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I have traversed seas (the internet) and summited peaks (dermatologist visits all over New York City) in pursuit of bouncy, perfect skin. I’ve dabbled in microdermabrasion, dermaplaning, skin care so expensive it would make your eyes water, peels of various strengths, a touch of filler, and more than a touch of Botox. Unfortunately, there just isn’t a magic wand that will transform your skin.
Or is there? After spotting multiple aestheticians on TikTok giving facial massages to the likes of Hailey Bieber and Gwyneth Paltrow with a glowing, handheld, black wand, I found a new skin-care peak to summit: The Lyma Laser. Once I got past the initial sticker shock (a starter kit of the at-home low-level laser light therapy device costs a cool $2,700) I knew I needed to try it. The benefits appeared to outweigh the cons. Good enough for Hailey Bieber? Check. Painless? Check. Claims to make me look rested and cherubic? Check.
I couldn’t resist the siren call of TikTok laser facials and the potential to look like Gwyneth, so I asked the brand to send me one and spoke to a few experts about what to expect, what not to expect, and whether or not they’d recommend it.
- Rachel Westbay, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist at Marmur Medical in New York City.
- Macrene Alexiades, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City.
- Bradley Glodny, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist at Park Avenue Dermatology in New York City.
Overview: The Lyma Laser
The Lyma Laser is an FDA-cleared (which is not the same as FDA-approved—more on that later) at-home laser device that uses low-level light therapy (LLLT) to reach lower levels of the epidermis and stimulate regeneration in the skin. But don’t worry: LLLT doesn’t hurt. While some laser treatments use thermal damage to trigger a healing response (and thus, collagen production), LLLT uses cold, near-infrared light to penetrate layers of skin. It’s also not the kind of laser intensity that, say, cuts or ablates. (Studies have even shown that not only is it noninvasive, there are virtually no side effects.)
The skin’s reported bouncy, glowy reaction to infrared light is still a bit of a mystery. “Cellular photobiostimulation by LLLT is not yet fully understood,” says New York City-based dermatologist Rachel Westbay, MD (full disclosure: Dr. Westbay is my dermatologist). But what we do seem to know is that the energy emitted in LLLT is absorbed by mitochondria at the cellular level (mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell—and yes, this is the only time I’ve ever used that knowledge). “That can result in a myriad of effects, including tissue repair and healing. In dermatology, LLLT has been shown to have beneficial effects on wrinkles, acne scars, hypertrophic scars, and the healing of burns,” says Dr. Westbay.
And that’s exactly what Lyma claims to be able to do: help improve elasticity, texture, tone, and reduce wrinkles. The handheld Lyma Laser is a totally painless LLLT treatment that New York City-based dermatologist Macrene Alexiades, MD, says could also possibly help to reduce (though not fully eradicate) hyperpigmentation and acne at home, though no third-party studies have been done to prove its efficacy. “The Lyma Laser is outfitted with an industrial-grade 500-milliwatt laser—at-home devices usually range between 5 and 20 milliwatts in power,” says Dr. Alexiades. But it’s still not quite what you could get in-office, she adds. “In-office lasers are typically 50 to 100 times more powerful and target a specific tissue or cell type causing its removal or thermal (heat) injury for the purposes of removing damaged cells or inducing a wound-healing response.” Dr. Westbay agrees, noting that at-home devices in general “do not have the power behind them that in-office lasers, microneedling, and skin-tightening devices like radiofrequency and ultrasound do.” All of our experts recommended in-office treatments if you want to see results, but since the brand sent me the device for free, I decided to give it a shot anyway.
At-home devices like LED masks and diode lasers aren’t necessarily a new thing, but, according to Lyma, their laser is 100 times more powerful than LED (again, no third-party testing has been done on The Lyma Laser, so these are claims from the brand). “This is one of the relatively more powerful LLLT treatments available for at-home use,” says Dr. Alexiades.
“The light from The Lyma Laser can penetrate deeply and doesn’t lose energy with penetration, which is typical of non-coherent light sources,” like LED masks, says New York City-based dermatologist Bradley Glodny, MD. “This means it’s able to induce physiological effects at a deeper penetration all the way through the dermis.”
“You can expect to possibly see lightening of post-acne hyperpigmentation and redness, reduced blemishes, and skin that appears brighter, smoother, and perhaps some reduction in pore size,” adds Dr. Glodny.
How I tested it
Despite the litany of skin battles I do fight, textured acne scarring is not one of them. I do, however, have slight pink scars from blemishes and picking over the years, rosacea on my cheeks and chin, and most importantly I am a 35-year-old with anxiety who doesn’t get nearly enough sleep or water. That all manifests itself in dull skin and sunkenness (my collagen is on its way out). My hope for the Lyma treatments was to see an improvement in glowiness and bounciness. (Dr. Westbay noted that LLLT wouldn’t fully eradicate my rosacea, so my expectations were nonexistent on that front.)
The Lyma Laser kit came with a lot of literature—maybe a little too much, so I went straight to the website and TikTok tutorials for help. In addition to the laser wand, the kit also came with the brand’s Oxygen Mist, which is simply mineral water, active stabilized oxygen, and sodium chloride (essentially saline souped-up with extra oxygen for what the brand calls an “oxygen facial” in a bottle, even though there is little evidence that oxygen is effective in skin care) and Oxygen Glide, a gel-like serum with glycerin and hyaluronic acid, to help the device slide along the skin. I have finicky, sensitive skin and my wedding was in less than six months, so I decided not to risk it with new formulas. Instead, I used an oil I know my skin tolerates (Le Prunier Plum Beauty Oil) to help create a slick surface for the wand, which, according to Dr. Westbay, can be achieved using any emollient serum, cream, or oil that helps the laser slide along your skin.
The brand and the dermatologists we spoke with recommend using the device for 15 minutes nightly; doing that, the brand claims that you’ll start to see results in 12 weeks. Every night, I would turn on the TV and glide the wand over one half of my face and then the other while catching up on Bravo reruns. I started along the jawline with five slow and deliberate strokes, then moved the wand upward to repeat this on the center of my cheek, my cheekbones, my brow bone, and then my forehead before repeating on the other side of my face. Once I finished with that, I would glide it along my nose, eyelids, undereyes, crow’s-feet, then my lips and mouth area. It was a soothing ritual and I loved the feeling of facial massage. While sometimes it took a self-pep talk to find the willpower to use the device, once it was over I was glad I did.
My honest thoughts
After about 12 weeks, I’ve noticed a subtle lift to my skin. I feel like I look maybe a year or two younger, better rested, and more hydrated. It’s unclear how much progress can be attributed to the laser versus good, old-fashioned, derm-guided skin care, but I’ve certainly seen a sudden boost in results over the last few months which I do attribute to the laser treatments. (My skin-care routine has remained the same.) My skin looks tighter, bouncier, and healthier.
My rosacea redness has thinned out but hasn’t totally subsided, which was expected. “Although the device may be able to lessen some redness and inflammation, [rosacea] is a chronic condition with complex pathophysiology that will require more than LLLT to treat,” Dr. Westbay had told me. “Dilated vessels characteristic of the condition will not respond and will require vascular-targeting in-office devices.” For my part, that has meant a low dose of doxycycline to curb breakouts, a very particular skin-care routine, and in-office, non-ablative broadband light laser therapy (BBL).
The Lyma Laser treatments also take some discipline. The best results come from daily 15-minute sessions over three months, and I can’t think of anything I manage to do daily without fail. (Waking up? Breathing? Peeing?) I’d say I was about 80% successful with the consistency. Sometimes you come home after a few martinis and it’s a win just to be able to get your makeup off before bed. That said, for an 80% success rate, I can still see the difference. It’s possible the results would have been even more dramatic had I been an A+ student.
Pricing and value
The Lyma Laser starter kit (which includes a 30-day supply of Oxygen Mist and Glide, which you’ll need to re-up monthly for an additional $149) is, to put it mildly, an investment at $2,695. It’s a steep entry price, but the brand claims, according to their tests, that the device will last for 10 years (though it only offers a two-year warranty). The results are much subtler than what you would get in-office, so at this price, the value isn’t there. Instead, Dr. Westbay recommends seeing a dermatologist for an in-office LLLT or broadband light treatments.
The Lyma Laser FAQs
Honestly, the jury's still out on this one. The brand claims The Lyma Laser is the strongest at-home LLLT device currently available on the market, but there have been no third-party studies to back up that claim. Even if the strength turns out to be legit, results won’t be as dramatic as they would be with in-office treatments like broadband light or Fraxel lasers. That said, in my experience, it delivers more glowiness than my skin-care products were doing on their own.
It is great for all skin types, according to Dr. Alexiades. “Many in-office laser treatments are not safe to use on darker skin tones due to the increased risk for scarring, burning, and pigmentation,” she says. “Because the Lyma Laser doesn’t heat or damage the skin’s cells at any stage in the process, it’s completely safe no matter your level of melanin.”
As of March 2022, The Lyma Laser was given a substantial equivalence determination by the FDA, which means it is as safe and effective as other devices being marketed with the same claims. This is also known as being FDA-cleared. FDA approval is given to products with benefits that the FDA has determined outweigh the risks—a categorization The Lyma Laser currently does not have.
More on at-home skin-care tools and devices:
- The Best Skin-Care Tools and Devices to Try at Home
- This Viral Skin-Care Tool Is Worth Every Penny
- I Tried the TheraFace Pro That's All Over TikTok
Now, watch Jennifer Aniston react to TikTok trends:
