Do Red Light Masks Do Anything?

I am seeing red light masks (or LED light therapy masks) all over my social media feeds and have been so tempted to buy one. It seems like they cure everything from inflammation and redness to acne and fine lines. I’m pregnant, so I’m looking for an alternative to retinol. Are they too good to be true?

—Consider me influenced

There are really two questions here, both interesting. The first is whether red light masks actually do anything. The second is whether they are safe during pregnancy.

Let’s start with the general issue of red light masks. The most common claim made about these masks is that they reduce the signs of aging — wrinkles, fine lines, etc. It’s like Botox lite.

There are a variety of studies that purport to show benefits of red light masks. This one, for example, which argues that red light mask usage reduced signs of aging in 20 healthy volunteers. Or this one, which argues that it shows efficacy in men (an apparently understudied group, at least when it comes to face aging).

However, these studies are subject to various biases, including possible individual or evaluator bias, and the authors are usually affiliated with the companies that make these masks. That doesn’t necessarily mean the results are not true, but it does raise some concerns.

It turns out that some more-objective data does not show strong support. This is my favorite paper on the topic, which randomized participants into either LED masks or a sham treatment — a red light that wasn’t a mask. The participants did not know which treatment they got. Everyone said their skin improved, but objective measures of wrinkles showed . . . nothing. Another helpful paper treated only half the face and compared the two halves. Again, people said they thought it worked, but objective measures showed nothing.

I am not one to pooh-pooh the placebo effect. If you use one of these masks, you might well think you look younger, but the objective measures are probably not going to support that.

In terms of pregnancy: many websites warn against use of these masks in pregnancy, due to lack of data. It is true there is no data, but it’s worth noting there is also absolutely no reason to think this mask would be dangerous to your pregnancy. The potential caution relates to the fact that your skin is more sensitive during pregnancy, so it is possible that the light would be more irritating. Then again, given that the whole thing is kind of useless, maybe the caution is also unwarranted.