Is My Red Light Mask Doing Anything Or Am I Delusional? An Investigation

As with some of my best decisions in life, I bought a red light mask because Kelsey McKinney uses one. I saw Kelsey posting Instagram stories with her face illuminated under the mask's sinister, Sith-like glow. I was newly 30, albeit not especially flirty or thriving, and I wondered if the red light mask might be a good salve for my anxious vanity. Like many others, I want to grow old but still look young—sue me! Every morning I dutifully smear sunscreen on my face, and every night I apply my cocktail of arbitrarily chosen unguents. But if there was something else I could be doing more to stave off spots and wrinkles, I wanted to give it a try. Now that I've had my red light mask for a year, I see that it works, I think? My skin looks good, perhaps even better than it would without the mask. But I sometimes wonder if this is all in my head. Have I convinced myself that red light works simply because I want it to? Every time I put on my mask, strapping my face under its white silhouette like Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky, I find myself discombobulated, also like Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky. The logic feels crazy. I understand that light has the power to burn my skin. But the power to preserve it? This wager feels far more fantastical. Even scientists seemed to agree. In one 1989 paper, the biophysicist Tiina Karu, who studied the cellular mechanics of red light exposure, called the therapy "highly incredible and even mysterious." When I tried to learn about the science behind red light's dermatological dazzle, what I found were mostly affiliate-driven product recommendations, which taught me more about the luxuries of various masks but less about the science behind them. So I reached out to some actual dermatologists to see if they could unmask the secrets of my mask. Here is some of what I learned.

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