What are the differences between an LED mask and a dome/canopy shaped LED device?

“TL;DR: LED masks have low maximum light intensity and non-uniform skin illumination which leaves hotspots, which are deal breakers. LED domes offer decent light intensity and uniform illumination but they don’t allow a bespoke treatment and are not as strong as a professional LED canopy.

A good LED canopy-shaped device offer high maximum light intensity, full customisation and can treat large areas or awkward areas - all meaning faster amd better results and safer treatment.”

LED light therapy device review: which form factor is best?

• LED masks vs professional LED devices

• Three types of LED phototherapy devices

• LED device quality and power vary widely

• Light uniformity: the key difference between an LED mask and a domed/canopy style LED device

• Low light uniformity calls for low light intensity, which means longer and more treatments are needed for the same result

• Masks do not allow for red / infrared light intensity adjustment

• LED Canopies are better than LED domes

• My experience with LED phototherapy masks, lamps, domes, canopies, blankets and panels

• What would I buy if I wasn’t a professional?

• Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment in London with the experts

• Advanced, infrared / red light therapy treatments in London at LipoTherapeia

• Discover our professional training in cellulite, skin tightening, radiofrequency and ultrasound

Three types of LED phototherapy devices

LED mask: light is weak and non-uniform, leaving illumination hotspots; maximum light intensity is low; wavelength ratio is not adjustable; light intensity is not adjustable

LED dome: light is uniform; maximum light intensity is medium; wavelength ratio is not adjustable; light intensity is not adjustable

LED canopy: light is uniform; maximum light intensity is high; wavelength ratio is adjustable; light intensity is adjustable

LED light therapy (phototherapy / photobiomodulation) is used to treat a variety of aesthetic and health concerns, most commonly skin ageing, skin wounds/burning, diabetic wounds, psoriasis, hyperpigmentation, acne, seasonal affective disorder, sports injuries and back pain, among others - and to enhance the effectiveness of other treatments, such as radiofrequency or ultrasound.

Red and infrared light wavelengths are used for all the above concerns, except from blue wavelength, which is used for acne and psoriasis.

LED devices come in the shape of masks, panels and dome/canopy style:

• LED masks are of low light intensity but surround the skin for even coverage

• LED panels are usually of medium/high light intensity but are awkward to use and have to be used while standing or while holding the device

• Canopy/dome shaped LED devices can be of low/medium/high light intensity and they surround the face for even coverage. Some of those devices are self-standing to surround different body areas (face, décolletage, stomach, buttocks, knee, shoulder etc).

LED masks have risen in popularity the last few years, partially due to people becoming more aware of the benefits of phototherapy / photobiomodulation and partially due to their visual impact on instagram.

LED device quality and power vary widely

There are different grades of LED devices, in general, and LED masks, in particular, ranging from useless to exceptional, and sometimes to even dangerous. This is due to the following factors:

• Quite often the light wavelengths are totally different to those stated by the manufacturer, which sometimes can be:

  • dangerous (as in the blue side of the spectrum)

  • simply less effective (as in certain red and near infrared wavelength bands)

  • or irrelevant (as in higher near infrared wavelengths that all they do is heat the skin)

• Very often the light intensity is way lower to what is stated (measured to be even 10x less than what is stated)

• Cheaper devices use low quality LEDs which emit lower intensity light as they heat up, leading to poor treatment

• Sometimes there are pointless wavelengths used (e.g. yellow, green, cyan etc), with no research to back up their use and effectiveness claims literally made up of thin air, or simply dangerous (violet)

• And sometimes the light intensity is just too high for a mask that is just 1cm or less away from the skin, leading to hyperpigmentation spots

Light uniformity: the key difference between an LED mask and a domed/canopy style LED device

Of course, quality and power are very important for all types of LED devices but there is one key difference between LED masks and dome-style or canopy-style devices: light uniformity.

Masks contain a number of LED bulbs, usually 30-60, and those LED bulbs are spaced apart to a large degree. However, as LED masks are designed to be used in very close proximity to the skin (less than 1cm), this spacing of individual LEDs means that light intensity is not uniform throughout the surface of the skin, thereby creating illumination hotspots.

Low light uniformity calls for low light intensity, which means longer and more treatments are needed for the same result

Now if light intensity is low (as is the case with most masks), the illumination hotspots may just lead to non-uniform treatment, which although not ideal therapeutically, is still OK. However, if light intensity is high, the illumination hotspots may lead to hyperpigmentation hotspots - not a good idea.

So in order to avoid these adverse reactions light intensity in most masks is kept low. This in turn means that much longer and much more frequent treatments are needed for the same result.

Masks do not allow for red / infrared light intensity adjustment

Red light and infrared light have different effects on the skin and sometimes. So, according to your therapeutic objectives, you may want to switch one or the other off - or, even better, to alter the ratio of LED vs infrared light emission.

The typical ratio of 1:1 is not the most helpful ratio* but this is what most people get with an LED mask.

* You can easily over-treat with red and under-treat with infrared. And, yes, contrary to popular belief, you can indeed over-treat with phototherapy, hence the hyperpigmentation hotspots with LED masks or even reduced results (after a certain amount of illumination, results reduce, they don’t increase or remain the same as with optimum illumination).

LED Canopies are better than LED domes

A dome-shaped or canopy-shaped LED device will indeed provide uniform light, which is what is needed for illumination without hotspots.

However, dome-shaped devises are mainly for facial treatments. This is because the dome cannot easily be applied to other body areas or to large body areas.

On the other hand, a canopy-style device can be placed in different ways to treat large body areas or awkward to reach areas, e.g. around the shoulder. Such placements are impossible with a dome shaped device or a an LED panel.

Some new LED belts and similar devices that hug the skin have lately appeared. However, as with masks, these have to be of low power to avoid hotspots, which consequently means low light intensity and longer/more treatment sessions required.

My experience with LED phototherapy masks, lamps, domes, canopies, blankets and panels

I have researched extensively a variety of LED devices and have opted for a dome-shaped device for home use and a canopy-shaped device for professional use at the clinic.

• I would never use an LED face mask due to:

  • low power (I don’t have hours to waste every week)

  • and, most importantly, non-uniform light emission (I would prefer to treat the entire surface of the skin rather than mainly skin spots under the LED bulbs)

• I have tried an LED panel and found it awkward and not very helpful in treating the face as well as various body areas.

• I have tried an LED lamp and measured it to be 2.5 less strong as stated by the manufacturer (very typical of most products), so I returned it

• I have researched a very hyped up - and unnecessarily expensive - flashlight type laser device that supposedly penetrates 10cm into the skin without loss of power (any physicist would laugh out loud at this assertion) and found it to be of extremely low power - practically useless

• At home I use the best dome-shaped LED phototherapy device (Dermalux Flex MD), which is strong, provides a uniform light and offers three tested light wavelengths (415nm blue, 633nm red and 830nm near infrared)

• However, our professional use Dermalux TriWave MD Gen II that we use at the clinic, was a revelation. It is on a totally different level compared to any other LED phototherapy device - even compared to the Flex MD. Specifically:

  • It is the strongest LED device on the market (6x stronger than the Flex and no comparison to LED masks, blankets etc)

  • It provides totally uniform lighting and can “hug” the face or a joint and bathe it with light from all directions

  • It can be adjusted to illuminate the most awkward angles

  • It can be adjusted to treat large body areas

  • It utilises the same three tested light wavelengths:415nm blue, 633nm red and 830nm near infrared

  • Wavelength light intensity can be adjusted individually

This allows us to:

• Offer a truly bespoke treatment for each client

• Treat difficult to reach areas

• Treat large areas

• And offer maximum results at the minimum treatment time (nobody has hours to waste having LED treatments - at a clinic or at home)

What would I buy if I wasn’t a professional?

For starters, I would definitely not buy an LED mask or an LED blanket (too close to skin, too weak).

If I was on a low budget I would buy an LED dome-shaped device from a reputable brand (cheap devices often emit the wrong wavelengths, have much low power than stated and power reduces as they heat up). It does not need to be high-end like the Dermalux Flex MD but not the cheaper on the market either.

Of course, if I was on a higher budget I would buy the Flex MD.

But in all cases, for best results I would probably have a course of treatments at a reputable clinic that have a high-end machine and know exactly how to use it, for a bespoke treatment without over-treating or under-treating.

As mentioned above, you cannot beat a high-end device in terms of accuracy, strength and speed of treatment with ANY home based one.

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Advanced, infrared / red light therapy treatments in London at LipoTherapeia

At LipoTherapeia we are passionate about phototherapy (also known as photobiomodulation/PBM, red light therapy, infrared light therapy, blue light therapy, LED light therapy etc) and we use the most powerful equipment available today (up to 240mW/cm2), for best results and treatment of large body areas.

We use specialised therapy protocols for skin rejuvenation / anti-ageing, pigmentation / post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), moderate/severe acne, skin redness, sensitive/inflamed/irritated skin, wound healing, sports injuries / musculoskeletal pain and overall wellness / well-being.

Our LED phototherapy sessions are comfortable, deeply relaxing and super-safe and are great to enhance our radiofrequency/ultrasound treatments for skin tightening / cellulite reduction.

On our booking page you can book stand-alone phototherapy sessions or combine them with our other treatments, as an add-on.

Learn more or check prices and book an expert LED phototherapy treatment at our London clinic (49 Marylebone High Street, W1).

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