LED Therapy Lights The Way For Licensing

Home-use LED light-therapy face masks are spiking in popularity, even given their high prices, with sales expected to grow at a pace of more than 10% per year through 2032, according to Allied Market Research. Consumers wear these devices, which use red, blue, amber, and/or infrared light, for 10 to 20 minutes three to five times a week to counteract acne and wrinkles and stimulate collagen for younger-looking, firmer, and clearer skin. LED light therapy was formerly restricted to clinical settings, but more affordable options for home use, in the form of masks, have been on the market for about five years.  

Collaborations and marketing relationships between mask marketers and celebrities, designers, and artists have popped up sporadically over that time: 

• This month, Lisa Snowdon, the British model and television and radio presenter, paired with collagen brand Correxiko to launch a new product, the clinical-grade Correxiko LED Light Therapy Mask. 

• Last October, Kendall Jenner became Therabody’s first brand ambassador, focused on its new TheraFace Glo, a lower-cost ($379.99) version of its flagship TheraFace Mask. Jenner has been a long-time user of the company’s products. 

• Canadian illustrator Lauren Pearson worked with Canadian beauty brand Radford on the November 2022 launch of a flexible, limited-edition at-home LED mask. The product featured Pearson’s all-over black-and-white line drawings. 

• Designer Oliver Lapidus partnered with lighting company Lucibel to create an LED mask for men and women, released in July 2021. A year later, luxury label Dior paired with Lucibel to commercialize the mask, both in a portable version for home use, sold through Dior boutiques and its website, and in a professional version for its Dior spas.

There are some downsides to using LED face masks at home. Some users experience eye strain or skin irritations, often due to low-quality devices or misuse, while many find the results more inconsistent and/or less noticeable than professional treatments. There is also not a lot of data available about the impacts of long-term usage.

That said, the strong growth prospects for the category are likely to make it attractive for relevant properties, and there is a strong probability that the pace of collaborations and licensing deals in this sector will pick up in the coming months and years.