This Is The LED Mask Kendall Jenner Has Been Secretly Using

To say the at-home beauty tech market is growing would be an understatement. With convenience and cost acting as key motivators, consumers are looking to replicate the in-clinic experience from the comfort of their own home – and forward-thinking brands are rising to the challenge with increasingly advanced gadgets to do exactly that.

Why it’s Vogue-approved:

“Our goal was to make it more accessible”, explains Tim Roberts, head of science at Therabody. The TheraFace Mask Glo is significantly cheaper than its TheraFace Mask predecessor (£299 vs £579), and yet it has maintained the high dose of light therapy even with fewer lights (the original has 648 vs 504). This has been achieved by upping the treatment time to 12 minutes, but it’s an entirely hands-free device, so remains easy to slip into a regular routine. I wear mine sitting in front of the TV, scrolling on my phone. There are two buttons on either side of the mask, one to start the cycle of red, red and infrared and blue light, and the other for three varieties of vibration. This massage function is unique and was designed to enhance relaxation. The lights switch after four minutes for skin rejuvenation with such benefits as improving the appearance of dark spots, wrinkles, uneven skin tone and firming. These results have been clinically tested in the largest trial of a commercially available mask, done on a broad range of skin types, in a controlled environment. There were also visible improvements on the jowls and jawline from the residual light.

Key specs:

• Light Modes: 504 medical-grade LEDs – red, red+infrared or blue light
• Mask Type: Hard shell rigid
• Treatment Time: 12 minutes
• Wireless: Yes
• Device type: Face mask
• Target area: Face
• Best for: The TheraFace Mask Glo has the largest clinical study in the LED mask space, with 104 subjects
• Good to know: Kendall Jenner is a fan of this mask and a brand ambassador

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Pros

• Expansive clinical trials
• Entirely hands-free
• Lightweight
• Close to skin coverage
• Lower price point compared to the previous Therabody mask

Cons

• I personally don’t find the vibration relaxing
• Longer treatment

One such brand is Therabody. Best known for its percussive massage gun, the label entered the skincare space back in 2022 after customers reported that they were using the Theragun on their face. “We realised these technologies have a really great impact on the skin and overall skin health, so we came out with the TheraFace PRO in April 2022”, explains Tim Roberts, head of science at Therabody. Dubbed the “Dyson of skincare” with its many attachments, it was followed by the LED mask TheraFace in September 2023 and now, the TheraFace Mask Glo, given the seal of approval by the brand’s latest ambassador Kendall Jenner.

How is the TheraFace Mask Glo different from TheraFace Mask?

Therabody has taken an unprecedented approach to the creation of this device. First and foremost, it is cheaper than its predecessor. At £299, the price tag has been reduced dramatically from the £579 of the original mask. “Our goal was to make it more accessible”, Roberts revealed. With LED light therapy, he is quick to point out, lower costs may mean that you don’t actually get a dose of light that is effective or safe. He uses the analogy of Ibuprofen. “We might have a tablet that is 200 milligrams or 400 milligrams. If someone were to give you five milligrams, it would still be Ibuprofen, but it wouldn’t do anything. You wouldn’t actually have any pain relief from it – and light is actually very much the same”. So while there are fewer lights in quantity (504 vs 648), the light dose is maintained. To ensure that the TheraFace Mask Glo is still effective, the treatment time is longer – 12 minutes compared with the previous nine. It’s also lighter.

What are the features of the TheraFace Mask Glo?

The TheraFace Mask Glo is a hard-shell mask that is used to maintain a consistent distance from the face, and it sits near-flush to the eyes, giving a safe and effective dose. There are 504 lights and during the 12-minute cycle, it runs through the three wave lengths: red, red+infrared or blue light in four-minute intervals, so you can stop at any point depending on your goals. Red light is attributed with stimulating collagen production, accelerating healing and calming inflammation, while blue light treats acne. The brand also emphasised battery life to give 120 minutes of treatment time before a recharge.

What does the TheraFace Mask Glo do?

According to Roberts, increasing luminosity and radiance is one of the main priorities of the TheraFace Mask Glo – that’s what the red light is for and hence the name. But this is just one of the many benefits that play into the wider mission for overall skin rejuvenation. The blue light helps to reduce breakouts for mild to moderate acne sufferers, while the clinical trial participants saw a reduction in wrinkles, fine lines and dark spots and a firming of the skin.

Coliena Rentmeester

Standing out among the sea of LED masks, the TheraFace Mask Glo has incorporated a massage function. “We wanted to look at whether there was something that could help from a relaxation standpoint to make it a more enjoyable experience,” Roberts tells us on why this has been included. “We want people to have like a spa-like experience.” He also references how a boost in circulation and an increase in blood flow may reduce tension. There are three levels of vibration, one of which is an oscillation. This used to be included in the TheraFace Mask at the temple but was moved to the strap due to customer feedback and the desire to maximise the benefits of red light in the periorbital area.

Clinical trials

Therabody completed the largest ever clinical trial in a commercially-available mask with 104 subjects (compared with Omnilux, 25, Shark, 60, CurrentBody, 35). “We have a more engaged consumer than ever before. They know what they’re looking for. And they’re asking the right questions. They need science to trust that this thing that I’m going to spend a lot of money on is actually safe and is going to give me the benefits. We wanted to meet and exceed their expectations,” said Roberts.

The mask was used by a broad range of skin types and conducted by a third party in a controlled environment – and the results were very impressive. Participants saw a more even skin tone, while the appearance of dark spots was minimised and firming. Residual light on the neck improved the health of skin on jowls and jawline, and the smoothing of fine lines and wrinkles under the eyes was striking.

Vogue Verdict

The first thing I noticed about the TheraFace Mask Glo compared to other masks that I’ve tried (CurrentBody, Shark, etc) is that the device is entirely hands-free. There is no wire attached to a battery pack or remote; you plug it in directly to charge. You can watch TV, read, and potter around the house, all while the treatment is ongoing. To operate, there are two buttons on either side of the mask, one for beginning the light treatment and the other to operate the vibrations.

Aesthetically, this is one of the creepier-looking LED masks as there is no hole for the nose or mouth. It runs through the cycle of red light to red and infrared to blue, and I appreciated the addition of the latter, which is not currently a feature of the CurrentBody devices but is designed to combat blemish-causing bacteria.

The mask sits incredibly close to the skin to give the maximum benefits, especially when it comes to the eyes. I used it for three days in a row and noticed a cluster of spots on my forehead dramatically reduced in such a short time. Honourable mention goes to the fact that it helps the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles on the neck too, boosts radiance and evens out skin texture.

In terms of LED light, the results of the clinical trial reflected my experience. However, I am not a huge fan of the vibrations. While I understand that this is the USP of the brand and I will forever wax lyrical about how the Therabody compression boots saved me during marathon training, I don’t really understand the point of it on my head. The massage in the strap doesn’t feel relaxing to me and is not a function that I will be using. But aside from these small niggles, I can’t fault it, and I recommend for anyone looking for a LED mask with a difference.