LED Face Masks at Home: 5 Checks Before You Spend

LED face masks promise salon-style light treatments on your couch. Red light is marketed for fine lines and blue light for breakouts, often with a price tag in the hundreds. Before you add one to your cart, run through these five checks.

1. Match the light to the problem you want to fix

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD)¹ says red light therapy shows promise for fine lines and wrinkles, dark spots, rough-feeling skin, redness and loose skin. It also says the evidence is incomplete, and that the best home dose and how long it’s safe to keep using red light are still open questions.¹

For acne, blue, red and combined light devices can treat pimples. Visible light doesn’t work on blackheads, whiteheads, cysts or nodules, and light treatments alone rarely clear acne.²

A mask is a poor fit if your main concern is a mole that’s changing, a spot that bleeds or won’t heal, or a rash that doesn’t fit an obvious pattern. Those need a dermatologist’s eyes first.

2. Expect less power and slower results

The AAD says devices sold for home use are less powerful than the ones dermatologists use.¹² Results take regular, repeated use over weeks.¹ Some home acne devices are used twice a day for four to five weeks.²

Before you buy, check the instructions for the time each session takes and how many sessions a week are needed. Ask yourself whether you’ll keep up that schedule. A mask in a drawer doesn’t help.

3. Look for FDA clearance, and know what it means

The AAD advises choosing a device that is FDA³ cleared.¹ Clearance through the FDA’s 510(k) pathway means the FDA agreed the device is “substantially equivalent” to one already on the market. That isn’t the same as the full premarket approval process, which requires clinical trial evidence of safety and effectiveness.³

You can check a clearance claim yourself by searching the FDA’s³ 510(k) database for the maker or device name.³ If a listing says “FDA registered” or “FDA approved” for a home mask, ask the seller for the 510(k) number and look it up.

4. Check your medicines and conditions

The AAD says to skip red light therapy if you take medicine that makes you more sensitive to light, or have a condition such as lupus that light exposure can worsen. People with darker skin tones should talk with a dermatologist first because of a higher risk of dark spots.¹

Bring your medication list, including over-the-counter products and supplements, to the pharmacist and ask: “Do any of these make my skin or eyes more sensitive to light?”

5. Protect your eyes every time

The AAD advises wearing the eye protection the directions call for, and not swapping in sunglasses for protective goggles.¹

Eye safety deserves attention. In 2019, a widely sold light therapy acne mask was recalled over a theoretical risk of eye injury. The risk applied to a small group of users with certain eye conditions, or taking medicines that make the eyes more sensitive to light.⁴ If you have an eye condition or take such a medicine, ask your eye doctor before you use any light mask. Stop and get checked if you notice eye pain, spots, flashes or blurred vision.

Before you buy

The AAD suggests seeing a board-certified dermatologist before trying red light at home.¹ That visit can also tell you whether a prescription treatment, sunscreen habit or in-office procedure would do more for your concern than a mask.

Try: “I’m thinking about a home LED mask for fine lines. Is it worth trying for my skin, and is there anything about my skin, eyes or medicines that makes it a bad idea?”

Skin, Head to Toe includes a 12-week SkinLog. Use it to take dated photos in the same light before and during any new device or product, so you can judge the change instead of guessing. See the book.