Microcurrent vs Red Light Therapy: Which to Buy?

Start with what you see in the mirror, because the two devices do different jobs. Microcurrent sends a tiny electrical current into the muscles of the face, and the lift people describe is mostly visible the same day, which is why it is sold as a routine you keep up rather than a course you finish. Red light goes into the skin cells themselves and changes texture and fine lines slowly, over eight to twelve weeks. Sagging and contour point to microcurrent. Lines, texture, dullness or breakouts point to red light. Plenty of people end up owning both, and the order to use them in is further down.

What does microcurrent do?

It passes a very low electrical current through the face so the muscles contract slightly, with the aim of a tighter, more lifted look.

The device itself is two metal probes or pads carrying a current measured in millionths of an amp. What people notice is mostly immediate: cheekbones and jawline look a little sharper for the rest of the day, and so the makers present it as something you do regularly. The published evidence behind it is thin. A 2024 review of home facial devices, taking in microcurrent, LED and radiofrequency together, found only 18 clinical studies across the lot, most of them small and with short follow-up. Study summary.

Because it is an electrical current, microcurrent makers commonly warn off anyone with a pacemaker or other implanted electronic device, epilepsy, active cancer, or a pregnancy. The current also needs a conductive gel on the skin to pass through, and the gel has to be washed off afterwards.

What does red light do?

Skin cells absorb it and, over weeks, make more collagen. Nothing lifts on the day; the skin itself changes, slowly.

In 2014, a controlled trial in Photomedicine and Laser Surgery gave 113 volunteers 30 light sessions, twice a week, and the treated groups finished with smoother skin and higher collagen density on ultrasound than the untreated controls. Full paper. A 2007 split-face study treated 76 people twice a week for four weeks, and wrinkles on the treated side were still improving weeks after the sessions ended. Study summary. The timeline gets its own treatment in how long red light therapy takes to work.

Microcurrent vs red light therapy: how do they compare?

Microcurrent works on muscle and shows on the day. Red light works on skin and shows over weeks. The rest is in the table.

Is microcurrent or red light therapy better?

For sagging and contour, microcurrent. For fine lines, texture, dullness and breakouts, red light. Neither is better at the other's job.

If a soft jawline is the complaint, microcurrent is the one designed for it, with the caveat that the lift has to be kept up and the long-term evidence is weak. If the complaint is fine lines, rough or dull texture, breakouts, or the general look of skin that has had a few years of sun, it is red light, with the caveat that you will see nothing for a month. Anyone buying only one, and bothered by the skin rather than the shape of the face, should buy the red light mask. And if you are not yet sure a mask is right for you at all, are red light therapy masks worth it is the article to read first.

Can you use microcurrent and red light together, and which goes first?

Yes. Microcurrent goes first because it needs gel; then you cleanse, and the mask goes on clean, dry skin.

1. Microcurrent first, with its gel.
2. Cleanse the gel off and pat dry.
3. Red light mask, 10 minutes.
4. Serum and moisturiser after the light, never before it.

Or keep them on different days, or one in the morning and one at night. Either arrangement is fine. What you cannot get around is that the lists of people who should not use each device overlap, so with a pacemaker, epilepsy or a pregnancy, neither is for you without a doctor's say-so.

Which should you buy first?

Buy for the thing that bothers you most. Contour is a microcurrent problem. Lines and texture are a red light problem.

If your concern is contour and lift and you will keep up a regular routine, that is microcurrent. If it is lines and texture and you can manage ten minutes three or four times a week, red light. Red light also wins if you want something hands-free, since a mask sits on your face while you read, and if you want a result you can measure, because you can take a photo at week zero and again at week eight and compare. If you already own a microcurrent device, a red light mask works on a different layer of the face, so it adds to what you have rather than duplicating it.

What does the Kivorla mask give you?

Ten hands-free minutes that fit into an evening, with the numbers published so you can check them.

The red mode runs 665 nm red with 850 nm and 1064 nm near-infrared at the same time, so lines and texture are one setting and you never have to choose wavelengths yourself. The manual allows 10-minute sessions up to four times a week or 15-minute sessions up to three times a week, never more than 20 minutes a day, which fits around a busy week without much planning. At 408 g including the controller and with no cord, you can sit on the sofa or lie back while it runs, and the inside is food-grade liquid silicone, so it is soft against the face. We publish the light at the skin, 50 to 103 mW/cm², so you can set it against the studies above instead of guessing.

Microcurrent for muscle and a same-day lift you have to keep up; red light for the skin, slow to show and maintained with a few sessions a week. If red light is the one you want, the Kivorla 4-Wavelength Red Light Therapy Mask page has its wavelengths, irradiance and session times. Read the precautions page before you order, because a return is accepted within 30 days, less a 10% restocking fee if the mask is unopened with its seals intact, or 20% if it is opened but undamaged and complete. Shipping is free to the US, UK and Germany at the standard rate.

Kivorla devices are general wellness devices, not medical devices.