The Solawave Wand Costs Half the Price of Other Red-Light Tools. But We Didn't Love It.

New York Times

09-04-2025

The T-shaped wand is sleek and almost futuristically simple design-wise. It's easy to hold, easy to move, and easy on the eyes. Hannah Frye/NYT Wirecutter The box contains the wand, a pink travel case, an instruction manual, and a magnetic USB-compatible charging cord, but no charging block. Hannah Frye/NYT Wirecutter The box housing the wand suggested 'glowing skin in 2 weeks.' That bold claim encouraged us to test the wand for at least that long. Hannah Frye/NYT Wirecutter The T-shaped wand is sleek and almost futuristically simple design-wise. It's easy to hold, easy to move, and easy on the eyes. Hannah Frye/NYT Wirecutter
As I opened the box of a brand-new Solawave wand, I was taken aback by just how tiny it was. The T-shaped device has just a single button, which feels futuristically simple. I've tested red-light devices with complex settings, lengthy cords, and plenty of easily lost remotes, so this model seems comparably minimal.
The box suggested 'glowing skin in 2 weeks,' so our panel tested the wand for at least that long, with most testers reaching 21 days and some going even longer.
Once you press the single button, the wand comes to life through a gentle vibration, emitting bright red light and gentle heat. The instruction videos on the product page recommend moving the wand in upward and outward motions along four quadrants, one at a time, in no particular order: one cheek region (including part of the chin), the forehead, the other cheek and half of the chin, and the sides of the neck.
Though those specific quadrants appear to be the most common approach shown online, some people take creative liberties when it comes to the quadrants—some wand users online say they focus more on certain areas or avoid particular quadrants entirely, and others employ the wand as a spot treatment for breakouts or fine lines. Hannah Frye/NYT Wirecutter
The entire treatment lasts 12 minutes, and a pause in vibration every three minutes signals you to move on to the next section. This gentle reminder proved especially helpful to me personally, as I occasionally zoned out during the treatment (sometimes out of relaxation, others boredom—but more on that later). After the 12 minutes is up, the wand turns off automatically.
It's important to note that while you can use the Solawave wand on the sides of your neck, the website suggests avoiding the center, especially near the thyroid gland in the neck. You should also avoid your eyelids, under your brow bone, your chest, and your groin area. This isn't a sweeping contraindication for all red-light devices, but rather this specific wand, which uses multiple forms of therapy beyond just red light.
Unfortunately, our panel quickly grew tired of the 12-minute hands-on sessions. As Wirecutter senior editor Jennifer Hunter put it, 'The first three days felt like self care, and then 12 minutes started to feel like a chore.' Sebastian said, 'As ridiculous as it sounds, not being able to use my hands for 12 minutes was a little inconvenient.'
Many skin-care devices, red-light masks included, require some patience, but the difference is in the labor required. With hands-free masks, I find it much easier to keep up with the habit for two reasons: One, I can put away laundry or prep dinner ingredients as the mask works. Or, two, I can actually relax, just lying on my bed trying to think of nothing at all (which never works, but I still try). The Solawave wand cut short both experiences—I couldn't do much when my hand was busy, but I couldn't fully relax, either.
Not to mention, although the wand's sleek design is beautiful to look at, it may be a tad too simple, as it gives you no way of knowing when the charge will run out. Our testers found the wand's battery life to last about a week with daily use, but because they didn't know when it was running low, their 12-minute sessions would often get cut short without warning. On top of that, the charger is only USB-compatible—not USB-C, like many modern devices and red-light masks I've tried—which sent some testers hunting for the rarely used charging cable they had lying around at home.
The potential benefits of red-light therapy require consistency, so the easier a device is to use, the more motivated you might be to keep up with it. So while convenience isn't everything in skin care, our panel found it to be quite an important factor in this category.
The Lightboost Wand Activating Serum is housed in a light pink bottle with a convenient pump and snap-on cap. The texture is similar to other conducting gels used with skin-care devices, adding slip to the skin upon application. But it dried more quickly than we had hoped. Ana Paola Wong/NYT Wirecutter
Solawave recommends using an oil-free serum to encourage slip as you move the wand across your skin. That oil-free part is important, because any serum containing oil could counteract the galvanic current, said Solawave founder and CEO Andrew Silberstein in an interview. Instead, he recommended using a water-based serum, which can act as a conductor.
Our panel tested the Solawave Lightboost Wand Activating Serum, which is available in a bundle with the wand. The website suggests that this particular formula helps the wand glide smoothly along the skin and adds to the wand's 'anti-aging benefits.' However, most of our testers said it actually made the process more challenging; Sebastian, for example, said he liked the feel of the serum when he first applied it, but it quickly dried to a tacky finish, which made it harder for him to move the wand across his face in comparison with using no serum at all.
Another tester, associate operations manager Ana Paola Wong, agreed, noting that her wand often caught on the tackiness of the serum and made the process more difficult. Still, this may be a matter of personal preference, as one tester liked the serum and found it to be a decent primer for the wand: 'It did a pretty good job of not drying down right away (so, leaving slip to glide the tool across skin),' Jennifer said.
Regardless, if you want to use a serum to increase slip, Camp recommends avoiding potentially irritating ingredients such as AHAs, BHAs, or retinol. Instead, he suggests looking for serums with hydrating ingredients. You can find plenty of simple hydrating serums that fit the bill, as many employ ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, aloe vera, niacinamide, and glycerin. No matter which one you choose, just be sure to find an oil-free formula.

Let's be clear: We didn't set out to evaluate the long-term efficacy of the Solawave wand. To do so with conviction, we would have to run a double-blind, peer-reviewed clinical study that would include dermatologist consultation and costly technology to accurately assess even the smallest improvements in skin tone, wrinkle depth, dark spots, and the like. Our results from testing are purely anecdotal and should be taken with a grain of salt, because everyone's skin is different. But we still want to share what we found for the sake of transparency.
First, the majority of our testers noted a subtle improvement in the look of their skin immediately following each session. Some testers said the wand eased irritation and redness, while others said their breakouts appeared less inflamed. Some said their skin just looked brighter.
In addition, many testers said their pimples had a shorter lifespan when they used the wand consistently. Personally, I found that the wand significantly calmed my skin whenever I was facing irritation and flushing—which has been my experience with many red-light masks, as well.
Another tester, supervising editor Hannah Rimm, said, 'Looking at my before and after photos, my skin looks brighter and a little more even.' Each tester, however, reported that the wand's perceived benefits were offset by no apparent improvement in more specific concerns such as dark spots, fine lines, wrinkles, and dark under-eye circles, all of which Solawave claims on its product page as benefits of this wand's combined therapies.
If you are interested in reaping the most benefit from a red-light device, we don't consider the Solawave wand to be the most efficient way to do so. Although it advertises 630-nanometer wavelengths of red light, a spec that falls into a range similar to that of many red-light masks, it lacks one thing in comparison: coverage.
'Size does matter,' said dermatologist Mamina Turegano, adding that she personally didn't think an LED device the size of the Solwave wand would be as effective as a full red-light mask. It's undeniable that the wand simply does not deliver as much red light to the skin for the same amount of time in comparison with red-light masks, many of which call for full-face use for around the same 12-minute period (some closer to 15 minutes, others less than 10). The essential difference: With a mask, your full face gets that 12 or so minutes of exposure. With the Solawave wand, each quadrant gets only three minutes, and each inch of that quadrant gets even less time.
Plus, 'the need to treat the face as four quadrants with the Solawave introduces some variability in treatment, which may impact efficacy,' Camp said. 'Masks, on the other hand, treat the entire face at once, which helps deliver more uniform, predictable treatments.'

Our qualms aside, this wand might be exactly what some people are looking for. 'If someone has concerns about a specific area of the face, a targeted mask or wand may be more appropriate, and less expensive, than a full face mask,' Camp said.
Or, if you want multiple therapies at once, including heat, galvanic current, and facial massage, this is certainly a worthwhile tool, and using it is much more affordable and convenient than trying to get all of those therapies from separate devices.
If you want to try it but are still skeptical, the good news is that Solawave offers free returns within 60 days of receipt for a full refund, including used and opened products, but only if you buy yours from the Solawave website. So you can try the wand for a longer period of time before deciding if it's right for your routine.
But when it comes to the experience and effort it takes to use the wand, all of our testers agreed that they would not purchase the wand themselves. Many panelists said they would rather invest in a mask for the hands-free experience and the more significant benefits that they hoped would come from increasing the exposure time of the red light to their skin.
Moreover, the Solawave wand—and many skin-care devices, for that matter—bears a long list of contraindications that make it less appropriate for many people. According to the website, the Solawave 4-In-1 Skincare Wand should not be used by people who are under 18, pregnant, have an electronic implant device such as a pacemaker, or anyone prone to light-induced headaches or seizures. Those aren't all of the contraindications listed, so I recommend reading through them before purchasing, should you decide to do so.
Finally, as I would remind my teenage self, who got spendy at Sephora on something she didn't need, beauty devices can't solve every problem you have with your skin.
In my interview with Turegano, she shared a sentiment that I sincerely stand by: She said that while she loves red-light therapy (and I do, too), it can't lift all of the weight on its own—these masks and wands are meant to be accessories to a skin-care routine, not the whole thing. 'It's only one piece of the pie when it comes to taking care of your skin overall.'
This article was edited by Hannah Rimm and Maxine Builder.