November 20, 2024

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Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photo: Retailer; Photo: Crystal Martin. Crystal Martin after using the HigherDOSE mask for six weeks.

Crystal Martin

Crystal Martin is a Strategist senior editor who covers beauty and health. She previously worked at Women’s Wear Daily, Essence, and Shape and has written for the New York Times, Elle, and Harper’s Bazaar.

I’ve tried about four different masks over the years, as well as red-light wands. So when I started to test HigherDOSE’s mask in August, I figured it’d work well (because most red-light things deliver results) but that it wouldn’t be anything special. For context, before starting with the HigherDOSE mask (which I’ve been wearing roughly five days a week), I hadn't had a red light in my routine consistently for more than a year. The first thing I noticed about the HigherDOSE was the fit. I’ve learned over the years from writing about red light that masks really must be in perfect contact with your face, mostly because the strength of the light emitted from masks is generally pretty low, so in order for it to be effective, the LEDs need to be touching your skin. The HigherDOSE mask has an extra vertical strap that connects the top of the mask to two horizontal straps. That extra strap helps the mask stay in place and helps you get it tight enough so that it’s touching all of your face. Another small feature I appreciated was the 20-minute-timer option. Typically, masks stay on for a set ten minutes. But having the 20-minute-time option made it so that when I missed a day, I was reminded that I could double up on the next.

On to the results: After about eight weeks I started noticing  that my skin was getting fewer breakouts and looked, just, nicer. For example, I have a few icepick scars on my cheeks from past battles with nodular and cystic acne. I think the extra boost of collagen from the red light helped smooth them out slightly. My skin has a healthy-looking glow without makeup or any kind of highlighter. Just moisturizer and sunscreen, and I’m still looking dewy. On the active-acne front, I usually get one sizable pimple once a month on my chin, jawline, or, god forbid, my nose. The incidence of those monthly breakouts chilled out significantly. I’ve gotten down to one pimple, rarely, instead of regularly. The results are in line with how most red-light masks perform, but the HigherDOSE does get bonus points for its effective design. At $349, I’d put it in the expensive but very much worth it category. 

The Beauty Brief has partnered with HigherDOSE to offer one lucky reader its Red Light Face Mask. Enter the sweepstakes here. As a thank-you for entering, you’ll get a code for 20 percent off at HigherDOSE, excluding bundles, subscriptions, and full-size saunas.

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