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As some of you probably know, I have problem skin; I’ve struggled with really bad acne for the last 6 years, and feel like I’ve tried everything to get it under control. I’m finally getting there with the help of a few things…so hopefully you’ll be seeing a lot more beauty and skincare posts here soon!
While I was living in Chicago, I found an esthetician I loved and she seriously worked magic on my skin. Bi-weekly facials with her helped a lot, but she also introduced me to LED light therapy, which has been proven to help skin cell turnover and regeneration while increasing production of collagen. I liked it but it was super pricey, and I couldn’t afford to consistently get as many sessions as it would take to actually see significant results. I decided to splurge on an expensive handheld device and found it really annoying to hold and move it over different parts of my face for what seemed like hours. I did it because I was committed to improving my skin, but I was annoyed with how cumbersome the entire experience was. To top it off, I used it for less than a month before it literally broke! I gave up on light therapy and decided to just focus on my traditional skincare routine…until I found out about illuMask.
It’s a hands free mask that you slip on like a pair of glasses, and it evenly distributes light therapy across your whole face (you can choose either the acne or anti-aging mask). The combination of blue and red lights in the anti-acne light therapy illuMask help heal breakouts and kill bacteria. It’s disposable after 30 sessions, which last 15 minutes each, so if you do it nightly you’ll need to replace it once a month (it’s a steal at $30)–I put mine on after I wash/tone my face, before moisturizer. And yes, you can read, watch TV etc while it’s on. Light therapy is something that needs to be done regularly and long-term in order to see the best results, so I’d recommend at least a couple of months of use, or you can incorporate it into your routine permanently. illuMask emailed me a press release a while ago and I was so excited about it that I googled it immediately and bought it on my own, and I was really happy to see that it helped (they then emailed much later about doing this review). After using it for a while, I’ve had fewer breakouts, and when I do have one, my skin heals faster. As someone who has bought product after product hoping for a singular “cure,” I will warn you that light therapy is not a miracle–I still have acne–but I do think it has definitely improved my skin and it’s a great addition to my nightly routine. More posts on skincare coming very soon!
Photos by Sylvia G.
This post is sponsored by illuMask, all opinions are my own. Yes, I really bought these with my own money way before I even knew I’d be doing this review!