L’Oréal’s CES 2026 beauty devices include a skin-like flexible LED mask

For the past ten years or so, L’Oréal has been bringing a taste of beauty technology to the masses at CES 2026. This time, it has three devices to show off: the “Light Straight + Multi-styler” as well as the LED Face Mask and the helpfully named LED Eye Mask.

Don’t let the humble names mislead you. These three products actually have some unique features. For example, the Light Straight (and the multi-styler, which I’ll call Light Straight from here on out), uses infrared light to help generate the heat needed to style your hair. Meanwhile, the LED face mask is different from those made by companies like Dr. Dennis Gross, Omnilux, Therabody, and Shark. Instead of somewhat stiff shells that sit rigidly on your face, L’Oréal’s version feels flexible and thin.

I haven’t seen this in person yet, though I intend to as soon as possible, but the photos of the LED eye mask look, and I mean that in the best way, silly. Not only does it look flexible, it also looks transparent, as you can see the bulbs and wires inside. In some images provided by the company, the masks appear completely immersed in red with the lights on. In other cases, only parts of it are red. One even shows the masks housed in a small carrying case and looking almost like wireless earbuds. I haven’t seen any pictures of the LED face mask but I can imagine it would be somewhat similar to these pictures.

According to the press release, this flexible, ultra-thin silicone mask is currently in prototype form and was developed in collaboration with LED solutions company iSmart. The company said this mask “automatically delivers light directly to the face” in 10-minute sessions. This isn’t much different from existing red light masks, but L’Oréal said it believes “the key to the mask’s effectiveness is its advanced, transparent backing, which integrates a skin-safe microcircuit to precisely control the emission of two specific wavelengths of light – red light (630 nm) and near-infrared light (830 nm).”

Since the mask will only launch in 2027, there are no details yet on pricing and availability, though global vice president of technology and open innovation Guive Balooch told Engadget that it will be a premium product that will fall somewhere below the pricier offerings currently available.

One of my issues with full face LED masks is that my skin is always very dry underneath, because you have to use them on clean, dry skin for 10 minutes at a time. Baloch told me that L’Oreal would have a serum developed to use with its mask that would help with this, while also improving the effectiveness of the light therapy.

This is certainly interesting, and Baloch noted that creating fixtures designed to work with devices such as LED masks is a future direction for the company.

I’m also interested in Light Straight, which, like the company’s AirLight Pro, uses infrared light to help dry or style hair. According to the company’s press release, hair straighteners with “regular heating settings can reach temperatures of 400 degrees Fahrenheit and higher — above the point where keratin denatures, leading to weakened cuticles, breakage and reduced shine.” For context, I used to turn up the temperature of my hair straightener to 425 degrees Fahrenheit to tame my strands (although these days I find that a more reasonable 330 degrees is sufficient).

L’Oréal says Light Straight and its “patented infrared light technology” can “help provide exceptional styling results at lower temperatures, to better protect hair health.” The device’s glass panels never exceed 320 degrees, and the company says its tests found that the Light Straight is three times faster and leaves hair twice as smooth as “leading premium stylers.” I’m not sure how to measure smoothness, but I hope the results show up in the real world.

Light Straight uses near-infrared light that L’Oréal says “penetrates deep into the hair fiber” to “reform internal hydrogen bonds.” It also has built-in sensors with “proprietary algorithms and machine learning” to adapt to your gestures to “maximize the individual experience.” I’m not sure what that means, but I’m hoping to learn more this week at CES. Since the Light Straight doesn’t launch until 2027, it’s no surprise that pricing and other details aren’t available yet. But for now, I’m keen to see companies continuing to find new and hopefully healthier ways to look and feel beautiful.