a day ago
What can a £5,000 at-home laser do?
With the beauty-gadget industry growing at four times the rate of the overall skincare category, with sales projected to hit $92.55 billion by 2028, it seems to be becoming the favoured option for people who want the results of a visit to the aesthetician, but prefer less invasive approaches.
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As a result the British wellness brand LYMA is doing better than ever. Founded in 2018, its initial offering was the LYMA supplement, a gold-coloured capsule containing active ingredients formulated to be bioavailable and therefore fully absorbed by the body. Despite coming at a price — around £199 for a month's supply — the pills frequently sold out and were nicknamed the 'supermodel supplement' to those in the wellness world. Unsurprisingly, LYMA loyalists were thrilled when LYMA dropped its first at-home clinic-grade laser in 2020, the launch helped LYMA receive a 40 per cent increase in turnover to £32.5 million, with US sales accounting for 70 per cent of their total revenues.
Now the range includes both the original LYMA laser as well as the LYMA Laser Pro which launched in March 2024. Both use technology called low-level laser therapy (LLLT) first developed in the 1960s which was previously used to treat medical injuries such as healing tendons and rebuilding cartilage. The founder of LYMA, Lucy Goff, decided to harness this existing technology and re-engineer it for the cosmetic market, creating a portable, cordless device that could be used at home without the supervision of a doctor or a prescription*. Goff consulted geneticists, longevity scientists and surgeons and spent five years developing the laser.
In contrast to some other cosmetic procedures which have to deliver micro-injury to the skin and inflict damage in order to create collagen, the LYMA lasers utilise powerful, zero-damage cold laser technology. The original iteration is a smaller, handbag-sized device that features a patented 8cm² treatment lens, primarily designed for the face. The LYMA Laser Pro can also be used on the neck and body, and has cut down the initial treatment time of 15 minutes per day to just three minutes per area of concern (such as cheeks, forehead and eye areas), or a full face in as little as 9 minutes, thanks to its larger 30cm² lens.
Dr Graeme Glass, a craniofacial, aesthetic and plastic surgeon and now the director of aesthetics at LYMA, helped develop the laser and has written several medical papers on its technology. With many women losing fat through the rise of Ozempic and other weight loss alternatives, Glass recommends the LYMA laser. 'Losing weight can be associated with the loss of subcutaneous fat which can give the appearance of laxity as the face and neck structures hang on relatively loose ligaments,' he says. 'The skin loses its lustre because of loss of water content in the dermis, lack of synthesis of the protective fatty acids that condition the skin, and lack of vitamins and minerals essential for healthy skin function.'
Just like the rest of our body, our skin needs energy function, which usually comes in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to help the skin stay hydrated, produce collagen and elastic, as well as promote cell renewal. Without enough ATP, the skin becomes dull and will start to sag or age at a faster rate, Glass explains. To counteract this, the LYMA laser uses the technique of low level laser therapy using near-infrared light. According to LYMA's website: 'this light triggers a natural process in your cells called photobiomodulation, which helps your skin produce ATP more efficiently. It's like charging up the skin's internal battery, so it has the energy it needs to repair and regenerate itself.'
LYMA claims that over time the ATP produced through using the laser will help boost collagen and elastin production — both key for the appearance of firmer, smoother skin. The brand promises an improvement in as little as 30 days with daily use and recommends following with twice weekly sessions as maintenance. LYMA's own clinical trials involving 10 subjects showed 64.3 per cent improvement in pigmentation, a 53.8 percent improvement in wrinkles, a 42 per cent improvement in rosacea symptoms, and a 56 per cent decline in acne and blemishes.**
At around £1,999 and around £4,995 respectively, the LYMA lasers are undoubtedly an expensive piece of kit, but that hasn't kept customers away. LYMA sold 47 per cent more stock than predicted in the first 24 hours of its US launch and counts a whole host of celebrities, including Sienna Miller and Gwyneth Paltrow, as loyal users. Likewise, the launch of LYMA skincare, a duo of anti-ageing serum and creams, had a waitlist of around 30,000 expectant customers.
But it's the Laser Pro which is helping the brand put a stake in the ground of the $211 billion global professional beauty services market — and a pretty big stake at that.
* LYMA's policy outlines if you have a recurring or previously diagnosed health condition that concerns you, or are taking prescription medication, upon purchase of our products you agree to seek medical advice from your GP before taking our products and/or making dietary and lifestyle changes.
**Based on an independent clinical trial measured by Cutometer dual MPA 580 — a device used to measure skin elasticity and firmness by assessing the skin's ability to deform and return to its original shape, plus LYMA's own studies which can be found here.
