Red Light Therapy Mask Side Effects: What's Normal
A normal session with a red light mask leaves your face feeling warm and a little pink, and the pink is gone within the hour. For most people that is the complete list. Redness that hangs around, stinging, a rash, a headache or any discomfort in your eyes is a different matter, and the right response to any of them is to stop. Some people should not use a red light mask at all, and if you have melasma there is one more thing to read before you start. What follows is what the research says, what a session should feel like, what should make you stop, and who should not begin.
What does the research say about red light mask side effects?
In the trials, side effects were mild and short-lived: some redness, dryness or itching that cleared on its own.
A 2018 review of LED phototherapy in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology went through the trials on acne, rejuvenation and wound healing and found that the side effects reported were mild and temporary. The same review points out that the trials excluded people with a history of light sensitivity or on medication that makes skin sensitive to light, which is why every mask manual excludes them too. Read the review. In 2014, 113 volunteers went through 30 sessions of red or near-infrared light in Photomedicine and Laser Surgery, and the paper reports no adverse effects. Full paper.
What is normal after a session?
Warmth, a pink flush that fades within the hour, and skin that feels slightly dry that evening. Nothing should last into the next day.
The warmth is because the mask sits close to the skin, so your face feels warm during the session and for a little while afterwards. The flush is extra blood flow, and it fades within an hour, usually much sooner. Some people find their skin feels a little tight or dry that evening, and a plain moisturiser after the session deals with it. You may also notice a brief afterimage when you take the mask off, the same as after looking at any bright light; it passes in a minute or two.
What is not normal?
Redness that lasts for hours, stinging, a rash, a headache, nausea or anything wrong with your eyes. Stop, and see a doctor if it does not settle.
- Redness that is still there hours later, or a rash.
- Stinging or burning during the session.
- A headache, dizziness or nausea during or after sessions.
- Any pain in your eyes, watering, or a change in your vision.
- Skin that looks more irritated week on week rather than calmer.
Most of these have an ordinary cause. A session ran too long, the brightness went up too soon, an active skincare product was left on under the mask, or the mask was worn on broken or sunburnt skin. Fix whichever it was, give the skin a few days, then start again at a lower setting. If the same thing happens a second time, stop.
Can a red light mask cause melasma or dark spots?
Red light did not darken skin in the one clinical study that tested it. Blue-violet light did. If you have melasma, ask a dermatologist before you start.
Melasma comes up in forum discussions about masks more than almost anything else, so it deserves a proper answer. In 2014, a study in Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research shone two single wavelengths on volunteers with medium skin tones. Blue-violet light at 415 nm caused darkening that lasted up to three months. Red light at 630 nm caused none. Study summary. That was one small study, on healthy skin rather than on people who already had melasma, so it cannot prove a mask is safe for you. And our breakout mode, the blue mode, uses 460 nm blue light. If you have melasma or darken easily, speak to a dermatologist before using the mask, and especially before touching the blue mode.
Is a red light mask safe for your eyes?
On the Kivorla mask, no diodes sit over your eyes; there is an open cutout at eye level. The rule is never to look into the mask from outside while it is running.
Near-infrared light is invisible, so your eyes will not squint or blink away from it by themselves, and that is the reason you should not lift the mask off mid-session to check it is on. Anyone with an eye condition, or on medication that affects the eyes, should ask an eye doctor first. The longer answer is in is red light therapy safe for your eyes.
Can a red light mask make your skin worse?
Not in the trials. Red light does not cause the purge that retinoids can, so when skin does get worse the cause is usually something else.
The light does not speed up how fast skin cells turn over, so there is no purge stage to get through. When people report their skin getting worse, it is almost always one of three things: retinol or an acid layered under the mask, sessions run more often than the manual allows, or a flare that was coming anyway. Run the light on clean, dry skin, keep to the timer, and give it eight weeks before you decide.
Who should not use a red light mask?
Anyone who is pregnant, has epilepsy, a thyroid condition, a pacemaker or broken skin, or who takes medication that makes skin sensitive to light.
This list comes from our own manual, and it is the same list you will find on our precautions page. Do not use the Kivorla mask if you:
- Use a pacemaker or a similar implanted electronic device
- Are pregnant
- Have epilepsy
- Have a thyroid condition or take thyroid medication
- Take photosensitising medication, meaning medication that makes skin react to light. Some antibiotics, some acne medicines and some diuretics do this. If you are not sure, ask the doctor who prescribed it.
- Have broken skin, an open wound or a skin injury on the treatment area
If you have a skin condition, a history of skin cancer, or any medical condition, speak to a qualified healthcare professional before you start.
Is a red light mask safe during pregnancy?
We say do not use it. The trials did not include pregnant women, and our manual lists pregnancy as a reason not to use the mask.
That is caution rather than evidence of harm. Talk to your doctor or midwife.
How do you keep side effects to a minimum?
Start at low brightness, use it on clean, dry skin, keep to the timer, and never look into the light. If your skin is irritated, skip the session.
- Start at low brightness. Our mask runs at 50, 70 or 90 percent. Stay at 50 for the first week, and longer if your skin is reactive.
- Clean, dry skin with nothing on it. Serums, retinol and moisturiser go on after the session.
- Keep to the timer. The Kivorla mask allows 5, 10 or 15 minutes and switches off by itself. Never more than 20 minutes in a day.
- Never look into the light, and do not take the mask off mid-session to see whether it is running.
- Skip a session if your skin is sunburnt, irritated or broken.
- Clean the inside after use, following the care instructions in the manual.
What does the Kivorla mask do to keep a session comfortable?
It lets you start gently, it cannot run too long, and there is no cord anywhere near your face.
The three brightness levels are the gentle start: you can begin at 50 percent and only step up once your skin is used to it. The timer ends the session at 5, 10 or 15 minutes on its own, so dozing off in the mask does not turn into a long session. The surface that sits against your face is soft food-grade liquid silicone rather than hard plastic. And because the mask runs on a battery, no cable passes your face while it is on; it cannot be used while charging.
So: warmth and a short-lived flush are normal, anything that lasts or hurts is not, melasma means a dermatologist first, and the do-not-use list above is firm. If none of that rules you out, the Kivorla 4-Wavelength Red Light Therapy Mask page lists its wavelengths, brightness levels and timer. Because it is worn against the face, an opened mask can be returned within 30 days if it is undamaged and complete, less a 20% restocking fee, or 10% if it is still sealed, which is one more reason to read the precautions before, rather than after, you order. Standard shipping is free to the US, UK and Germany.
Kivorla devices are general wellness devices, not medical devices.