I tried the Shark CryoGlow light therapy mask. Here are my thoughts

Light therapy masks are the tech skincare must-have of the moment. If you have any sort of social media exposure, you’ll have seen influencers donning one of these outlandish-looking devices as part of their skincare routine.

And if you’ve been tempted to buy one, you’ll have found yourself in a world of similarly outlandish prices and unknown brand names.

That is, until now, because Shark has launched a light therapy mask of its own as part of its beauty tech line, which includes the brilliant FlexStyle styler (Shark’s answer to the Dyson Airwrap) and the SpeedStyle.

It’s available in the UK from today. You can buy it from Shark, John Lewis, Boots, Argos, Amazon and other retailers for £269.99. If you buy from Shark, you’ll have the option of choosing between the original Blue frost colourway (which you’ll see in the pictures of this article), or a new Lilac Chill option.

for £299.99, you can buy it in a bundle from Shark with a charging stand, but it’s not a necessary add-on.

The CryoGlow has skincare settings that use red light therapy to soften the signs of ageing and blue light therapy for blemish treatment.

It also has a clever add-on: “Insta-Chill” under-eye cooling pads to de-puff and revive your eyes. If you regularly buy disposable under-eye patches and can switch to the CryoGlow instead, it’ll go some way to paying for itself.

I’m currently testing the CryoGlow and have been using it for over three weeks. As you need to use the light therapy settings for 4-8 weeks to see results, I can’t give my thoughts on its effectiveness – although I am starting to feel as though it’s making a positive difference to my skin’s health. What I can talk about is what the CryoGlow does, what features it has and how comfortable it is to use.

The CryoGlow mask’s design and features

The mask is attractively packaged, with all-recyclable card inserts to house its accessories, which include a white satin dust bag, charging plug and cable, and two clip-on chill pads. The chill pads can be popped over the ones attached inside the mask to help you get a better fit. There’s even a pocket inside the dust bag to store the chill pads and charger.

That face will haunt my dreams

I found the mask more comfortable without the extra pads but the CryoGlow fit my partner better with them in, so you may need to experiment. The mask comes with a user guide that’ll help you adjust the fit correctly.

The CryoGlow is durable and well-made. I wouldn’t recommend dropping it, but it’s not a flimsy device. It has a rigid build, rather than a flexible one as some masks do.

Light therapy masks tend to be eerie as a rule, but the CryoGlow has a cheerful expression that mitigates this somewhat. However, I’ve had some mixed reactions to pictures I’ve sent friends (“it’s SO creepy”, ‘that face will haunt my dreams” on one hand, and “those masks are meant to be brilliant!” on the other).

The mask is attached by a cable to a remote, which has a full colour screen that you navigate using two buttons and a dial. Its intuitive menu lets you choose between routines, and tracks your progress.

If you’re sharing the mask with another family member, the progress feature won’t be accurate for you, as there’s no way to add separate profiles. You’ll just need to remember to use it every day.

The remote’s best feature, however, is an easy-to-read countdown timer that lets you know exactly how long you have left in a session. This feature isn’t available on most light therapy masks.

There’s also a clip on the back of the remote so you can attach it to your belt and move around while using it.

The CryoGlow is durable and well-made

You can also see the remaining battery life in the corner of the remote’s screen. I’d estimate that you’d need to charge it around every four days if you use it daily with under-eye cooling, although you may get up to a week of use, depending on the setting you use most often. Charging takes around three hours.

The mask itself weighs 530g (not including the cable and remote), which is a little more than a can and a half of Coke. Inside are 160 tri-wick LEDs, designed to cover every part of your face. They’re under a layer of clear plastic, so the inside of the mask is perfectly smooth.

There’s soft, squashy padding around the eyes and across the forehead. Not only does this make the mask more comfortable, but it helps to hold it at the correct distance from your skin for the LEDs to be effective.

Under the eyes are hard, metal pads for under-eye cooling. I’ll explain a bit more about this feature later on but bear in mind that it does mean that light from the LEDs can’t reach your under-eye area, so it won’t benefit.

The mask is secured to your head by wide, adjustable straps that go over the top of your head and around the sides.

I found it comfortable to use when sitting up, and not too heavy. I found it less comfortable to recline in, as the under-eye pads pressed too heavily on the bone beneath my eyes. But the routines aren’t long and you can sit and read or relax while you use it.

CryoGlow routines

There are four routines to choose from:

• Under-eye revive (5-15 minutes)
• Blemish repair (8 minutes) – for textured, uneven skin and blemishes
• Better ageing (6 minutes) – for plumping skin, and improving the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
• Skin sustain (4 minutes) – a maintenance routine

Using the mask isn’t painful or uncomfortable but you may want to close your eyes when using the ‘better ageing’ routine, as the red LEDs are bright. Incidentally, if you remove your mask while using it, the lights on the inside will dim so you’re not temporarily blinded, which is a very nice touch.

After wearing the mask, I had some light pressure marks on my forehead, but these disappeared within minutes. When you’ve finished with the mask, all you need to do is wipe the inside down with a damp cloth and store it safely in its dust bag.

The under-eye revive routine

I’m going to continue using the CryoGlow daily and report back on any changes in my skin condition. But in the meantime, there’s one setting I can review in full, which is the under-eye revive routine. It works just like cooling gel pads you might put in the fridge.

This setting is something not offered by most rival masks. You can use it alone, or while using one of the other routines. The under-eye pads are always cold to the touch but once you switch the setting on, they chill instantly. Shark has achieved this fast cooling by using a mix of the Peltier Effect (which uses an electrical current to cool the metal pad) and fans. There are three coolness settings and they are genuinely and surprisingly cold – but I didn’t find even the strongest setting uncomfortable.

I’ll definitely use the CryoGlow instead of stocking up on under-eye patches

Bear in mind that if you use this setting, the fans start up – along with fan noise – which means that the CryoGlow won’t be silent in use as it is when you use one of the light therapy settings alone.

I tend to use under-eye patches in the morning as a bit of a facial wake-up and I enjoyed the under-eye cooling a lot.

When you remove the mask, the smoothing effect under the eyes is instantly noticeable. I’ll definitely use it instead of stocking up on under-eye patches. The only issue is the temptation to over-use it. Shark says you should only use the CryoGlow for one session per day.

Where can you buy the Shark CryoGlow?

From today, the CryoGlow is available to buy in the UK but it’s not yet out in the US. It’s priced at £269.99, which makes it an expensive purchase – but light therapy masks are pricey devices in general and the CryoGlow is a reasonable buy considering high-quality build and feature set.

You can get one from Shark, John Lewis, Boots, Argos, Amazon and other retailers.

Should you go for it?

I can’t tell you how well the CryoGlow works – yet. But I can say that it’s a really well-made, durable beauty device, with easy-to-use settings and thoughtful features. It’s sure to be on a lot of Christmas present lists this year, and rightly so. If you want to give a light therapy mask a try, this is the way to do it.