Is an LED mask really worth it? We asked an expert

In brief. Emilie is the beauty creator behind Tested by Emilie, a review site where she buys LED face masks with her own money and wears each one for weeks before scoring it. She has filmed beauty reviews since 2020 and turned to LED masks in 2023, and has worn more than 30 of them since. We asked her how a mask fits into a real self-care routine, what it means for your eyes, and what the mirror will actually show. Her answer: less than the ads promise, and only if you keep showing up.

Emilie from Tested By Emilie.

Red light has quietly moved from the dermatologist’s office to the bedside table. Scroll a wellness feed for a minute and you’ll find someone lying back in a glowing mask, looking perfectly serene. What you rarely see is week six, when the novelty has worn off and the mask is still sitting there, asking for ten minutes of your evening.

That’s the part Emilie cares about. She started out filming reviews of everyday creams and serums, and now spends most of her time living with LED masks, one at a time, long enough to see what’s left once the excitement fades. We talked to her about routines, comfort, eyes and patience.

How does an LED mask fit into your own routine?

“Very simply, to be honest. A cleanser, a serum, a cream, and the mask every other evening on clean skin. I keep it boring on purpose. What I’ve learned over the years is that a serum and a light session don’t do the same job, so one never replaces the other. I also change my routine every three months or so, because giving your skin the same single input month after month doesn’t take you very far.”

Ten minutes doesn’t sound like much. Why do so many people give up?

“Because ten minutes is never ten minutes! You take your makeup off, you find the mask, you realize it needs charging, you fight with the strap… If any of that annoys you, you’ll start skipping sessions, and a skipped session does nothing for anyone. That’s why comfort isn’t a luxury in my tests, it’s what decides whether you’ll still be using the thing in two months. A velcro strap with a chin piece goes on in five seconds, while a buckled flat band, the swimming-goggle kind, needs both hands and pulls your hair. It sounds petty until you’ve done it every other night for a season.”

Does the shape of the mask really matter?

“More than people think. There are roughly three families. Rigid shells are the heaviest, they press on the cheekbones and they hold the LEDs away from your skin. I wore one with a shell so deep that I felt dizzy walking around the apartment with it on. Flat panels are lighter, but they don’t follow the face, so some areas end up far from the light. The molded silicone masks are newer, and personally they’re the ones I’d look at first: they rest on the skin, the light sits close, and they’ve been the most comfortable I’ve worn. The nose is the weak spot on almost all of them, either barely lit or squeezed on the sides.”

A lot of our readers worry about their eyes. Should they?

“Yes, and it’s the one thing I’m strict about. I never use a mask without eye protection, and I’d tell anyone to do the same. Without it, I mostly get eye strain, like staring at a lamp for too long. One mask I tested came with nothing for the eyes at all, and after a single session my eyes were irritated, so I wore opaque glasses from the second week on. Blue light is the one to really watch, since it’s the part of the spectrum that safety standards treat as the riskiest for the retina, and a mask with a blue mode and no shields in the box is a no for me. I also look for the IEC 62471 classification, the standard that sorts light sources by risk for the eyes and skin. Most brands mention the standard, very few print the group their mask landed in.”

And heat?

“Honestly, it’s never been a problem with the certified masks I’ve worn. At most you feel a slight, gentle warmth. The good news on the eye side is that decent shields make the whole session nicer, too: on my favorite masks they clip into the shell, so I keep my eyes open and watch TV.”

What can someone realistically expect to see in the mirror?

“Something modest and gradual, and natural-looking, which is the appeal in my opinion. It isn’t a filter. I wear each mask for at least eight weeks, and up to twelve when something starts to move, because that’s roughly how long skin takes to renew itself. I don’t have wrinkles to speak of yet, so what I watch is my complexion, redness, the pores on my nose and the texture. When a product page promises firmer skin in seven days, I don’t believe it. The serious studies I read run for weeks of regular sessions before anyone measures anything.”

You pay for every mask yourself. How do you decide whether one is worth the money?

“I look at what the money actually buys. The light first: how many real light points there are, how strong they are, whether they touch the skin. Then everything around it, like the battery, the eye shields, the warranty and a study done on that exact model. The price on its own tells you surprisingly little. I’ve paid top dollar for a mask whose few dozen LEDs sit in a headband and never touch the face, and less for one that was denser, better documented and nicer to wear. A screen, an app or extra colors with no proven effect are often where a high price goes.”

What about the unglamorous part, warranties and returns?

“It matters more for a device you’ll keep for years than for a jar you’ll finish in a month. I expect two years of warranty, and I think one year is short for something this expensive. Returns are where brands differ the most. Some give you a long trial window, others only take back a box that was never opened, which means you can’t really try the mask at all. I check that before buying, every time.”

If someone wants to buy one mask and keep it, what should they check first?

“Three things. Whether the brand publishes how strong the light is, in mW/cm², and not only its color. Whether the FDA clearance on the box is really for that model, which you can look up yourself in the FDA’s public database (and cleared isn’t approved, whatever the packaging suggests). And whether there’s something for your eyes in the box. After that, go for the one that feels best on your face, because you’ll be putting it on a lot.”

Where to follow Tested By Emilie

Emilie’s full reviews, with her scores and her before and after photos, are on Tested by Emilie. For the quick version of whatever is on her face that week, Emilie posts short videos on Instagram and TikTok, both at @testedby_emilie. Her YouTube channel, Les Avis d’Emilie, is where you can watch the masks being handled on camera, with English dubbing.

Price publication: 23.40 EUR

Total: 23.40 EUR