Beauty

10 Best LED Face Masks I’ve Tested: Red Light Therapy Masks

Posted by

On October 21, 2025

If I had a pound for every time someone asked me whether LED face masks are worth it, I wouldn’t need to do my job as a Shopping Editor at all. It’s no surprise: LED face masks are the most ubiquitous at-home skincare devices of their time. Popular, too, despite their huge expense (Keskine’s Therapy Face Mask Pro is a penny short of £500).

But with purported benefits including abilities to reduce the appearance of fine lines, calm acne and banish redness, it’s expected that a certain amount of scepticism would follow their rise to bathroom cabinet fame.

So, ever since these red light therapy devices moved from salons to our social media feeds (later followed by LED eye masks, red light therapy devices for hair growth, LED neck masks, LED masks for lips), I’ve been speaking to doctors and dermatologists – and testing products myself – to better understand how to advise those who quiz me. What are the benefits of light therapy? How to use an LED face mask? And do they really work?

I’ve found that, though red light therapy masks can’t turn back the clock or lift deep-set wrinkles, the administration of red, infrared and near-infrared light can promote collagen production – which in turn smooths skin and improves elasticity. Some masks also feature blue, red or green light to widen their benefits. Ahead, everything you could possibly need to know.

The best LED face masks, at a glance:

SKIP TO:

Why you can trust me:

I’ve been reviewing beauty and wellness products for the past eight years – for two years in previous jobs, and for six years at Glamour. During that time, I’ve not only witnessed the rise of LED face masks from their infancy, but seen an array of other beauty trends come and go. I’ve attended press days, interviewed doctors, MUAs, dermatologists and optometrists – and I’ve tested hundreds of products. As such, I know more about brands, new releases and which products are worth your money than your average beauty fan.

To ensure I am an authority on LED, I’ve reviewed countless devices according to the below criteria, from face masks to LED neck masks and the CurrentBody LED Hair Growth Helmet – and I’ve not included masks that we didn’t like. Masks that have been discounted from appearing this edit, as a result of not passing testing, include the Lovsheme LED face mask, Nourished Body & Skin LED face mask and the Stylpro Wavelength LED face mask. Read more about why they weren’t featured.

To support my findings, I’ve interviewed experts, read scientific papers (you can read my list of sources at the bottom of this page) and attended panel talks on the subject. I also appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Sliced Bread LED face masks special in Spring 2024, which enabled me to grill experts on the topic in even more depth.

Though I am 29 and don’t personally have ageing skin which I can test on, I do suffer with hormonal breakouts and general dullness. I’ve now been using an LED face mask as part of my skincare routine for over four years, and notice a huge difference in brightness, severity of blemishes and how well my makeup goes on.

How I tested the best LED face masks:

Buying a light therapy mask is expensive; not like buying another topical skincare product – so I’ve made sure that the LED face masks in this edit have been thoroughly tested.

LED face masks take at least a number of weeks to work – you have to use them consistently, every day, for around a month-and-a-half before you’ll notice a difference – so it’s difficult to test more than one product at a time. With that in mind, I enlisted the help of dermatologists and fellow Glamour beauty experts who are familiar with red light therapy. Between us, we’ve tested 21 LED light therapy masks over six years – over the course of one full skin cycle.

When testing, we take before and after pictures to monitor progress, and score each mask on criteria recommended by the dermatologists I’ve quoted throughout this guide: results, safety (is it FDA-cleared?) the science behind the claims, and value for money. What do we mean when we say that we “test the science”? There are three LED mask features that Hannah Measures and Laura Ferguson, founders of The Light Salon, told us to look for to assess overall efficacy.


Precision	Hannah Measures and Laura Ferguson, founders of The Light Salon, warned us not to be fooled by a huge number of bulbs or multiple colours – so we’ve learned to look past that. If the wavelengths of light and the dose aren’t correct, no matter how many bulbs there are, the mask won’t be effective. “Clinically-proven wavelengths of light are key, they should be seen as the ingredients you look out for in your skincare, such as Vitamin C, Hyaluronic Acid, Niacinamide.” they said. “The most clinically-proven wavelengths of light, 633 nanometers & 830 nanometers – these are clinically proven to make a difference to the skin’s hydration, wrinkles and firmness.”
Fit	“With fit, any gaps between the mask and face can reduce effectiveness,” Laurence said. “In fact, you can lose up to 90% of the power by having your mask just 2cm away from the skin. A flexible mask that fits as close to every part of your face as possible means more light reaches the skin, for better results. Any features of the mask that make the fit worse (e.g. eye cooling pads, a hard shell, single straps) mean you’re getting a less effective LED treatment.”
Ease-of-use and features	Lastly, we consider like whether they’re wireless, have adjustable velcro straps, whether they’re made from flexible silicone and therefore comfortable, whether they’re portable, and whether they come with eye protection or goggles.