I’ve tested dozens of LED masks at this point in my career, and still, whenever someone asks me which one is worth the investment, I answer with the following: The best LED mask is the one you’ll actually use consistently. At the end of the day, a device can have all the fancy bells and whistles, but if you aren’t inspired to actually use it on a regular basis, you’re basically throwing money out the window. Hence I don’t typically ooh and aah over buzzy new features. Consistency trumps novelty every time IMO.
But if there’s one mask to truly freak out over, it’s CurrentBody’s Series 3 launch. Easily the smartest mask I’ve ever seen, it offers six different colors with a “paint by numbers” design for a 100% customizable treatment. It takes a very special product to impress me given how pricey LED masks tend to be, and after testing this one for 35 days, I’m confident that it’s one of the best ones you can buy. Below, find my in-depth review and why I’ve been recommending it to everyone I know ahead of holiday-gifting mania.
What Does the CurrentBody Series 3 Mask Do?
The CurrentBody Series 3 Mask is the latest and greatest version of the brand’s FDA-approved LED face devices with six different wavelengths (red, near-infrared, deep near-infrared, blue, yellow, and green) and 750 Veritace bulbs. What is Veritace, you ask? Well, it’s difficult to mass-produce LED devices at the exact same wavelength. LED masks are like snowflakes, in a way; no two products emit the exact same amount of light, and even the tiniest discrepancy can impact your skin’s results. To ensure accuracy across devices, CurrentBody individually tests each device to ensure it’s up to snuff. In fact, each box comes with its own Veritace certification card you can use to see its full manufacturing testing and history. Apologies for the quick tangent, but I do think it’s important to know, first and foremost, that CurrentBody refuses to skimp on clinical efficacy and quality. Its devices are pricey, but you get what you pay for—top-tier technology.
But back to the Series 3 Mask itself. The coolest aspect (in my opinion) is that the mask allows you to fully customize your LED treatment—not just which color you prefer (i.e., red or blue) but exactly where you want each bulb to hit depending on your skin goals. The mask comes with preset, 10-minute treatments, which I’ve listed below for easy reference.
Advanced Anti-Aging
- Wavelengths: Red (633nm), Near-Infrared (830nm), Deep Near-Infrared (1072nm)
- Benefits: Boosts collagen, smooths fine lines
Advanced Clearing
- Wavelengths: Blue (415nm), Red (633nm), Near-Infrared (830nm)
- Benefits: Kills acne-causing bacteria, calms redness, and balances oil production
Complexion Corrector
- Wavelengths: Yellow (590nm), Near-Infrared (830nm)
- Benefits: Reduces redness and pigmentation
Balance & Brighten
- Wavelengths: Green (532nm), Near-Infrared (830nm)
- Benefits: Evens skin tone and fades discoloration.
If you don’t fancy these available options, you can create your own treatment—yes, really. Using the CurrentBody app, you can select the wavelength you prefer (red, near-infrared, deep near-infrared, blue, green, yellow) and place it wherever you please. Dealing with breakouts on your chin? Sprinkle some blue light on the area. Struggling with redness on your cheeks? Add yellow light. It’s essentially paint by numbers for LED light therapy, Emily Buckwell, CurrentBody’s associate director of communications, tells me during a brand presentation.
Oh, and if you’re worried about overdoing it (because, let’s face it, we’re not all biomedical engineers here), rest assured that once you pick and choose your wavelengths, the device automatically calculates the optimal dose for your skin. This means if you choose to treat your skin to all six wavelengths, the device will dial down the output so you don’t overwhelm your skin. On the flip side, if you choose to focus on one wavelength (say, red or green), it will dose the light higher to stimulate its clinically backed benefits.
What Are the Benefits?
- Red Light: “Red light has been shown to reduce inflammation in the skin and to stimulate fibroblasts to produce collagen, which can reduce and prevent wrinkles and can improve skin texture,” board-certified cosmetic dermatologist Blair Murphy-Rose, MD, FAAD, previously told Who What Wear about the technology. It’s often thought of as the “anti-aging” wavelength given its ability to stimulate collagen production and smooth fine lines.
- Near-Infrared Light: While it’s invisible to the naked eye, near-infrared light penetrates deeper into the skin to reduce inflammation and enhance firmness.
- Deep Near-Infrared Light: Deep near-infrared light, as its name suggests, penetrates even deeper into the skin’s surface to target aging concerns, like fine lines and wrinkles. In fact, CurrentBody conducted an independent study on 32 women aged 30 to 45 and found a 37.1% reduction in wrinkles within eight weeks.
- Blue Light: Blue LED light is commonly referred to as the “acne” light, as it’s known for killing breakout-causing bacteria. It can also help fade lingering spots. Although, new research is showing that overdoing blue light can result in hyperpigmentation for some. As a result, CurrentBody is careful about the dosage of blue light, sticking to a 415nm wavelength.
- Yellow Light: Yellow light is lauded for soothing redness (think rosacea) and inflammation, and CurrentBody’s technology has been shown to reduce signs of aggravation by 8.6%.
- Green Light: Green light is a godsend for hyperpigmentation, but it’s also been shown to reduce inflammation, improve collagen, and enhance retinoic acid benefits (so you’ll get more out of your retinol). It’s severely underhyped, derms say, but it’s finally starting to earn more recognition in at-home devices.
How Does the New Mask Compare to Series 2?
CurrentBody continuously upgrades its LED devices based on the latest science and technology. For example, Series 1 featured 132 LED bulbs and two wavelengths (red and near-infrared), while Series 2 increased the bulb count to 236, added another wavelength (deep near-infrared) to the mix, and introduced a contoured silicone shape with more secure straps to optimize comfort. The new Series 3 version maintains that same shape and design (no edits needed—the brand really nailed it the second time around), but it boasts even more bulbs (750!) and three extra LED wavelengths: blue, green, and yellow. The controller also now has a touch-screen display, which allows you to scroll through the treatment menu and follow along with a countdown timer.
|
Model |
Series 2 |
Series 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
LED Bulbs |
236 |
750 |
|
Wavelengths |
Red, near-infrared, deep near-infrared |
Red, near-infrared, deep near-infrared, blue, yellow, green |
|
Presets |
1 |
4 |
|
Controller |
Clip-on |
Touch-screen display |
My Testing Experience and Review
I received my Series 3 Mask in mid-September and have been testing it three nights a week for the past five weeks—a total of 15 treatments so far—and I have no plans to replace it any time soon. I genuinely look forward to each session, partly because the touch-screen remote and app make it feel like I’m playing some sort of skincare video game. (Fine, I’m easily amused.) But the experience is also just so cool. I’ve tried the preset treatments (Balance & Brighten is my favorite) and created my own code, and I have to say the latter is what really makes the device worth the splurge. I have combination skin that’s oily on my T-zone and dry and sensitive everywhere else, so I love the fact that I can target every one of my woes simultaneously.
See, I mostly struggle with hormonal breakouts on my chin, so I decided to add some blue light there to mitigate those spots. My cheeks are where I have some sun-induced inflammation and dark spots, however, so I sprinkled some green light there, and then I added red light everywhere else to address the fine etchings on my forehead and around my eyes. It really did feel like a digital version of paint by numbers, but after naming it (JC Treatment) and sending it to my device, I don’t even need the app to start my customized session. It’s now saved to my mask’s remote, so I can just tap and go. What’s truly neat is that each customized plan also comes with its own code, so I can share it with friends (or readers!) who want to benefit from the same exact treatment. For those who want to copy and paste my exact layout, find my code below.
The only callout I have is that I don’t normally love when an LED mask sits flush against my skin, as the proximity to the skin’s natural oils means that it needs to be cleaned way more regularly. I typically gravitate toward hard-shell options over silicone formats (purely a personal preference), but the CurrentBody technology is simply way too good to pass up here. I can live with wiping down my device more frequently—a small price to pay for the bounty of skin benefits.
Can You Use the CurrentBody Series 3 Mask Every Day?
This may be surprising coming from a beauty editor who preaches “Consistency is key!” to anyone who will listen, but I’d actually advise against daily use. The brand recommends three to five 10-minute treatments per week for the best results, per the independently tested clinical data. Yes, you do need to be consistent with LED light therapy—if you let the mask collect dust, it simply won’t work—but more sessions are not necessarily better when it comes to these high-tech wavelengths. The benefits actually sit on a bell curve, so overdoing it on the LED can actually lead to adverse effects, such as hyperpigmentation, redness, or sensitivity. Dosage can be different depending on the device you have (some say it’s fine to use every single day), but for CurrentBody, three to five treatments per week is all you need to reap the benefits. Trust the science.
Is the CurrentBody Series 3 Mask Worth It?
CurrentBody’s Series 3 Mask is definitely on the pricey side at $570, but I’d say the fully customizable treatments make it 100% worth the splurge. No other option allows you to pick and choose which wavelength you want and where you want it, making your session completely unique to you and your skin goals. And the lights are perfectly dosed, so you don’t have to worry about whether different color combinations will cancel out on your skin. That’s worth the money, in my opinion.
Of course, $570 is nothing to scoff at, but when you take a look at the category as a whole, that price tag does align with most FDA-cleared options (high-quality LED devices often fall within the $500-to-$600 bucket), despite CurrentBody boasting some of the most rigorously tested tools on the market. As I mentioned, each Series 3 Mask is individually tested during manufacturing to ensure optimal power and bulb accuracy. As a result, you can trust that your mask functions at peak capacity with the most effective dose based on the latest science—and at the end of the day, that assurance is priceless.
Shop More From CurrentBody
The Series 2 option is still available (for now) for $100 less, in case you’re just looking for red light.
For those looking to treat a larger surface area, a red light panel may be better suited for you.
You could also invest in the neck and décolletage version to treat additional areas simultaneously.
A sauna blanket is also a sound investment for pain relief, muscle soreness, and addressing overall inflammation.
Why Trust Who What Wear
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