I’ve worked from home (and exercised, socialised and everything in between from home, too) for far longer than I care to admit, and my skin fully flipped out. Nothing like a bunch of breakouts after heaps of makeup free days to really piss a person off, you know?
I’ve always copped a bit of redness on my face and, especially in the colder months, some flakiness and dryness. But I’m telling you, I had full-blown, welt-like pimples breaking through my skin and I felt both confused and a bit insecure, even if I was only seeing people on Zoom.
But if lockdown and isolation were good for something, it was trying something new that you otherwise wouldn’t have the patience for. One of those things was the Peppy Co LED Light Therapy Mask ($179).
If you’ve ever spent longer than a minute scrolling Instagram (yeh hi), you’ve probably spied an outer-space looking mask that all the influencers are repping. From Roxy Jacenko to Abbie Chatfield and MAFS‘ Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli, this weird LED mask contraption appeared to be all the rage, but, as with any Insta trend and person who tells you they’re not like everyone else, I had my doubts and had to find out myself.
LED light treatments are typically handled by dermatologists so I was definitely wiggy about using it from home — because, yes, ok, I have a tendency to make a mess of almost everything I try. But, luckily for my ability to fuck most things up, the LED mask is so easy to use I think even a monkey could get it right.
Arriving in a box with a silk bag and charger cable, the LED mask was a hell of a lot lighter than I expected. The mask‘s lined with LED lights designed to penetrate the skin using varying wavelengths of light, complete with in-built sunglasses to protect the ~windows to your soul~.
Once you attach the USB plug into the LED mask, the lights automatically turn on, and there’s a sensor touch in the left-ear arm that’ll let you toggle between the three different settings.
The blue setting is recommended for breaking the acne cycle, the red setting is used for preventing ageing and increasing hydration from the inside out, and the yellow is recommended for reducing skin roughness and poor circulation.
I laid down, chucked on my Spotify Discover Weekly (an eye-opening experience, every time), and even set a 10-minute timer because I have trust issues. The LED mask’s lights automatically turn off after 10 minutes, so I ditched the alarm safety net after a few rounds in.
The manual that came with it recommended using the LED mask three cycles a week, which, during isolation was more than I even showered. I did a red cycle in the morning and blue at night.
Weirdly, it didn’t feel like that much time out of my day, but then again, we were (and still are) in the middle of a global pandemic with little else to do. I actually used it to help me ease into waking up in the morning (another 10 minutes of shut-eye while still working on your beauty routine? Please and thank you), and just before bed to help me sleep at night.
If I had to pick something I didn’t like — and believe me when I say that is a hardwired personality trait — it would be that the LED mask’s arm sensor is quite sensitive (try not to touch it while the lights are on or it’ll change settings) and they dug into my temples a little bit. It also does ask a bit from the user in a routine sense, but, like all routines when they start, it’s not long before it becomes autopilot. What? I’m clutching at straws here, the product is hard to fault. I guess it’s kinda of difficult to sit in silence for 10 mins as well?
Now, like I said, I do have trust issues, so it’s hard for me to trust that the below results are actually from the LED mask or if I was just having a bad PMS flare up that consequently calmed its farm, but here’s the difference between how my skin looked after two weeks of daily blue and red cycles.
I was personally impressed, but it is worth noting that I also used the LED mask ($179) in conjunction with the Peppy Co All-In-One Sleeping Mask ($49) every night. It’s super hydrating and I loved using it routinely before bed, but, while I myself was isolated, the fact I used both products together means I can’t actually isolate the results.
Peppy Co The Starter Set ($199).
So that’s my take. The proof’s in the photos (and mirror) for me, but I honestly don’t know anyone else that’s tried it, and weirdly I’m not friends with any influencers, so I can only speak from personal experience.
