Here at HuffPost, we’re big fans of everything SharkNinja does. Seriously, the ChillPill, Creami, and TurboBlade have been keeping us going all summer. Until now, they could do no wrong in our eyes.
So when I heard that Shark had released a new version of its CryoGlow LED Face Mask (which our Head of Content Dayna loves BTW) I knew I had to try it.
The £549.99 price tag, however, threw me off. That’s an extra £210 on the original, which accounts for the fact the new Shark CryGlow Clinic Face and Body System also comes with an LED body system. Not to mention it’s supposed to have significantly improved on the original.
I hadn’t tested the previous iteration of the mask myself, but I heard from Dayna and our readers that the number one concern with the mask was that it’s a) a little bulky, so it doesn’t sit flush against the face, and the battery life was rubbish.
Once the monstrous box arrived at my desk, it was time to put whether its improvements on the original could really justify the cost.
My review of the Shark CryoGlow Clinic Face and Body
The USP of Shark’s new LED mask is that it’s supposed to give you ‘clinic-quality’ LED treatment at home. What is essentially £550 for the mask might sound like a lot, but considering one professional LED session alone can cost you anywhere between £30 and £120, you make up the cost per wear within just the first week of using it.
First impressions
Upon unpackaging the mammoth box it came in, it certainly looked clinical grade. It comes with the LED face mask, an LED body panel, the remote control, two connecting wires, and a charging wire.
You hear all the time that your hands show the first signs of ageing (in fact, hand ‘tweakments’ are on the rise) so as well as getting a dose of LED’s anti-ageing properties to your face, you can also use Shark’s body panel on your hands, chest, neck, or back.
The body panel is easily malleable, so fitting it onto any of those body parts is a doddle; Shark has even made it suitable for different sized chests.
Like the first iteration, the face mask has been moulded using the structured GlowShell design, which is designed to sit 150mm away from the skin so it has more coverage than some of the malleable LED masks that don’t shine light evenly across the whole face.
What’s changed from the OG?
I mentioned that Shark claimed to have seriously upgraded its offerings on this mask, and it means it: it’s improved the LED power by two times the amount of power than the previous iteration.
It’s done this by adding twice the amount of LED lights, which, unlike other masks on the market, are overlapped for more coverage, so no blemish is missed.
That means faster results for anti-ageing and blemish reduction, in as little as four weeks.
Not to mention, the LED face mask is also the first of its kind to use hot and cold under-eye contrast therapy for at-home use.
Unlike the first iteration of the mask, the under-eye pads can heat up and cool down with any of the modes, meaning there are 17 different ways to wear the mask.
There’s even a ‘Dual Tempt Restore Mode’, which alternates between hot and cold therapy, helping to vasodilate the area under your eyes to depuff and brighten.
Using the mask
I tested the mask for three weeks, which is supposedly the amount of time it takes for the skin on your face to replenish.
Admittedly, I’m only 26, so I haven’t seen any visible signs of ageing on my hands or my chest yet.
However, I do have some slight sun damage and spots from the gym on my chest, so I was curious to use the panel there to see if it made a difference.
If I were repurchasing this, I’d probably opt to buy it without the body panel, which you can sign up for the waitlist for right now. This also makes it significantly cheaper, at £379.
However, the body panel could be handy for mature or more problem skin.
I will say, though, that after just a week of using the face mask, I was getting noticeably more compliments on my skin.
Several friend and family members have commented that I look much more glowy, and when I’ve had blemishes begin to prop up, using the mask has made them disappear almost instantly.
I’ve particularly loved the under-eye panels, which can make your eyes depuff in minutes in the morning.
As for the anti-ageing effects, I’ll have to use the mask more over time to tell how effective it is, but for the time being I’ve been loving it.
Final verdict
+ The remote charges separately, which makes it less of a drag to charge
+ Comfortable to wear
+ Easy to use
+ Cooling and heating under eye pads makes a big difference
+ Battery is much longer-lasting than the last mask
+ Love that the body panel is malleable so you can use it on any area of the body
+ More LED coverage and faster results
– It’s expensive, but worth it
– Quite bulky to store, I wish it came with a storage pouch
Overall, the LED mask was the best I’ve used so far. It’s super handy that you can charge the remote separately.
Although people had problems with the charge on the previous mask, I found that it could last over a week of uses without running out of power (mostly from just using the face mask).
The fact they’ve added heating and cooling to the eye masks is a huge plus, and the results are clear: more LED coverage leads to glowier, blemish-free skin.
I definitely saw results on my face in the three weeks promised.
It’s still quite bulky as a mask, but you only have to wear it for up to 10 minutes at a time, and really there are bigger problems in life than your £550 LED mask being too bulky.
That doesn’t take away from it sitting comfortably, either, as it comes with two straps to fasten it to fit your head perfectly.
While £550 sounds like a lot, it’s definitely worth it if you’re using it over a long period of time.
