The pandemic led to a dramatic increase in at-home beauty treatments. With salons and clinics closed, those wishing to maintain their beauty routines turned to DIY options with manicures, haircuts, facials and hair colourings all carried out with varying degrees of success, as any scroll through social media will attest.
When it comes to skincare, for a long time the sheet mask has been the at-home beauty product of choice for those looking to tighten and even out their complexion between clinic visits. But, as with all things in the fast-moving beauty industry, products that are initially only to be found in clinics soon make their way into the home.
The LED face mask is the latest non-invasive beauty must-have that allows for a weekly complexion boost without booking an appointment.
While wearing one may make you look a little like Michael Myers from Halloween, or, slightly less menacingly, a stormtrooper from Star Wars, facialists and celebrities, including actress January Jones, have been raving about their effects, from smaller pores to less visible acne scars.
Scroll through the gallery above for five LED face masks you can use at home.
What is an LED face mask?
An LED face mask emits different coloured lights on the skin. LED stands for light-emitting diode, and each spectrum of light produces a different colour for various skin issues. Sessions typically last from 20 to 30 minutes, although they can last longer to achieve different effects depending on the treatment.
“LED therapy is a skincare treatment that uses varying wavelengths of light, including red and blue,” says Edwige Gandin, a beautician at Pastels Salon. “It is used to help regenerate the skin and increase the healing process. It is also a popular choice as an acne treatment due to its calming and antibacterial properties.”
Sharin Shafer of London aesthetics clinic, Skinfluencer, explains where it originated. “Nasa developed it for plant growth experiments on shuttle missions and later found it to have promise for wound treatment.
"LED light therapy is now used by aestheticians to help regenerate the skin and improve its appearance. Unlike other types of light therapy, LEDs do not contain ultraviolet rays, therefore they’re safe for regular use.”
From collagen production to anti-scarring: What do the different colours in an LED mask do?
An LED face mask emits different colours to be used on the skin depending on the results you want to achieve. Red is the best colour for anti-ageing, blue for acne control, green for evening out pigmentation and yellow for sun damage.
Red LED light may improve scarring and signs of ageing, such as wrinkles
“Experts believe that blue LED light reduces activity in the sebaceous glands, which are small oil-producing glands in the skin,” says Shafer. “Blue light triggers photochemical oxidation in order to kill bacteria on the skin, which is excellent for people with acne, eczema or rosacea.
"Red LED light may improve scarring and signs of ageing, such as wrinkles," she says. "It does this by stimulating fibroblasts, skin cells that are responsible for collagen production. The body produces less collagen as a person ages, which causes the skin to show signs of ageing. Red light also reduces skin inflammation.
“Near-infrared is the most deeply absorbed wavelength. It has no colour but reduces inflammation and redness in the skin. It also speeds up wound healing and reduces pigmentation.”
How do LED face masks work?
LED light is absorbed by different components of skin cells, which then changes how they function. Light can stimulate cells to produce collagen and can also inhibit cells, such as reducing the appearance of scars. Some colours penetrate deeper into the skin at a molecular level than others, with red light going deeper because of its longer wavelength.
“LED light therapy uses photon energy in order to regenerate cells, reduce inflammation, heal wounds, scatter melanocyte clusters, reduce acne and increase skin rejuvenation,” says Shafer. “Different wavelengths of light penetrate the skin at different depths. This penetration may trigger biological processes that help the skin rejuvenate and heal.”
Gandin says: "All skin types can benefit as it is believed to treat everything from wrinkles, redness and signs of ageing to acne, scarring and dark spots."
Firmer, tighter and plumper skin: What are the benefits of using an LED face mask?
Consistency is key when embarking on an at-home beauty routine with an LED face mask.
"I use the FaceLite device from Omnilux three times a week for 20 minutes at a time," says Sonya Cross, owner of London's The You Clinic. "I've experienced firmer and tighter skin. My skin is plumper and the redness in my complexion has been much reduced."
The main difference between using an at-home device and visiting a clinic for a treatment is you will likely require fewer treatments at a clinic because of the higher intensity of their devices.
“Home devices are usually less effective than professional treatments,” says Shafer. “It is necessary to have several treatment sessions before noticing an improvement in skin appearance. People usually see the best results several weeks after their last treatment.”
Cross adds: “Salon machines may have more LED lights in them and have mains power, but the home devices will have all the same benefits. It may just take a more regular use to achieve the same results as one salon treatment.”
What to look for when choosing an LED face mask: ‘You only really need red and blue colours’
Cross explains exactly what to look for when buying your own LED face mask. "The mask needs to sit directly on top of your face. Having a device that is even one inch away from your skin dramatically reduces its effectiveness.
"You want to have both 633nm red and 830nm near infrared wavelength in the device to have all the benefits. The mask needs to be light and not bulky to ensure it is easy to use, so that you will use it. They work best on clean skin with no products on.
“Some devices sell hydration masks to use underneath, but actually the light will penetrate better when used alone. Use a sheet mask afterwards for skin hydration.”
While there are very few drawbacks to using an LED mask, Gandin advises you don’t use one if you’re using anything on your skin that makes you sensitive to sunlight, or if you have an active rash or condition such as psoriasis.
"Check that it has the correct coloured lights for the condition you want to treat," says Rebecca Treston, a beauty and laser therapist at Dubai London Clinic. "Also that it spans the area that needs to be treated.
"In-house treatments are generally more effective, but home devices are more convenient. They will need more sessions, but will work in the long term if the use is consistent."
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Pathaan
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Section 375
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat
Director: Ajay Bahl
Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL
Rating: 3.5/5
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
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If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
HWJN
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ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
