Dermalux LED Face Mask or CurrentBody Skin Series 2: how do you choose?
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Written by Dr Shahe Boghossian, Medical Consultant, GMC 5204600. Last updated 27th August 2026.
The Dermalux LED Face Mask and the CurrentBody Skin Series 2 are the two home LED masks most people end up choosing between, and they are more alike than either company suggests. Both use the same three wavelengths of light. Neither treats acne. The real differences come down to power, how often you are meant to use them, and how the mask sits on your face. Below is every published figure side by side, which device leads each one, and what we would tell a patient who asked. We sell the Dermalux at The London Road Clinic in Newark, so read this knowing that.
Dermalux or CurrentBody: which should you choose?
Both masks use the same three wavelengths: red, near-infrared and deep near-infrared. Neither carries blue light, which is the one used for spots, so neither is an acne device. What differs is power and how often you use them. Dermalux puts out more energy, 36 mW/cm² against CurrentBody's 30, and is built for ten minutes every day. CurrentBody asks for ten minutes, three to five times a week. Nobody has tested the two against each other, so a better number on paper is not proof of a better result.
The two specifications side by side
| Dermalux LED Face Mask | CurrentBody Skin Series 2 | Leads on paper | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wavelengths | 633nm, 830nm, 1072nm | 633nm, 830nm, 1072nm | Matched |
| Blue light (415nm) | None | None | Matched |
| Power reaching the skin | 36 mW/cm², stated at 10mm | 30 mW/cm², distance not stated | Dermalux |
| Dose per session | 21.6 J/cm² at 10mm | Not published | Dermalux |
| LEDs, as each company counts them | 144 LEDs, 318 LED chips | 236 LEDs: 110 red, 110 near-infrared, 16 deep near-infrared | CurrentBody |
| Session length | 10 minutes | 10 minutes | Matched |
| Recommended frequency | Daily | 3 to 5 times weekly | Dermalux |
| How it sits on the face | Off-the-Skin Technology, held at a set distance from the skin | Flexible silicone, conforms to the face | Preference |
*Every figure above was read from each manufacturer's own product page on 27th August
- "Not published" means the figure was not stated on that page on that date. The last
column compares published specifications and nothing else. No independent trial has compared how the two devices perform on skin, so no line in it is a claim about results.*
Dermalux leads on power, published dose and how often you can use it. CurrentBody leads on LED count, which is the weakest line in the table, and the section below sets out why.
Where the two are the same
The wavelengths, which is the part that decides what a mask can do.
Both run 633nm red, 830nm near-infrared and 1072nm deep near-infrared, and neither carries blue light. Colour matters more than any other number here, because the wavelength decides how deep the light reaches and what it does when it gets there. Red is absorbed by cytochrome c oxidase in the mitochondrial electron transport chain, which raises cellular energy production and supports fibroblast activity, making it the working wavelength for collagen and elastin synthesis and for the appearance of redness. Near-infrared reaches further into the tissue and carries the strongest anti-inflammatory evidence of the three. Deep near-infrared is the longest, included to reach the areas where the visible signs of ageing are more pronounced.
Neither has a mechanism against the bacteria associated with inflammatory acne, which needs the blue 415nm wavelength. If breakouts are your concern, neither mask is the right purchase.
If you can get to Newark, the LED we treat with at The London Road Clinic does carry blue light, and a practitioner assesses your skin before deciding whether LED is the right tool at all. Book a course of LED at the clinic. If you are further afield, speak to a practitioner near you before buying either mask.
Where they differ
Four things, in the order they deserve your attention.
Power reaching the skin. Dermalux publishes 36 mW/cm² at 10mm, CurrentBody 30 mW/cm². The technical name for this is irradiance, and it means the rate at which light energy arrives at the skin, so a higher figure means more energy in the same time. Two cautions. Dermalux states the distance it measured at and CurrentBody does not, and with light, distance changes the number. And the gap is about a fifth, which is real but modest.
How often each company tells you to use it. Dermalux specifies one ten minute treatment daily. CurrentBody gives ten minute sessions, 3 to 5 times weekly for 8 weeks. Most people miss this, and over a month it is a larger gap than the power one. LED phototherapy works by repetition, and seven sessions a week is a different exposure from three.
How the mask sits on the face. CurrentBody's is flexible silicone that follows the contours of the face. Dermalux uses what it calls Off-the-Skin Technology, a rigid form holding the light array at a set distance rather than resting on the skin. Both have a point. A fixed distance is what makes a stated power figure mean anything, since it is the same 10mm on every face. A silicone mask is easier to move around in. You may have a clear preference once you have worn one.
Track record, and what kind. Dermalux's business is the LED phototherapy systems clinics install. We treat patients on a Dermalux Tri-Wave in Newark, so we have watched that engineering hold up under daily use. The mask is not one of those systems and Dermalux does not claim it is. CurrentBody's record is consumer scale and public: 4.6 out of 5 from 4,276 ratings on its own product page as at 27th August 2026. Both count for something, but they answer different questions. One tells you what qualified skin professionals think, the other what owners think. Neither is a substitute for a trial.
Why LED count is the wrong thing to compare
You will see "236 against 144" used as though it settles the question. It does not, for two reasons.
They are not counting the same thing. A single LED package can hold more than one emitter, which is why Dermalux publishes two figures where CurrentBody publishes one. Set 236 against 144 and CurrentBody is ahead. Set 236 against 318 and Dermalux is. Both sums are available, they point opposite ways, and neither is definitive.
And LED count is a proxy at best. What decides whether a device does anything is the wavelength, the irradiance at a stated distance, how evenly the light covers the face, and whether you keep using it. A mask with more LEDs at a lower irradiance and a lower recommended frequency is not obviously delivering more than one with fewer at a higher one. The figure that would settle it, energy delivered per session across the treated area, is not published by both companies in a comparable form.
So the thing most likely to decide your result is not printed on either specification sheet. It is whether you are still using the mask in week ten.
What we cannot tell you
No independent head-to-head trial has compared these two masks. We looked, and there isn't one.
CurrentBody publishes efficacy figures on its own page: wrinkles reduced by 30% and plumpness improved by 57% at 8 weeks, from a 56-day study on 35 subjects with measurements at days 14, 28, 42 and 56, on a protocol of daily use for 28 days followed by five times weekly for 28 days. Those are the company's own published figures and study parameters, read on 27th August 2026, and we have set them out in full rather than quoting the headline alone.
Read them for what they are. A manufacturer's own study on 35 subjects at a single centre is a reasonable thing for a company to run and a weak basis for choosing between brands, because the protocol, the measurement and the analysis are all set by the party with an interest in the answer. Two such studies from two companies cannot be compared with each other at all. That is a point about how this category is evidenced, not about either device.
Photobiomodulation using red and near-infrared light has a substantial published literature behind it, and both masks sit well inside the range that literature examines. Which of the two works better on your skin is not known, because nobody has run the study that would answer it.
Which we would recommend, and to whom
We chose to stock the Dermalux, so treat this as a declared position rather than a neutral verdict.
The case for the Dermalux is the higher published power at a stated measuring distance, the daily protocol, the fixed-distance design, a two year warranty, and the fact that the company making it also makes the professional systems clinics treat on, including the one in our own treatment room in Nottinghamshire.
The case for the CurrentBody is a very large body of public user feedback and a flexible form that some people find more comfortable to wear.
On the specifications alone these are two devices more alike than either company's marketing suggests. Buy the one you will put on your face five to seven times a week for three months. If you are a patient of ours, ask us before you buy either. There are skins where the answer is neither, and a five minute conversation costs nothing.
Buy the Dermalux LED Face Mask Two year warranty. Prices include VAT. We stock it because it is made by the company whose LED phototherapy we have used on patients in Nottinghamshire since 2023.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Dermalux LED Face Mask better than the CurrentBody Series 2? No independent head-to-head trial has compared them. Both run 633, 830 and 1072nm. Dermalux states more power at the skin, 36 mW/cm² at 10mm against 30 mW/cm², and a daily protocol against CurrentBody's 3 to 5 times weekly. A stated specification difference is not a proven difference in results.
Do either of them have blue light? No. Both run 633nm, 830nm and 1072nm only. Neither has a mechanism against the bacteria associated with inflammatory acne, which needs the blue 415nm wavelength. If acne is your concern, speak to a practitioner rather than buying either.
Which has more LEDs? CurrentBody publishes 236 LEDs for the Series 2. Dermalux publishes 144 LEDs and 318 LED chips. Those are not the same unit, and LED count is a weak proxy for what a device delivers. Wavelength, irradiance at a stated distance, coverage and consistency of use matter more.
Why do CurrentBody's specification figures differ from place to place? Their product page carries the original mask alongside the Series 2, so a specification block there may belong to either model. Check which device a figure refers to before comparing it. The Series 2 figures used here are 110 red, 110 near-infrared and 16 deep near-infrared LEDs at 30 mW/cm².
How long does either take to work? Most people notice their skin looking brighter within the first few weeks. Changes in tone and texture build gradually with consistent use across the first two to three months. Results vary from person to person, and none of this is a substitute for a clinical assessment.
Can a home LED mask replace a course of LED phototherapy in clinic? Not entirely. The professional Dermalux systems we treat on in Newark run blue light as well as red and near-infrared, at higher power, with a practitioner setting the dose. A home mask has one programme. Its advantage is frequency. LED phototherapy is available at The London Road Clinic as single sessions or as a course.
Who should not use an LED face mask? Anyone taking photosensitising medication, anyone with a photosensitive condition, anyone with light-sensitive epilepsy, and anyone currently taking isotretinoin should speak to their prescriber or to us before starting. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, ask us first.
Written by Dr Shahe Boghossian, Medical Consultant, GMC 5204600, The London Road Clinic, Newark, Nottinghamshire. Specifications for the Dermalux LED Face Mask were read from Dermalux's own product page, and all CurrentBody Skin Series 2 figures, ratings and study parameters were read from currentbody.com, both on 27th August 2026. The London Road Clinic is a stockist of the Dermalux LED Face Mask.