In my role as a beauty journalist, I try a lot of skincare products to tell you which ones are worth spending your cash on. But all of this skincare switching and swapping can lead to sensitivity and irritation: something I know all too well. A couple of months ago, I suffered from my first flare-up of perioral dermatitis – a rash-like skin condition that usually appears around the mouth and nose. After completely stripping back my skin care routine, the perioral dermatitis steadily calmed down, and my skin very slowly returned to normal.

However, I recently caught a nasty cold and was pretty much bed-bound for the best part of a week. Low immunity, high inflammation and the use of a certain nasal spray (one that I suspect might have had something to do with my last perioral dermatitis outbreak) followed and, you guessed it, the PD was back.  

In an effort to speed up the healing process, this time I incorporated the use of a nightly LED face mask – hoping to use its anti-inflammatory benefits to calm and soothe any redness and irritation. 

Along with gentle and non-active skincare (I used CeraVe’s Hydrating Cleanser and Dr Sam’s Flawless Moisturiser), I spent 10 minutes each evening with my face under a Smartech FAQ 201 LED mask.

“LED therapy is a non-invasive treatment that uses different wavelengths of light to visibly improve and rejuvenate the skin,” explains Kate Bancroft, nurse and founder of skincare retailer Face The Future. “Different wavelengths target different areas within the skin by sending energy into the cells to stimulate natural cellular responses.”

The most common wavelengths are red (which increases collagen and elastin production while reducing redness) and blue (kills acne-causing bacteria, regulates oil and sebum production, and is anti-inflammatory). Green (to target pigmentation) and yellow (which helps wound healing), among others, are also available.

After just 10 days, my perioral dermatitis had significantly reduced and is now nearly completely cleared – which is a huge improvement on last time. I asked consultant dermatologist Dr Anjali Mahto for her thoughts – and if my use of consistent LED light therapy could be key to the healing process.

“Red light can be anti-inflammatory, so it may well be helping,” says Dr Mahto. “However, it’s important to see if any other changes have been made – eg have you stripped back skincare, taken out actives, been less stressed, been getting better sleep, reduced alcohol intake, etc? It may not be the red light itself but also lifestyle factors that could be at play.

“What I would say is that LED light is not my go-to treatment for perioral dermatitis, but I wouldn’t tell someone who felt it was benefitting them to stop,” she adds.

I used a combination of red and yellow light on my perioral dermatitis for around 10 minutes a night and I definitely feel as though the LED light made a marked difference in how quickly my skin recovered from this recent flare-up. The downside is that LED masks can be extremely expensive – but there are some cheaper alternatives out there, and smaller direct-contact devices may be a good solution for targeting an irritated area.

Main image: @chloeburcham