MASK UP: Dior has partnered exclusively with French innovation lighting company Lucibel to use and commercialize LED mask technology.
Designer Olivier Lapidus worked with Lucibel to create the beauty mask. He had for many years focused on innovative textiles, especially light-related fabrics. In 1999, Lapidus sent down a fashion runway what he billed to be the first “luminous dress,” created with a specially woven jacquard and optical fiber technology.
Lapidus’ creations have been used in the scientific field, too, to help treat babies with jaundice, for instance.
He was contacted by Frédéric Granotier, founder and president of Lucibel, about a possible collaboration. The designer was shown the hardware of Lucibel’s existing beauty mask for semiprofessional use and the creams to be used with it to help fight facial wrinkles.
A brainstorm ensued, and Lapidus became knowledgeable about LED technology. Eighteen months later, Lucibel’s pro product became the over-the-counter OVE beauty mask, created with women and men in mind. It got two patents, new ergonomy and uses photobiomudulation technology.
LED photobiomodulation, a specialty of Lucibel over the past eight years, employs a cold red light to stimulate and regenerate cells The quantity of the light emitted differs on each square centimeter of a face for the most efficiency.
“Because the body is made up of living cells that have a vital need for exposure to light, the mask acts first of all as a natural energy source to balance the metabolism, restore harmony and sooth the mind,” said Dior in a statement. “Young skin sees an instant effect on quality and imperfections (reduced pore diameter, rebalanced sebum levels and a luminous complexion). More mature skin sees an antiaging action that is strengthened over time (smoothed wrinkles, elasticity and volume density).”
Dior claims that from the first session and in just 12 minutes, effects on skin quality are immediate, and that after a month, with two sessions per week, skin is healthier, its texture is smoothed, the complexion is even and radiance is increased by 10 times.
“By three months of use at the same rate, collagen and elastin production is stimulated for smoother, visibly firmer skin and redefined contours,” said Dior.
The mask is billed to be 20-times more powerful than any formerly on the market.
It was previewed at the Dior Cheval Spa Blanc Paris, and will soon be in all Dior spas. A more portable iteration for at-home use, with a price tag of 3,150 euros, is to be available in Dior boutiques and on dior.com starting January.
The OVE mask can be used during a spa treatment, or as a course of eight, 16 or 24 sessions at 85 euros for 20 minutes.
As part of a spa treatment, there’s a Dior micro peeling with the mask LED light, followed by a deep tissue massage sequence. That goes for 280 euros an hour.
