I hate when friends and family ask me which LED face mask to buy.
That’s because LED face masks are another prime example of the wild wellness west. There’s compelling science behind using red and infrared light therapy to address skin concerns, particularly wrinkles. However, wellness influencers have taken that concept and absolutely ran away with it.
While it’s a legitimate treatment you can get from a dermatologist, you’ll also see at-home masks touted on TikTok, in wellness spas, and even gyms as a cure-all for this and that ailment. Every year at CES, I see plenty of companies jumping in on the trend with their own versions. Some flash nine different colors, some falsely advertise “FDA approval.” It’s such a crapshoot that for most people, I generally don’t recommend purchasing the device.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I got to see L’Oréal’s LED Face Mask at CES this year.
The number one rule of wearable tech is simple: it must be wearable. You can have all the science in the world, but your wearable gadget ain’t worth shit if it’s not comfortable to wear. The vast majority of LED face masks on the market are bulky, uncomfortable to wear, and make you look like a Temu version of Jason Voorhees. Admittedly, L’Oréal’s mask does look uncanny in these pictures, but there’s a crucial difference. They take their inspiration from sheet masks. There are two iterations: one for your entire face, and smaller masks that build off the reusable silicone eye masks that’ve boomed in popularity over the past few years.
This is savvy. Sheet masks are a beauty treatment that is not only widely available, but they’re also often an existing part of skin care nerds’ routines. In essence, L’Oréal isn’t introducing a whole new step — it’s potentially condensing them.
I didn’t get to wear the prototype masks myself for hygienic reasons. That said, I did get to handle them and view them on Guive Balooch, L’Oréal’s global vice president of tech and open innovation. They’re made of lightweight, thin, and flexible material. And, unlike the hard, rigid masks flooding the market, this mask sits directly on top of your skin, which helps penetration. A user only has to wear it for five to ten minutes. Five, if they want to address fine lines. Ten if they want to target deeper wrinkles. Existing LED masks generally require users to wear them for ten to 20 minutes. Plus, another benefit of a flexible material means that it could one day also be applied to other areas that are challenging to treat, like the neck and decolletage.
Another gripe I have with LED light masks is that red and infrared light therapy only works at certain wavelengths. A ton of available LED masks don’t tell you that information — and for the ones boasting eight or nine different colors, there’s not a ton of evidence proving efficacy.
Balooch tells me that to make its mask, L’Oréal partnered with a startup called iSmart, which is also behind the tech in another popular mask by Omnilux.
“They have lots of clinicals, and working with them we found a way to bring a flexible electronic that has the same power with two wavelengths: 630nm and 830nm,” Balooch says, noting that iSmart has an extensive 20 years of conducting peer-reviewed research in this area. “We wanted to work with a clinically driven science team, and there are not very many out there.”
Balooch is also frank when I ask whether the mask’s design could potentially help make existing skincare routines more effective using existing products like serums and moisturizers.
“Not all formulas are activated by certain wavelengths of light. To activate something, you need to design the molecule and that’s what we’re doing with our labs — figuring out what molecules are activated by the wavelengths we have so we can design a particular formula for it. So could it synergize? Yes if you can create the right product. Will it reduce any effectiveness? No,” says Balooch. He noted it was possible that the fact that the mask sits on the skin itself could help with absorption as well, but that would have to be studied further to know for sure.
Another thing I appreciate is that L’Oréal is making the effort to get 510(k) FDA clearance for the mask. Obtaining this kind of FDA clearance doesn’t necessarily mean the mask is more effective, but it does assert the product is safe to use and isn’t making false marketing claims. It can be a lengthy and expensive process, which in this space, generally means a company is willing to go through extra hoops instead of defaulting to “wellness.”
I’m not about to straight up say that “This is the LED mask you should buy.” That sort of endorsement requires testing and research. Plus, we don’t yet know how this will be priced. On top of that, this device isn’t slated to hit shelves until 2027, pending FDA clearance. However, if I were in the market for such a device, these are the criteria I’d want to see from an LED mask maker when making an educated choice.