15 Red Light Therapy Devices That Actually Do What They Claim

“This product is amazing all around,” says writer Jen Sinclair. “I love a good scalp massage, and this provides it with ease. It is simple to use, leaves me feeling relaxed, and my hair soft and residue-free. I have thinning hair because of perimenopause, and have been looking for a product that can help. I also have fine hair that can get greasy at the scalp easily, so I have to be careful with intensive hair treatments, leave-in products, and masks.”

Users can fill the device’s serum pod with different serums for growth, dryness, or an itchy, flaky scalp. Sinclair notes that even while using the serum pods, she didn’t notice any product residue. “In fact, my hair felt softer and looked fuller, even after just a couple of uses,” she says. “Over time, I do believe it did do something to stimulate the follicles, because my hair had more body and volume.” She adds that it was difficult to tell when the serum pod was empty, but that she’d use the device even without serum.

The device requires a bit of effort: You have to move it around the scalp to treat the entire area, so it’s not a sort of set-it-and-relax treatment. But Sinclair was impressed with the results and says she’d definitely continue this therapy in the future.

These portable RLT eye devices have a fun star-and-comet design that fits under the eye area, mimicking the shape of a gel eye patch. The red light emits from a button you press, which activates a nine-minute session with a smart timer. In order to get the device to stay put, you use hypoallergenic double-sided stickers to adhere the device to the skin beneath your eyes.

I tested these, using them daily for four weeks, and found the design comfortable and lightweight. The stickers are easy to use and don’t pull at your skin, which was a concern when I first saw the adhesives. After one session, I noticed the skin under my eyes was less puffy.

With consistent use over four weeks, the skin under my eyes was smoother and more even. If I’m going to wear an under-eye patch, having ones that emit red and near-infrared light feels like the best use of my time. That being said, I had to use a USB to charge it frequently between uses, but that isn’t a dealbreaker. It’s also worth noting that the devices only come with 20 stickers, but you can purchase additional 20-packs for $12.

This red light therapy device is an easy-to-use wand that combines several skin care technologies — red light therapy, microcurrent, facial massage, and therapeutic warmth — into one tool. It’s designed for a 12-minute treatment session, which includes all therapy modalities at once. With the wand, it’s easy to target different areas of the face. There’s a three-minute timer that beeps when the time is up, so you know when you can move to a different area for a full face and neck treatment.

It’s an extra cost, but you don’t have to use the SolaWave LightBoost Wand Activating Serum — you can use any serum to help the wand glide. I loved the way the galvanic current felt during use; it’s like giving your face a warm massage. I’ve been using the wand for more than six months, and I notice instant results when it comes to sculpting and de-puffing my face. Over time, I’ve noticed the brown spots on my complexion begin to fade, which I attribute to using the wand. “[RLT devices] can start to stimulate collagen within two to four weeks and beyond, so continued use is key,” says Dr. Kobets.

Its multiuse wearable function allows you to use it on areas like the back, secured by shoulder straps while you stand, or laid flat on your back while you lie down. Additionally, because it’s bendable, you can wrap it around the knee, shoulder, or anywhere you have joint pain. “While it might be hard to work out or do anything when it was wrapped on a joint, I found I could do the treatment on my back while walking around my apartment, and I loved that," says Kimberly Dawn Neumann, a writer who tested the device.

“It felt like I'd just come from the dentist after having a cleaning,” said Neumann. The deep-clean feeling she gets from using it helps ensure it’s a staple in her routine. After two months of using the device, Neumann’s dentist said her gums looked healthy, and she reported a less painful cleaning with no bleeding.

The next time the familiar twinge of lower back pain rears its ugly head, this device could be your savior. It uses near-infrared and far-infrared light, as well as heat and vibration, to soothe your sore back, and it can do so wirelessly while you go about your day. The belt can be worn under or over clothing. It pairs with an app that lets you customize your therapy and saves settings you’ll want to go back to later.

“Unfortunately, my husband and I are no strangers to lower back pain. A device that targets this specifically has been helpful,” says writer and editor Katie Tuttle. “I really liked the combination of heat and vibration on this, and that you can just wear it under your clothing.”

She notes that even though it can be worn out of the house, it’s still quite obvious it’s there, even if worn underneath clothes. Users should also note that this is meant for the lower back; it’s not advertised for any other purpose.

Looking to stimulate hair growth on the sly? This one is hidden right inside a baseball cap, and you can even wear it out of the house without a soul knowing what’s going on underneath.

The device uses red and blue LED lights to clear buildup, calm inflammation, and stimulate the hair follicles for more growth in quick, 10-minute treatments (though you may choose to wear the hat without the lights on long after the treatment ends). An included journal helps you track your progress so you can look back and see how well it’s working.

"It’s really easy to use,” says Hirschlag’s husband, Mark Stetson, who tested the cap. “[It] makes it so that I can be in meetings while it’s working. And I’ve definitely felt a difference in my hair growth since using it. I wear it regularly because it just looks like a hat.” Stetson noticed a tingle while using the device, but he wasn’t bothered by the sensation.

Our research found that this hat has to be charged after a few uses, and that some users found that after a few months, the hat stopped holding a good charge. But given that our tester found real results using this, we think it’s worth it.

This device features a flexible, silicone design with an adjustable strap and uses red and near-infrared light therapy to aid in pain relief and muscle recovery. It’s designed to be worn for 10 minutes at a time, on many different parts of the body.

The design is comfortable and easy to wear. ”It’s flexible, lightweight, and yet still powerful,” says Neumann. “It comes with two straps: one for longer attachments (like around the waist) and one for shorter ones (say, for a joint like the ankle). It’s also great that it’s very flat, making it portable but also wearable.” Neumann says that after just one use, her sore lower back felt less achy. “Consistent use is the key with RLT to reap the benefits. The ease of this device makes it more likely people might make it a habit,” she adds.

The mask is designed to contour to the face, allowing for even more targeted delivery of light. “I noticed results after just one week. My skin is smoother and has a fantastic glow,” says Alexandra Klausner, a writer who tested the mask. She gives the product high marks for delivering on its claims. “The product promises to brighten and plump skin, which it did. I don’t have too many wrinkles, but I found it did soften the wrinkles around my eyes.”

Sitting still, even for a spa-like RLT treatment, can be tough. But the Dr. Dennis Gross DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro gets the job done in just three minutes. That’s convenient for anyone who has a lot on their plate and can’t imagine strapping a red light mask onto their face for 10 to 15 minutes.

“I loved how short the use time is; I have been hesitant to try red light therapy devices because of the time commitment,” says Tuttle. “You only have to wear the Dr. Dennis Gross mask for three minutes a day. That’s it. Even I can manage three minutes.”

The device offers red and blue light therapy as well as a mode that combines both. Tuttle says she noticed some improvement in her skin texture over four weeks of use, noting that her skin began to look smoother. Her husband used the device as well, and a keratin deposit near his eye became less noticeable.

While the mask has an adjustable strap that Tuttle found comfortable, she adds that it’s quite rigid, so it’s not easy to travel with. She also tried using the mask on different parts of her body, like her neck and hands, and says a more flexible mask would be easier for this.

Loftie Lamp’s red light is designed to aid relaxation and help users get deeper, better sleep, but the lamp offers much more. The phone connects to your phone via an app, where you can control the light settings, but you can also use the lamp’s buttons to change the light settings so you don’t have to look at your phone.

“It’s an LED lamp where the entire center part lights up and changes color, so there’s no lightbulb,” says editorial director Simone Scully. “The lamp has both sunset (to help you wind down) and sunrise (to help you wake up) options, which you program in your app. This really did help me both wake up in the morning slowly (with the light coming on) and start calming down at night because I had a visual queue to start wrapping up work, read, etc.”

There are plenty of other settings, such as a nightlight setting, a reading light setting, and, of course, the red light setting. “You can also program your own gradients or sunrises, or get colorful (which I know my son loved),” Scully adds. It can pair with the Loftie Alarm Clock so you can set a two-tiered alarm (the light first, then the alarm).

“I began to see improvement in my deep neck wrinkles within a few weeks of use, so I’ll definitely be keeping it up,” Bonaccorso adds. She found the Neck & Décolletage Mask comfortable to wear, except for the one time she tried wearing it at the same time as her RLT face mask — it was overwhelming to wear both at the same time. She also found the strap that fastens around the neck to be quite long.

When it comes to design, the mask’s hard exterior, while durable, is not as flexible as the CurrentBody or Omnilux models. “You can get up and move around if needed, though it does take some care,” notes Crystal Hoshaw, a writer who tested the mask for Everyday Health. She says that while the 10-minute cycles are relatively easy to fit into your weekly skin-care routine, the mask’s comfort and wearability (or lack thereof) might get in the way of a more consistent daily practice. Hoshaw doesn’t have acne and says that wrinkles aren’t a big concern for her either. However, she did report a “subtle reduction of the emerging crow’s feet” around her eyes.

What makes this mask unique is its Best-Fit liquid silicone that molds to your face. I tested this mask for Everyday Health, and the design really stood out to me, differentiating it from other masks. The mask is malleable and feels comfortable on the face; it's not stiff or heavy like other LED masks can be.

The recommended use is to use the device for 10 minutes three to five times a week. I’ve used this mask for six months, and I feel confident that it’s helped make my skin more radiant and decreased the look of fine lines.

This portable panel device, meant mainly for pain relief, can be used in two ways: It can be put on a stand for hands-free use, or you can hold it as you target a specific area of your body. It’s not too big, about the size of a large smartphone, says Vargas, and it can be adjusted for vertical or horizontal use.

The short 10-minute sessions make it a relatively easy addition to your daily routine. Vargas used it several times per week and found the sessions incredibly relaxing, especially before bed, saying she noticed “immediate deeper sleep” after using it. “For my knees and legs,” Vargas adds, “it took a couple of uses before I started to notice a difference. I think that with continued use, I may see even more improvement in joint and muscle stiffness.”