Shark’s LED face mask is changing skincare

(OPINION) Shark Beauty is known for its range of hair styling tools but has recently taken a venture into the skincare industry with the launch of its CryoGlow LED face mask.

In recent years “skintech”, which blends skincare with the use of technology, has seen a serious rise in interest, and a quick search for ‘LED Face Mask ‘ in Google news shows as much. There’s a lot of hubbub out there about which ones offer the best treatment and, as you can imagine, which ones various celebrities swear by. It’s in this wider context that the Shark CryoGlow (the company’s first LED face mask) is looking to make an impact, largely by being the first of its kind to offer under eye cooling technology.?

Coined InstaChill, this cold therapy technology helps to de-puff eyes while the rest of full-coverage mask sports 160 tri-wick LEDs that radiate blue, red and infrared light to help either repair blemished skin or reduce fine lines and wrinkles in “as little as four weeks”.

So the main question is: is it any good? Or is this just another fad skincare product designed to prey on the insecurities of (predominantly) women?

I’ve been using the face mask for the past couple of weeks and can say it has worked a treat.

Returning jet lagged from an overseas work trip resulted in dark circles and very puffy under-eyes, which I’d normally treat with a disposable and wasteful under-eye mask. Instead the CryoGlow was able to soothe my tired eyes and make them feel more comfortable.?

There are four skincare modes to choose from, selectable via the wired remote: Blemish Repair (which is the one I’ve been using), Better Ageing, Under-Eye Revive and Skin Sustain which is designed to maintain the progress of your skincare routine.?

You also have the option to add a brief under eye cooling session to your routines too which is available in three distinct levels and can reach as low as 16°C.?

As for my blemishes, while my skin has continued to break out in the past couple of weeks, I’ve still noticed that these newly sprouted spots or blemishes have cleared much faster than usual without any additional products.

It’s designed for full-face coverage which, although it makes the mask look genuinely quite terrifying, it does offer evenness in its application. While it is comfortable and can be adjusted with the straps to better fit the shape of your head, my only issue is that the mask itself is quite heavy at around 550g (excluding the remote).?

Having said that, considering that the longest session available is just fifteen minutes, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem long-term.?

The CryoGlow is available now in the UK with an RRP of ￡269.99, which despite being a fairly hefty investment, significantly undercuts some of its direct competitors. When you pair this with Shark’s brand recognition and the noteworthy InstaChill feature, the CryoGlow certainly has the potential to shake up this burgeoning industry quite a bit.