How to choose an LED face mask: 7 things that actually matter

Masks are built for different jobs, and the light tells you which:

• Fine lines, firmness, tone: red (630 to 660 nm) plus near-infrared (830 nm or more). Every mask on our wrinkles ranking has both.
• Breakouts: blue light (415 to 465 nm), usually with red. See our acne ranking.
• Both: a multi-light mask like the Qure (five wavelengths) or the CurrentBody Series 3 (six).
• Face and thinning hair: the Celluma Mystique is the only mask here with a hair-growth mode.

The AAD advises choosing an FDA-cleared device made for what you want to treat. Every mask we compare says "FDA-cleared", so read further: does the sentence name the use? Omnilux does ("for the treatment of full face wrinkles"; "mild to moderate acne vulgaris on the face"). Others say "FDA-cleared" for anti-aging in general. And ignore "FDA approved" or "certified": the AAD says those terms have no meaning for this kind of device. More in our FDA guide.

This is the check people skip, and the one that decides whether a mask works for you. Results take weeks of three to five sessions a week. A 3-minute mask (Solawave, Qure, DRx FaceWare Pro) fits before coffee. A 10-minute mask (Omnilux, CurrentBody, HigherDOSE) needs a slot in your evening. Celluma's 30 minutes is a sit-down ritual.

If you have tried and dropped a skincare habit before, buy the shortest session you can find. That's why session length is 10% of our score.

Flexible silicone masks (Solawave, HigherDOSE, Omnilux, CurrentBody) follow cheeks and jaw and sit close to the skin. Rigid shells (Shark, Therabody, DRx) keep their shape and clean easily but sit further from the jaw on some faces.

Then power: most masks plug into a battery controller you clip on or hold. Five on our list are fully cordless, with the battery in the mask: DRx, both TheraFace masks, Qure and Celluma (see the wireless ranking). Cordless is lovely if you want to walk around; it adds weight to the mask.

"Clinical-grade", "medical-grade", "professional" are adjectives. Numbers are wavelengths in nm, an LED count and an output figure in mW/cm². Most brands give the first two; very few give the third. On our list, Solawave lists 65 mW/cm², HigherDOSE 50 and CurrentBody 30 for the Series 2. Shark gives none of the three on its product page.

Output isn't everything, and brands measure it their own way. But a brand that shows its numbers is easier to trust, and to compare.

This is where masks differ the most, and where buyers get caught. Results take a month or two; a return window that only covers unopened boxes is no trial at all.

• Long trials: HigherDOSE 120 days, Solawave 100 days, Shark 60 days.
• Standard: DRx, Qure, Therabody 30 days.
• No real trial: Omnilux and Celluma (unopened or unused only), CurrentBody (14 days tied to a sensitivity test).

Warranties run from one year (Solawave, Qure, DRx, Therabody) to two (Omnilux, Shark, Celluma). CurrentBody and HigherDOSE don't state one on the product page; ask before you buy.

Divide the price by the sessions you'll do over two years at four a week (416), and the picture changes: the Qure at $249 is 60 cents a session, Omnilux at $395 is 95 cents, the Celluma at $995 is $2.39. Compare that with a clinic LED session, and almost any mask pays for itself if you use it. If you won't, even the cheapest one is expensive.

Need a side-by-side? Our comparison tool puts up to three masks next to each other.