What Is LED Skincare and Do LED Masks Work?

What is Light Therapy?

You’ve probably already heard about light-emitting diode (LED) therapy because it’s been around for some time. The LED skincare benefits stem from the non-thermal energy that stimulates the body’s natural repair and renewal processes and is used for all sorts of things, including seasonal affective disorder, insomnia, hair removal, wound repair, and various skin conditions. It has been recognised as a groundbreaking skincare treatment due to its visible results and the fact that it is a safe, non-invasive beauty solution.

So, how does LED light therapy work? In short, LED lights of differing colour wavelengths penetrate the skin at varying depths, causing the skin to react in certain ways. Blue light, for example, has powerful antibacterial properties, so is often used to control blemishes, reduce oil production, and prevent further breakouts.

Red light, on the other hand, reduces redness, irritation, and inflammation as well as penetrating deep into the dermis to accelerate skin cell repair and stimulate collagen production. This makes red light therapy for anti-ageing effective for smoothing out fine lines and wrinkles.

What is an LED mask?

New York based skin guru, Dr Dennis Gross, has led the way with his innovative, ultra-easy to use, and importantly, FDA-approved Spectralite Faceware Pro Mask. This is the ultimate 3-minute, wrinkle-fighting, breakout-defeating LED light therapy for skin, delivering real, visible results on the whole face.

Using a combination of 100 LED lights in red mode plus 62 LED lights in blue mode, these work synergistically to smooth wrinkles, firm and tighten skin, diminish any discolouration, and clear breakouts to leave a healthy, radiant, youthful complexion. The effectiveness of LED face masks like this one has been clinically proven, making them a game changer in skincare.

Let’s address the elephant in the room, though. The cost. While it’s more than your average skincare product, it’s an investment that will result in long-term, visible improvement to your complexion. For the cost of three luxury facials at a spa, you get to have the equivalent of a premium, results driven facial every day. At-home LED facial treatments allow you to experience professional-grade skincare without stepping out the door.

How to Use an LED Mask

It may look unusual, but don’t worry, it’s not as if you’ll be going out to do the shopping while wearing this mask – although technically, you could. Luckily, you can reap the revolutionary LED skincare benefits from the comfort of your own home in two simple steps!

Step 1: Prime the Skin

To maximise the effects, cleanse and exfoliate beforehand to prime the skin, remove dead skin cells, and enable the LED to penetrate even more deeply. We love Dr Dennis Gross’s Alpha Beta Peels for this!

Step 2: Wear the Mask

When you’re ready, simply place the device over the face, secure it in place, and depending on your skin concerns, choose one of the three treatment options: red light therapy for anti-ageing, blue light therapy for spots, or a combination of both.

Red Light Therapy vs Blue Light Therapy

If you want to use this as an anti-ageing mask, the red-light option will stimulate the natural production of collagen and elastin to minimise sun damage, sunspots, redness, and wrinkles.

If spots or blemishes are your concern, then go for the blue light therapy which will destroy acne-causing bacteria, stabilise oil production and prevent future breakouts from forming. And guess what, if you’d like to tackle the signs of ageing and spots together, there’s an option for you too. Go for dual red and blue light which addresses both common skin concerns simultaneously.

Other Products for LED Light Therapy for Skin

As if that’s not enough, Dr Dennis Gross has also created the Spectralite Eyecare Pro Mask and the mouldable Spectralite Bodyware Pro Mask which can be used on any part of the body. We love this for the neck area!

Is LED Light Therapy Worth It?

For us, it’s a resounding yes! In fact, a clinical trial proved that over 97% of subjects showed overall improvement in fine lines, wrinkles, skin tone* and breakouts** (in a 10-week daily-use clinical study* in a 2 week daily-use clinical study**).

The key to getting the best results from an LED mask appears to be consistency. Using it daily can really boost the appearance of your skin. And for only 3 minutes a day, it's quick and easy to do. It takes longer to make a cuppa!

So, it’s a fact. This really is the best LED mask out there.