HOLED UP AT home when no one else is looking, people indulge in their covert, sometimes embarrassing, self-care routines. One of the newest involves donning a mask that would make the greatest movie villains envious. Strap it around the face, switch it on and ominous coloured light starts to emanate from the eye and mouth holes. All in the name of eternal youth and vitality.
Light-emitting diode (LED) face masks are all the rage. Depending on the colour you choose, manufacturers promise they will rid your face of acne, reverse skin discolouration and even fight off wrinkles. The most popular is the red-light mask, which designers claim uses red and near-infrared (NIR) light to stimulate skin regeneration and reverse the signs of ageing.
The claims are more than marketing hype. Red light has the longest wavelengths in the visible spectrum, and as such can safely penetrate deeper into the skin than light with shorter wavelengths. The light then stimulates colour-sensitive molecules called chromophores in subsurface layers of skin, which encourage the growth of cells called fibroblasts. These are among the first to respond to injuries or damage to the skin, and they are responsible for the production of two skin-proteins, collagen and elastin. High amounts of collagen are important for youthful-looking skin, boosting the skin’s elasticity and firmness.
Numerous experiments bear out the positive effects that red and NIR light can have on skin. A study published in 2007 in the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology asked 76 people aged between 35 and 55 who showed visible signs of ageing to use red light on the right half of their faces, leaving the left as a control. Four weeks later, the authors concluded, the right sides of participants’ faces already looked younger. Biopsies taken from some confirmed the presence of increased collagen.
Shoshana Marmon, director of dermatological research at New York Medical College, notes that small studies have indeed shown benefits for acne, skin texture and wrinkles. But those benefits are modest. For best results, she recommends using red-light masks at least three times a week for 8-12 weeks, alongside moisturisers, a broad-spectrum sunscreen and a retinoid (a class of products derived from vitamin A). “You can add the light mask on top of those basics,” says Dr Marmon, “but it shouldn’t replace them”.
Anti-ageing is the tip of the iceberg. Tests conducted in the 1990s by researchers at NASA—first in plants, then on rats and human tissue—found that light from LEDs helped wounds heal faster (as cell growth is slowed in zero gravity, astronauts who got injured in space would have a harder time healing than they would on Earth). Light can also be harnessed to treat a variety of skin ailments from psoriasis and vitiligo, by way of acne scarring and rosacea, to cancer. New research has even demonstrated that light’s ability to heal subsurface tissue means it may be useful in treating traumatic brain injuries.
Not every face mask can deliver the full benefits of red-light therapy. Research shows the optimal treatment for minimising wrinkles and rejuvenating skin would use a combination of red light, with a wavelength of at least 633nm, and near-infrared light of at least 830nm. The built-in bulbs must also produce light of sufficient power density, ideally 10-50 milliwatts per square centimetre—a new definition, perhaps, of youthful glow. â–
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I find it interesting that they could use the other side of the face as a control for the red light benefits because I have heard (some supposed red light expert) that by applying red and NIR light to one area, it will exert benefits to other non exposed areas of the body. Furthermore, if I understood the idea correctly, some of the waves penetrate and bounce around inside, too. Maybe this only applies to apparatuses with wavelengths that can penetrate deeper than the red light facial devices, however.
In the end, I am happy to try to stave off the ravages of time by whatever means necessary.