Meet The New LED Light Mask Instagram's Obsessed With

When it comes to beauty devices you can use at home, you’ve got a whole army of options to pick from: those that vibrate to tone your skin, tools that sculpt your facial muscles via microcurrent waves, rollers that gently massage, and light therapy masks. As of late, it’s the latter category that’s been experiencing an upgrade. One prime example? LŪMM’s LED GlowPanel 2.0.

Originally, you could only get LED light therapy done by professionals. But, over the past few years, LED masks have trickled onto the beauty shelves for at-home use. Here’s how they work: These masks emit different colors of LED light (usually red, blue, and yellow) to penetrate your skin cells and bring about different benefits. Each color transmits a different light wavelength to achieve specific results, explains Ryan McCarthy, co-founder of LŪMM. The blue light combats acne-causing bacteria, the red light helps with stimulating collagen production, and the yellow light helps even out your complexion. The overall goal of each? To leave users with more radiant skin.

Thanks to innovations in technology, these LED facial masks have slowly become less chunky, heavy, and expensive. LŪMM’s LED GlowPanel 2.0 is almost paper-thin — and, rather than being a Hannibal Lecter-style mask, you simply wear it like a pair of sunglasses that happens to have a see-through shield covering your face. According to the brand, the device has been selling out on its Instagram shop (perhaps because of its ease of use). McCarthy exclusively tells Bustle the brand launched the GlowPanel 2.0 with a specific goal. “There are so many LED products on the market,” he says. “Our objective was [to] create a brand that would be inclusive, effective, and affordable.”

The appeal may also be because of the before and after photos shown on the brand’s Instagram. Below is one user’s skin improvement after using the mask twice a day for three weeks. The mask treatment is meant to be used every day — ideally twice a day, says McCarthy, for 15-minute sessions. It’s best used on a clean face before applying your skin care products.

The GlowPanel 2.0 costs $149, but is currently on sale for $99.

Studies referenced:

Dai, T. (2012). Blue light for infectious diseases: Propionibacterium acnes, Helicobacter pylori, and beyond?. Drug Resist Updat. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3438385/

Opel, D. (2015). Light-emitting Diodes. The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4479368/

Wunsch, A. (2014). A Controlled Trial to Determine the Efficacy of Red and Near-Infrared Light Treatment in Patient Satisfaction, Reduction of Fine Lines, Wrinkles, Skin Roughness, and Intradermal Collagen Density Increase. Photomedicine and Laser Surgery. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3926176/