It also seems too good to be true. Can shining some tiny lights onto your face make you more handsome? Well, if the goal is smooth, blemish-free skin with a healthy glow, then the answer is an unequivocal “yes”. What's more, you don't have to go to a spa and facialist to get these professional-grade benefits. You can achieve them at home with the same products the pros use.
Just ask celebrity groomer Simone, who used the Solawave 4-in-1 Radiant Renewal Wand on actor Jonathan Bailey as she prepped his skin for this year's Emmys. And I must admit, the guy looked good. “The wand is the perfect low-maintenance prep for a red carpet or formal event,” she says. “It helps reduce puffiness and produces hydrated, well-rested skin—which is my number one grooming goal—and that's why I love red light therapy.”
You've no doubt heard about red light therapy on TikTok or maybe another age-defying celebrity like Diplo, but this isn't just wishful thinking or even complicated biohacking. Red light therapy has been a well-documented and researched practice since the mid-1990s, when NASA utilized red LEDS (light emitting diodes) to help grow potatoes in space. Greg Hammer, MD, physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, says that the red light was also discovered to help to heal the wounds on the hands of the astronauts who were tending to the plants—which was significant since wound healing is usually slowed and impaired in space. Since then, red light therapy has filtered into specialties across the medical spectrum, from sports recovery to dermatology, validated by a growing body of research. The easiest way to understand LED's wide-ranging benefits is that the light targets the body at the cellular level. Those cells are responsible for everything from producing collagen to repairing tissues.
The lights were then brought into dermatologist offices and facialist studios, but the technology has now been democratized into at-home products. Depending on the type of light and wavelength you use on your face, you produce noticeable results: Everything from less breakouts, fewer wrinkles and dark spots, to smoother texture and a brighter complexion. As for which device is best for your needs, we put several to the test and these are our team's recommendations.
