Can the Solawave Wrinkle Retreat Face Mask Give Me Reese Witherspoon’s Glow? I Tested It for 9 Months to Find Out (P.S. It's on Sale!)
It's $126 off RN
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- Value: 17/20
- Quality: 18/20
- Ease of Use: 20/20
- Overall Skin Radiance: 18/20
- Minimization of Fine Lines/Wrinkles: 17/20
TOTAL: 90/100
The PureWow100 is a scale our editors use to vet new products and services, so you know what's worth the spend—and what's total hype. Learn more about our process here.
For the last four years, I’ve been committing to a skincare routine, drinking half my weight in water, slathering on sunscreen—and no matter what, I still feel like I’m aging much worse than my friends. I know, I know—comparison is the thief of joy—but I just couldn’t help but wonder what they were doing differently.
“Candace, I’ve been getting Botox since we were 33,” a friend divulged. Another shared a similar story. And another. While I wasn’t quite ready for that level of commitment (nor do I have the budget for it), I did find another option intriguing: Solawave’s red light therapy gadgets. Everyone from Reese Witherspoon to Pedro Pascal has credited the brand for their “red carpet radiance,” so I figured I’d give it a shot. Plus, considering the Wrinkle Retreat Red Light Therapy Mask is currently marked down from $425 to $299, it seemed much cheaper than the $700 to $1,200 every three months for Botox. (Though the brand sent me the mask for free, its cost was a serious consideration as I decided whether I’d buy it as a future Christmas gift or recommend it to friends.)
Second, *How* Does Red Light Therapy Work?
Remember in high school when you learned that the mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell? Well, red light therapy essentially emits low levels of—you guessed it—red light straight to the mitochondria, giving it a jolt of energy to boost new cell growth and rejuvenate your skin, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The Solawave Wrinkle Retreat Light Therapy Face Mask uses red and near-infrared lights. That famous 2014 study focused on red light ranges of 570 to 850 nanometers (nm), noting that “light in the spectral range from 600 to 1300 nm is useful for promoting wound healing, tissue repair, and skin rejuvenation.” To that end, the Solawave Wrinkle Retreat mask uses LED lights to deliver 630 nm of red light and 830 nm of near-infrared light.
Candace Davison
VP of editorial content
- Oversees home, food and commerce articles
- Author of two cookbooks and has contributed recipes to three others
- Named one of 2023's Outstanding Young Alumni at the University of South Florida, where she studied mass communications and business
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