Red light therapy, or therapy using red and near-infrared light, is becoming a major trend, and various options and devices for red light therapy are emerging. But which method is better? That’s what we’ll look at today. We’ll discuss studies, measurements, and the advantages and disadvantages of the devices.
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LED mask |
Panel |
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Use |
Face |
Face, décolletage, body |
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Convenience |
Put it on and relax |
You need to stand or sit by the panel |
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Irradiance on the skin |
Usually lower and less even; depends on the model |
Usually higher and more even |
What red light therapy is and what matters
For those who don’t know, red light therapy is a treatment in which red and near-infrared light is used on a specific part of the body or the face. This can have a range of effects, such as promoting collagen production, reducing wrinkles, and rejuvenating the skin overall. Light therapy is also being studied in connection with hair growth.
It’s important to note that for the therapy to work, it can’t just be any red light. It needs to meet certain specifications, such as having an appropriate wavelength. Studies often use red light at around 630–660 nm and near-infrared light at around 800–850 nm (Jagdeo et al., 2018; Park et al., 2025). Light intensity, dose, and treatment duration are also important.
Advantages and disadvantages
A facial LED mask is convenient to use. You put it on and can do other things during the treatment. Its compact size also makes it easy to pack, for example, for a vacation. The downside is that it only illuminates the face, so you can’t use it to treat other parts of the body. Its output and intensity may be lower than those of panels.
A red light panel illuminates a larger area and lets you choose which part of the body to treat. However, during therapy, you need to face the panel. This makes it harder to do other things. Its advantage may be its higher light intensity. Panels often come with stands, and some can be mounted on a wall or placed on a table or the floor.
Studies and measurements
Studies have looked at both red light panels and facial LED masks, but they don’t tell us on their own which is more effective. There are few direct comparative studies.
This is what the creator of the @evibacarter1 account set out to investigate: whether LED masks and panels are equally powerful.
The video’s creator claims that for the therapy to work, the light needs to have a sufficiently high intensity. However, high-intensity LEDs heat up. In panels, the LEDs are farther from the skin and are cooled by heat sinks and fans, which allows them to be more powerful. The LEDs in masks are positioned right next to the face, and LEDs as powerful as those in panels would heat up. So, according to the creator, manufacturers use much lower-powered LEDs in masks.
They supported this claim with measurements of one popular mask. The mask’s manufacturer states an irradiance of 30 mW/cm². The creator, @evibacarter1, measured half that (14 mW/cm²), and only directly above an LED. Between the LEDs, they measured 1 mW/cm². The average across the entire surface was about 2 mW/cm². This means the light reaches you unevenly.
The creator claims all masks have the same problem and recommends a panel for at-home therapy based on their measurements (@evibacarter1, 2024).
There are also studies showing that masks work. For example, one study used a mask that emitted light at an intensity of up to 10 mW/cm². That is lower than the 14 mW/cm² the creator @evibacarter1 measured directly above the LEDs, yet the study still found positive results. After 12 weeks of use, wrinkles around the eyes improved in 86.2% of participants, compared with 16.7% in the control group, which received only a weak imitation of the device (Park et al., 2025). However, it’s fair to add that the study was funded by the mask’s manufacturer, Y&J Bio.
Which should you choose?
Your choice depends on what you expect from the therapy.
A panel is a sensible choice if you want greater confidence that enough light is reaching your skin. Based on the measurements we’ve described, a panel delivers more light, more evenly. You can use it to treat your face just as you would with a mask, as well as other parts of your body. What’s more, because the panel covers a larger area, treating your face also reaches your décolletage and part of your scalp.
A mask is a good choice if convenience and treating your face are your main priorities, and if you travel often. The mask’s biggest advantage is that you can put it on and do other things during the treatment, such as relaxing, reading, or doing chores.
You can either sit for 20 minutes with a mask on your head or spend 4 minutes in front of a panel, and get the same result. The choice is yours.
Sources
@EVIBACARTER1. [Video about measuring LED masks] [online]. TikTok, June 4, 2024 [cited November 9, 2026]. Available at: https://www.tiktok.com/@evibacarter1/video/7446820298734816545
JAGDEO, Jared, Evan AUSTIN, Andrew MAMALIS, Christopher WONG, Derek HO, and Daniel M. SIEGEL. Light-emitting diodes in dermatology: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine[online]. 2018, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 613–628 [cited November 9, 2026]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/lsm.22791 https://doi.org/10.1002/lsm.22791
PARK, Sang Hyun, Seong Oh PARK, and Jae-A JUNG. Clinical study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of home-used LED and IRED mask for crow’s feet: A multi-center, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study. Medicine [online]. 2025, vol. 104, no. 7, e41596 [cited November 9, 2026]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000041596