CurrentBody Series 3 review: a fully customisable LED mask that helps exactly where you need it

With six light wavelengths and almost endless ways to combine them, CurrentBody’s latest sets a new standard for red light therapy devices

CurrentBody’s LED masks have long been my favourite. They’re comfortable, simple to use and effective. My previous favourite, the now-discontinued CurrentBody Multi Light Therapy LED mask, offered five treatments that used different light wavelengths to address multiple skin concerns. The company’s latest mask, the new Series 3, has the most detailed customisable treatments I’ve ever seen.

This isn’t the first LED mask I’ve tried that allows its user to select different treatments for different areas of the face. The Lustre Renew Pro Facewear allows you to choose from two treatments across four different zones, with 16 possible combinations. The Series 3 takes this much further, allowing you to choose between six light wavelengths across 125 light points on the mask. If you stick to one wavelength per light point, that’s 6125 combinations available. That number is longer than I can reasonably comprehend, so allow me to call its level of customisation endless.

At £499.99, it certainly isn’t cheap, but it’s the same price as its less-advanced predecessor. Having tested my custom treatment for six weeks, my results were just as good as I had hoped, with the same excellent coverage I’ve come to expect from CurrentBody LED masks. Once you’ve got over the price, there’s very little to grumble about here, given that the Dr Dennis Gross SpectraLite FaceWare Pro costs almost as much and has no personalisation, and cheaper masks such as the Silk’n LED face mask Pro can’t pinpoint precise areas of the face. For anyone looking for the best LED mask money can buy, this is a safe bet.

I’ve tested 18 LED masks, considering overall efficacy, comfort levels and ease of use – all things that help make consistent treatments enjoyable. I always check comfort levels by testing how well the eye guards block out the light from the mask, how easy the straps are to adjust and how comfortable the mask is to wear when lying down, sitting up and moving around.

The test also involved noting the condition, texture and appearance of my skin before and after two months of use. I tested the four preset treatments for four nights each to get a quick idea of how they affected my skin, but since personalised treatments are the star of the show here, I used a customisable treatment for the rest of the test. Having tested LED masks before, I was hoping to at least maintain, or, ideally, build on the improvements I’d seen previously.

Let’s not beat around the bush: LED therapy, AKA photobiomodulation, looks a lot like pseudoscience. Scepticism is understandable, so as part of my LED mask testing for the Filter, I spoke to four independent dermatologists, anti-ageing experts and facialists. Their overall outlook on the tech was positive, particularly with regard to managing mild acne, reducing inflammation and firming skin. They advised choosing a mask from a reputable brand that bolsters its claims with clinical studies, and doing consistent treatments alongside a good skincare routine. Or, if you’re already inconsistent with skincare, consider whether you really need an LED mask first.

The most concrete evidence for LED therapy is in the blue, red and infrared wavelengths, used for acne, ageing and wound healing. There is growing interest in green and yellow light for brightening and calming redness. Small studies commissioned by CurrentBody reported modest reductions of 4.1% in pigmentation with green light and 8.6% in redness with yellow light, compared with a 37.1% reduction in forehead wrinkle volume with deep near-infrared light.

The Series 3 has 750 LEDs spread across 125 light points on the face. This is more light points than any previous CurrentBody mask, allowing for greater light coverage. For context, the Shark CryoGlow has more light points (160), although it lacks the range of wavelengths on offer here, with 480 individual LED light sources across three wavelengths. Some entry-level masks offer fewer light points, sometimes under 100, which tend to garner less effective results. In the Series 3, each light point has six LEDs: red, blue, near-infrared, deep near-infrared, yellow and green. Unlike all other masks I’ve tested, which mostly concentrate the most deeply penetrating deep near-infrared light around the eyes and mouth, the Series 3 offers full-face coverage, meaning it can tackle deep wrinkles anywhere you fancy.

There are four preset 10-minute treatments: Advanced Anti-Ageing, Advanced Clearing, Brighten & Balance, and Complexion Corrector. These combine near-infrared light with a different visible light wavelength to achieve their results and work like those offered on the Multi Light Therapy mask.

As mentioned, the star of the show here is the customised treatments, where users can pick out wavelengths with reckless abandon in the app. Helpfully, each colour is labelled with a brief description of its aims: “clear breakouts” for blue light, “calm redness” for yellow and so on. These can be positioned anywhere on the face and combined to create a treatment that’s unique to your needs. And, since you can save up to 10 custom treatments on the mask and more in the app, it also gives users the flexibility to target breakouts or dark spots precisely where they pop up, while continuing with other treatments elsewhere.

But if free salad bars have taught me anything, it’s that people are likely to overdo it if left unsupervised. That’s why CurrentBody has developed MyDose, which automatically calculates the optimum dosage for your chosen light wavelengths. In theory, this means you can safely customise treatments without compromising on results.

The Series 3 also has CurrentBody’s Veritace certification. Every mask undergoes quality control tests in which each of the 750 LEDs is tested to ensure it emits the specified wavelength and power output required before it’s shipped out to you. The mask comes with its own NFC card that lets you view the results; it’s reassuring to have this kind of transparency for a mask that costs this much.

Price: £499.99 Recommended use: 3-5 times per week Settings: Advanced Anti-Ageing, Advanced Clearing, Complexion Corrector, Brighten & Balance, plus near-infinite customised options Light wavelengths: red (633nm), near-infrared (830nm), deep near-infrared (1072nm), blue (415nm), green (532nm), yellow (590nm) Treatment time: 10 minutes Suitable for: all skin types, but darker tones should take care with blue light Battery life: 13 uses Charging time: 4.5 hours Contents: mask, three straps, two removable eye guards, Veritace card, charging cable, storage bag

Like the Series 2 that came before it, the Series 3 is made from flexible silicone that fits comfortably without digging in, and has a chin strap that offers more coverage than other masks. Its straps are adjustable at four points – two on either side of the head – plus there’s an overhead strap that can stop the mask from slipping down on smaller heads. I also found the eye guards did a fantastic job of blocking out the mask’s light during treatment, as I was able to see clearly enough to read or potter around in dim lighting with no issues.

The results from my tests were fantastic. As expected, given the Multi Light Therapy mask’s near-identical treatments, each of the preset treatments performed well. However, the real selling point for me was the personalised treatments.

Like many with PCOS/PMOS, I get hormonal breakouts and hair growth on my chin and upper lip. For a while, I have been worried that using red light in these areas would make this more pronounced, as red light has been shown to stimulate scalp hair growth. With the Series 3, I chose not to use red light in those areas, and instead used blue light on my acne-prone chin, with red, near-infrared and deep near-infrared everywhere else. I also threw in a sprinkling of yellow light on my cheeks to tackle redness.

Given my hatred for beauty tech apps, which are often full of ads, useless subscriptions and grating tech problems, I was glad to find the CurrentBody app refreshingly simple. The app pops up with an illustration of the light points on the face, ready for you to select which of the six light options you would like to shine from each point. The six light options can be applied using a paintbrush, fill bucket and eraser, which made it feel a lot like using a simplified version of Microsoft Paint. The whole process took about five minutes.

I was most relieved to see that, once my personalised treatment had been saved to the device, I never had to open the app unless I wanted to tweak my treatment. There’s space for up to 10 personalised modes on the mask’s controller, on top of the four preset modes, and if for some reason you want more options than that, you can store more treatments on the app. There’s also the option to share treatments with others using a code (mine’s RYPGJ, if you’re feeling nosy).

After six weeks of using my personalised treatment, my skin looked calmer, with less redness on my cheeks, fewer breakouts on my chin and a healthier overall appearance. Mission accomplished. I was also pleased that the mask lasted through 13 full 10-minute treatments before needing a recharge. If you’re short on time, you can’t reduce the treatment time, but I’d be reluctant to mess around with the treatment length too much anyway, as this would add too many variables to the automatic dosing.

I can’t complain about the results on this mask, but it does have a few nitpicky problems. Namely, the chin strap makes it impossible to pack flat when travelling, as opposed to flat silicone LED masks. Its nose flap left a tiny red mark on my nose for a few minutes after treatments, and to my frustration, CurrentBody’s instruction manual does a poor job of explaining how to add the straps.

Furthermore, unlike the Series 2, the controller comes with a small built-in touchscreen to accommodate its more complex treatments. While this is intuitive to use, I found the screen easy to jog accidentally mid-use, which would often pause my treatment. At 190g, the controller is also bulkier than before, and its clip is about an inch shorter, which makes it harder to carry around or clip securely on to clothing.

I also found the battery life indicator a touch unreliable. Occasionally, the mask died before it got the chance to flag up red low-battery levels. This didn’t happen every time, and the charge always lasted through 13 full 10-minute treatments, but it was frustrating nonetheless.

LED therapy is safe and comfortable for most people, but it’s always best to be cautious. CurrentBody recommends doing a skin sensitivity test before starting treatment, and offers a full refund if your skin becomes red or itchy after 24 hours, provided you return the mask within 14 days. For those who keep the mask, there is also a two-year warranty that covers manufacturing faults.

If you have the money, absolutely. The CurrentBody Series 3 fits comfortably, has a generous battery and is the only one with anti-ageing deep near-infrared light all over the face. With this level of customisation available, it’s easily the top LED mask I’ve tested.

This mask is particularly good for those with areas of their skin where one flat treatment won’t cut the mustard. For example, if you just want to fade one dark spot using green light, or treat a localised breakout using blue light, this mask gives you the flexibility to do that. This is a rare instance where I think the app is genuinely worthwhile, too. I didn’t dread booting it up every time I wanted to make an adjustment, and I love that the mask remembers my personalised treatments.

That said, if you aren’t battling deep wrinkles and don’t have problematic skin, you might be better off with a more affordable LED mask.

At about half the price of the CurrentBody Series 3 at the time of writing, the Silk’n LED face mask Pro is an obvious competitor. It has a silicone fit that blocks light well and coverage under the chin. And, if you think a wired controller will bother you, this is controlled and charged via a small, light battery pack that clips on to the mask itself, making it completely wireless. Treatments are all 10 minutes, and the mask had a lovely calming effect on my skin.

That said, it offers no personalisation and far fewer deep near-infrared lights, which are positioned exclusively around the mouth, eyes and across the forehead. I also found the mask’s controls harder to get used to. The seven treatments, many of which look similar at first glance, are controlled via a button on the battery pack, which doesn’t give you any information about the treatment selected. To check which lights are being used, you’ll need to read the instructions and memorise how many presses it takes to get to your desired treatment. This shouldn’t be a huge problem, but it does somewhat hinder usability.

This is the only other customisable LED mask I’ve tested. It’s not perfect, with a far less comfortable fit thanks to a heavy battery pack stuck on the forehead and a smaller-than-average size, but the lower price and simpler customisation options could clinch it for some.

This mask has two preset treatment options – Energise and Revitalise – which use blue, red and near-infrared light. While you can use either as a full face treatment using the mask’s button, boot up the app and you’ll be able to select areas of the face for each treatment. Rather than offering pinpoint precision, like the CurrentBody Series 3, these areas span the eyes, nose, forehead, and cheeks and chin.

I found these treatments effective at calming my skin, but I didn’t find the app or connection as simple as the CurrentBody, since I had to load the app up every time I wanted to personalise the treatment. If you won’t use the app either, you’d be better off buying the Silk’n option above, which is cheaper, more comfortable and includes deep near-infrared light in its anti-ageing treatments.

If 10-minute treatments feel like too much of a commitment, the Dr Dennis Gross SpectraLite FaceWear Pro requires only three minutes a day, making it perfect for those who are time-poor but rich in other aspects. The lights are bright, the fit is supremely comfortable, and it’s wireless, so you don’t need to faff around with a controller.

I was initially sceptical about this mask’s performance, given its shorter treatment times, but the combination of red, deep red, near-infrared, amber and blue lights helped give my skin a smoother, clearer and brighter appearance. For an effective LED mask without bells, whistles or any fancy app-based extras, this is a brilliant, if expensive, choice.

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