Can the Solawave Wrinkle Retreat Face Mask Give Me Reese Witherspoon’s Glow? I Tested It for 2 Months to Find Out

• 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

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, at $349 for its new Wrinkle Retreat Red Light Therapy Mask, it seemed much cheaper than the $700 to $1,200 per quarter for Botox. (Though the brand sent us 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.)

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 570-850 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.

Thankfully, the setup is simple: You charge the device with a standard USB-C plug, pop in the protective eyewear and attach the adjustable head strap on the back.

Make sure your skin is clean, then slide on the mask, adjusting the strap for a snug fit. Hold down the power button for two seconds, then relax for the next 10 minutes. Relaxing is key here—as a devout multitasker, I wanted to go on with my life, but I found that the mask’s strap would slip a little if I moved around too much, and the brightness of the red light was too much for me to read or sweep. The mask was best used lying down. A forced break in the day? Not so bad.