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If you've strolled the beauty aisles lately, you've probably noticed a growing number of devices that glow, vibrate, and heat up to keep your skin smooth, clean, and blemish-free. How effective are they? We asked dermatologists for their verdicts.

Ansr Beam

$148; Ansr.com

The claim: Improves skin tone, smooths fine lines, and clears breakouts with red and blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

How it works: Hold the device directly on your skin and run it gently along the surface for five minutes (it shuts off automatically), twice a day. If your goal is to clear a breakout, use the blue-light setting; for fine lines and roughness, use the red-light setting. (Or, for double-duty, do five minutes of each.) Studies have shown that professional LED treatments can both stimulate skin cells to produce new collagen and help heal acne.

The verdict: "Red light can increase collagen to smooth lines, and blue light can decrease the bacteria that causes acne, but the LED machines dermatologists use have hundreds to thousands of tiny lights; this device has only a fraction of that power," says David Goldberg, MD, director of laser research in the dermatology department at Mount Sinai Medical Center. "This might be a good adjunct to other antiaging or acne treatments, but there are no independent studies showing that an at-home LED device will yield results."

Next: 15 dermatologist-approved ways to fight age spots and blemishes
From the July 2010 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine
As a reminder, always consult your doctor for medical advice and treatment before starting any program.

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