Kelly Rowland is a proponent of LED light face masks, but do they work?
Kelly Rowland said she sleeps under Black celebrity esthetician Shani Darden's LED light therapy mask every night.
Kelly Rowland is a proponent of at-home LED light therapy.
During Beautycon, which Rowland headlined this year, the singer talked about her history with beauty and style and gave the lowdown on which beauty products and devices she’s been loving lately, including a light-emitting diode (LED) mask she said she sleeps under every night.
“There’s this light by Shani Darden, the LED light, and it’s not cheap. But I literally sleep under it every night,” she told People.
She explained that the light, the Déesse Pro, by Black celebrity esthetician Darden, has a 20-to-30-minute time limit and several different light settings, which accomplish different goals for the face and skin.
“[The lights] are so awesome because of the simple fact that they are like killing germs and [helping with] anti-aging, which is amazing,” she said.
These masks, usually white with different color glowing lights underneath, have grown rapidly in popularity in recent years. They allow consumers the ability to take pricy skin treatments home with them to combat anything from acne to skin aging to the effects of conditions like psoriasis. The different color lights provide different types of light therapy to the skin. Rowland has previously said that she also uses her LED light to help stave off the effects of eczema in addition to addressing anti-aging and other concerns. However, as Rowland noted, quality masks can be costly. They tend to range in price from $100 to $1,000. Rowland’s costs $1,900.
Beyond the price, many still debate the effectiveness of the masks. The type of cosmetic treatment the LED devices provide has been administered, with proven results, by physicians in offices for years. Experts agree that quality LED masks are out there and worth it, especially if you want to cut down the dermatology bill in the long run.
There are also concerns over the masks’ safety, especially for pigmented skin. As more and more Black people embrace using sunscreen, it could seem counter-intuitive to put a mask that emits light over one’s face. Some may also confuse LED light therapy with Broadband Light therapy (nicknamed “the other BBL”), which can have harmful effects on darker skin tones if consumers aren’t careful.
According to the inclusive beauty brand Project E Beauty, LED light therapy uses UV-free, non-heating LED bulbs. The light that penetrates the skin activates photoreceptors, which then trigger natural cellular processes, including collagen production, healing, and regeneration.
Darden told Skincare.com, “LED light helps boost collagen in the skin, minimizes fine lines and wrinkles, and improves circulation to give you a nice glow.”
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