The box says
“648 LED lights for full-face coverage”
A count, not a dose
LED count is marketing. Measured irradiance is the light that actually reaches your skin. We compare independent spectrometer readings, session time, price, and each product’s real FDA 510(k) record.
Showing … red / near-infrared LED masks · higher measured irradiance is better · measurements from the cited spectrometer reviews · prices last reviewed 2026-07
Some retailer links are affiliate links, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases — commission never changes a ranking or a verdict (how this site is funded).
| # | Mask | Irradiance | LEDs | FDA | Session | Price | Shop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 633 + 830 nm | 26.7 mW/cm² | 132 | Cleared | 10 min | $395 | Amazon ↗ |
| 2 | 630 + 830 nm | 26.0 mW/cm² | 132 | Cleared | 10 min | $349 | Amazon ↗ |
| 3 | 633 + 830 nm (+ 415 nm blue) | 19.4 mW/cm² | 648 | Cleared | 9 min | $649.99 | Amazon ↗ |
| 4 | 633 + 830 + 1072 nm | 18.5 mW/cm² | 236 | Cleared | 10 min | $469.99 | Amazon ↗ |
| 5 | 605 + 630 + 660 + 880 nm | 8.0 mW/cm² | — | Cleared | 3 min | $399 | Amazon ↗ |
Measured figures come from Light Therapy Insiders’ spectrometer tests (Alex Fergus — one tester, one instrument, measured at the mask surface; the review behind each number is linked on its row). We run no tests ourselves; full credit and protocol in the method. Where a review prints dose per session, the mW/cm² shown is that dose over its measured window — arithmetic, not a new measurement; hover a number for the working. LEDs is the marketing count, shown muted because it is a count, not a dose — note the 648-LED mask ranks third, and the mask advertising 70 mW/cm² metered 5–11. FDA = a real 510(k) behind the claim; whose paper it is — brand or OEM — is the line under each name, and the clearance record is the full audit. No cited measurement, no rank; no verifiable price, no rank. Prices drift; the linked listing is authoritative. Some links are affiliate links; they never change a ranking. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Four things per mask — the measured ones cited to the independent spectrometer review that produced them, the published ones traced to the brand’s own page or the FDA’s database. We run no tests ourselves and publish no measurement without a citation.
Power density at the skin in mW/cm², from a cited spectrometer test at the mask surface — the dose over the mask’s own session. Higher is better — and it ranks the table. Why this number ›
The brand’s own headline — “648 LEDs,” “70 mW/cm²” — quoted exactly and shown muted beside the measurement. The label never ranks anything.
Every “FDA cleared” claim is matched to its real 510(k), K-number and clearance holder. Browse the face-mask record, hair-cap register, or Normatec record.
Minutes per session as designed, and a verified price with its source and date — the brand's own US price where there is one, otherwise a named US retail listing. Stronger output usually means a shorter session — which is what you’ll actually stick with.
These masks have real 510(k) paper behind their claims (each name links the sourced answer), but no measurement under the cited protocol — and numbers metered under different protocols at different distances don’t share a ruler. They sit here, unranked, until a citable figure exists. The claims we couldn’t match to the record at all — including two “7-colour” Amazon listings and one $455 surprise — are below the line in the audit.
The ranking tells you how much light reaches your skin. The clearance record tells you whose FDA paper each “cleared” claim actually rides — and the guides answer it brand by brand.