Meet the Near-Infrared Light Devices That Will Finally Move This Wellness Clinic Staple Into Your Home
Near-infrared light moved from niche wellness tool to mainstream beauty pitch at CES 2026, with L'Oréal and at least one smaller brand debuting devices built around the wavelength. Here’s what was unveiled, what each device claims to do, and how to evaluate the early marketing.
What Is Near-Infrared Light and Why Is It Suddenly in Beauty Products?
Near-infrared light sits just past the visible red end of the light spectrum. It penetrates deeper into skin and hair tissue than visible light and is the same core mechanism behind the at-home red light therapy panels and masks that have surged in popularity over the past several years.
The wavelengths most commonly cited in this category are 630 nanometers for red light and 830 nanometers for near-infrared, the same pairing L'Oréal is using in its new flexible LED face mask.
What changed at CES 2026 is the form factor. Rather than a dedicated wellness device you stand in front of for a scheduled session, manufacturers are now embedding NIR into hot tools, flexible wearables, and a laptop clip designed to run in the background of your day. The barrier the category has always faced is consistency of use. These devices are a direct answer to that problem.
What Is the Sunbooster and How Does It Work?
Sunbooster, from Dutch startup SunLED Life Science, was one of the more talked-about wellness debuts at CES 2026. It clips onto a laptop, monitor, or tablet and delivers near-infrared light at 850 nanometers during screen time, designed for two to four hours of passive daily use. The company frames it as a fix for indoor daylight deficiency, targeting energy, mood, and reduced inflammation.
Per the SunLED CES 2026 press release, a 2023 double-blind clinical study at the University of Groningen found that the NIR technology improved mood, decreased drowsiness, lowered resting heart rate, and reduced inflammation markers. The SunBooster product page links to the research at sunled.health/research.
The device won a CES 2026 Techlicious Editor’s Choice Award and a 2026 iF Design Award. It’s currently priced at approximately 199 euros, available in the Benelux region with US expansion underway in 2026. A phone case and NIR-enabled monitor are also in development.
What Did L'Oréal Reveal at CES 2026?
L'Oréal arrived with two devices, both named CES 2026 Innovation Award Honorees. The Light Straight + Multi-styler uses patented near-infrared light to reshape hair’s internal hydrogen bonds at under 320 degrees Fahrenheit, staying below the 400-degree threshold at which keratin begins to denature. Standard flat irons commonly exceed that threshold.
L'Oréal’s own consumer research found 58 percent of women linked heat to their hair damage, and company instrumental testing showed the device works three times faster and leaves hair twice as smooth compared to premium competitors.
Those figures are self-reported. R&D wraps at the end of 2027, with a launch date and price still to be announced.
The second device is a one-millimeter-thick flexible silicone LED face mask, currently in prototype form, developed with iSMART Developments. It delivers red light at 630 nanometers and near-infrared light at 830 nanometers through an integrated skin-safe microcircuit, designed for daily ten-minute sessions targeting fine lines, sagging, and uneven tone.
L'Oréal is targeting a 2027 global launch at a premium price point below the highest-end masks currently on the market, though no specific price has been confirmed.
How Do You Know What’s Actually Proven Versus What’s Marketing?
This is the right question to ask across this entire category. L'Oréal’s performance data, three times faster, twice as smooth, comes from internal company testing and hasn’t been independently published. That doesn’t make it wrong, but it’s a different standard than a peer-reviewed clinical trial.
Sunbooster has more of a public research trail than most CES launches. The University of Groningen double-blind study is cited specifically in the company’s press materials, and the research page on the SunLED website links to the underlying studies. That’s a meaningfully higher degree of transparency than the typical CES wellness debut.
The practical test for any NIR device: look for published wavelength specifications, independently verified efficacy data, and FDA clearance where applicable. Marketing claims about smoothness, energy, and mood are starting points for evaluation, not endpoints.
When Can You Buy These Near-Infrared Devices?
Sunbooster has the clearest availability of the three. It’s currently shipping in the Benelux region at approximately 199 euros, with US and other market launches planned for 2026. L'Oréal’s Light Straight + Multi-styler finishes R&D at the end of 2027, with no launch date or price announced. The L'Oréal LED face mask is also targeting a 2027 global launch at a premium but not top-of-market price.
For anyone who doesn’t want to wait, at-home red light therapy devices already on the market use the same core wavelengths as the CES 2026 devices and come with more established track records. CES 2026 introduced a new delivery model for NIR, not new science behind it.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
