The Best Red-Light Therapy Device

New York Times

2 days ago

Connie Park/NYT Wirecutter
Connie Park/NYT Wirecutter
Connie Park/NYT Wirecutter
At first blush, the LightStim for Wrinkles seems devoid of bells and whistles. But it dazzles where it truly matters: in the jam-packedness of its 72 LEDs, its handiness, and its foolproof one-button operating system. Like all wands, though, it requires you to actively engage with it, and it's not cordless.
For a handheld device, it's loaded with LEDs. If you're going to put in the time and effort to manually move a wand around, it should cover a good portion of your face. And the LightStim does just that, with 72 LEDs packed into a circle that's just a skosh under 5 square inches. In comparison, the Lumicure Light Therapy Torch has three LEDs in a 0.78-square-inch circle, and while the Solwave 4-in-1's little 0.75-square-inch wand head has 14 (seven dual) LEDs, it requires significantly more elbow grease to equally treat the same amount of skin. Some testers liked that they could simply press the LightStim's large head against their faces until the three-minute timer signaled that they could move it to a different location.
This wand emits four different wavelengths of red light. The wavelength is what determines light's color, and these LEDs are amber (605-nanometer wavelength), light red (630 nm), deep red (680 nm), and near infrared (855 nm). The varying wavelengths spark different reactions at various levels of the skin: Amber, red, and infrared penetrate to reduce oil and inflammation, as well as to stimulate collagen and elastin production, which makes skin look plumper and firmer and minimizes the appearance of fine lines. (Since infrared is invisible, the 865 nm LEDs might not appear lit, even when the power is on.) The Solawave 4-in-1, meanwhile, emits a single wavelength, 630 nm. One tester loved the LightStim's range of reds, especially for treating nasolabial folds and other lines around her mouth.
The simple design makes it beyond easy to use, and silent. The LightStim is on or off — and that's all there is to it. Every three minutes, a quick tone indicates that it's time for you to move it to a different part of your face or body (unlike most of the devices we tested, this wand has no automatic shutoff). Whereas the Solawave 4-in-1 buzzes and lightly vibrates, the LightStim is dead quiet and inert in the palm, with one tester likening it in vibes and looks to an old-timey candlestick telephone. Testers also appreciated that the wand's single button required zero practice or guesswork. You also operate the Therabody TheraFace and Dr. Dennis Gross DRx Spectralite via on-device push buttons, but those models, both of which are masks, require cycling through many presses to change modes, and while the mask is attached to your face, it's hard to tell which color mode you're in.
You can use it on other body parts. Signs of aging aren't limited to the face, and our testers liked using the LightStim on their necks, décolletages, and even scars, as well. Sure, our flexible mask pick, the Omnilux Men, can also be placed on or wrapped around body parts other than the face, but the LightStim was the easiest device to use in this regard.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The LightStim can drag a bit against skin unless you use it with a serum. But this was true of all the wands we tried. Our testers found it more comfortable to press the wand head against the skin and hold it there for a bit.
It needs to be plugged in. Of the 11 devices we tested, the LightStim is the only one that has a cord. For something you use for about 12 minutes at a time, staying within 6 feet of an outlet isn't such a big deal, and the wand will never conk out mid-treatment (as the rechargeable Solawave 4-in-1 did a few times in our tests). Complicating matters, though, is that the AC/DC adapter detaches from the wand — increasing its chances of being misplaced.
The plastic housing feels a bit cheap. Especially when you consider the wand's $250 price tag.
Key specs
LEDs: 72
Wavelengths: 605 nm, 630 nm, 660 nm, 865 nm
Irradiance: 65 mW/cm2
Treatment time: three minutes per area (no automatic shutoff)
Charging: none; powered by AC/DC adapter
Return policy: 30 days when bought from LightStim
Warranty: five years