin tone by 57.1% in just 28 days.
It seems to be a hit with shoppers, too, with a rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars from 84 reviews on Silk’n’s website.
My first impression? The mask is stiffer than I expected.
I guess it makes sense given the amount of technology and lighting packed inside but the clunky design did hurt a little at first.
Once I’d figured out the fit, though, it became a quite nice beauty routine.
I’d lie down on the sofa, put my feet up with a hot drink nearby and meditate while the mask did its job.
Switching between the seven modes is simple, it’s just a case of clicking the buttons, and the battery lasts a good while.
Fair warning: you will probably feel a bit Darth Vader while you wear it and my friends said I looked insane.
So, did it work?
Honestly, I can’t say my skin is dramatically better or worse. It does look lighter and brighter, and I haven’t had any real blemishes over the last few months.
I’ve also had a lot of positive comments on my skin recently – so I’ll take that.
The catch is that I haven’t been the most consistent user. I’ve used it off and on, every couple of weeks, rather than sticking to a regular weekly routine, and LED masks can take a while to show their true effects.
According to Selma van Asselt, a cosmetics developer, skin therapist and skin technician at Silk’n, consistency is key.
She said: “For optimal results, we recommend doing LED light therapy two to three times a week during a treatment series.
“Once you’ve achieved your desired results, you can switch to one to two times per week for maintenance.
“Keep in mind, though, that cellular energy is consumed and cannot easily be stored.”
She added: “Red light therapy works by exposing the body to low levels of red or near-infrared light, which penetrates the skin and is absorbed by the mitochondria in fibroblast cells.
“This light stimulates the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy source that powers cellular activity.
“As a result, cells become more efficient at producing collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid needed to repair damage, and regenerate tissue, and helps reduce inflammation.”
With so many masks on the market, she also explained how to tell an effective device from something that’s essentially a fairy light.
She said: “Research indicates that between 20 and 50mW/cm2 is the ideal irradiance for effective results, with 35mW/cm2 often regarded as the gold standard.
“Every cm that the light source is distanced from the skin, it loses output on skin level.
“LED masks work at skin level and therefore do not need the same output as a LED device in clinics do.”
I’m not going to tell you LED masks are a miracle cure.
The research is mixed – but that’s true of so much in the beauty and wellness world. Do Gua Sha stones really sculpt your face? Do anti-wrinkle creams actually stop wrinkles?
Some of it probably works to a degree but I reckon there’s placebo effect in the mix too.
It’s always worth taking any wellness product with a pinch of salt.
If you never drink water, don’t eat well and skip moisturiser and sunscreen, an LED mask isn’t going to fix all of that.
For me, the biggest benefit of the Silk’n product wasn’t necessarily the mask itself, but the 10 minutes of calm it gave me – a little wellness moment just for myself.
Even on offer at £220, it’s definitely on the pricier side, so I’d consider it as a treat or perhaps a lovely Christmas gift.
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