Short answer: the light is broadly the same across all four formats — what changes is coverage, intensity and whether you will realistically use it. Panels deliver the highest measured output and suit standing or seated sessions. Mats wrap around you for hands-free lying-down use at lower intensity. Masks are portable and face-only. Beds belong in clinics. For most UK home users a panel is the sensible default, and the deciding question is how much of your body you want treated at once.
The four formats
| Panel | Mat | Mask | Bed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical output | Highest | Lower | Low | Varies |
| Coverage | Targeted to full body | Full body, one side | Face only | Full body |
| Position | Standing or seated | Lying down | Any | Lying down |
| Hands-free | With a stand | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Distance control | Yes — you set it | No — contact | No — contact | Fixed |
| Home suitable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Rarely |
| Typical UK cost | £400–£3,500 | £300–£1,500 | £200–£500 | £5,000+ |
Panels
A panel is an array of LEDs in a rigid frame that you stand or sit in front of. It is the format that gives you the most control, for one specific reason: you choose the distance.
That matters more than it sounds. Irradiance — the energy actually reaching your skin — falls off sharply with distance, which is why any honest output figure comes with a distance attached. Sitting at 15cm gives you a very different dose from standing at 30cm. With a panel you can move closer for a shorter session or further back to cover more area. With a contact device you cannot.
Panels also carry the highest measured output of the four formats. Every Dermfix RLF panel publishes a spectrometer-measured figure at a stated 15cm — 82 mW/cm² on the compact models up to 92 mW/cm² on the largest.
The trade-off is that you have to position yourself in front of it. A stand solves this, and makes the distance repeatable session to session, which is what makes a routine consistent rather than approximate.
Best for: anyone who wants meaningful output, control over dose, and a device that will still be useful when their goals change. See the red light panel range.
Mats
A mat is a flexible LED array you lie on or wrap around a limb. The appeal is obvious — no positioning, no standing, and it follows the contours of the body.
Two things to understand. First, output is generally lower than a panel of comparable price, because the LEDs are spread across a larger flexible surface. Second, a mat treats the side of you touching it. Lying on your back means your back is treated and your front is not, so full coverage means turning over halfway through.
Because it is a contact device the distance is fixed at zero, which removes the ability to trade intensity against coverage.
Best for: people who want genuinely hands-free full-body sessions and are happy to lie down for them, particularly for the back and legs.
Masks
A mask is a face-shaped LED array that rests against or near the skin. Portable, hands-free, and unambiguous about what it treats.
The limitations are the obvious ones: it treats the face and nothing else, output is typically the lowest of the four formats, and it sits against your skin — which means cleaning it between uses, and no adjustment if it does not fit your face shape well.
The alternative for facial work is a small contact-free panel. The Dermfix Halo LED takes this approach: a flexible panel carrying four wavelengths across 240 LEDs with three brightness levels, positioned in front of the face rather than on it. Nothing touches the skin, nothing needs cleaning, and the same device works on a shoulder or a knee. See the red light for face range.
Best for: face-only routines where portability matters most.
Beds
A full-body red light bed treats you lying down with LEDs above and below. They exist, they work, and they are almost entirely a commercial proposition — five figures, a dedicated room, and a three-phase-adjacent power draw in some cases.
For home use the honest comparison is not bed versus panel, it is bed versus a full-body panel at a fraction of the cost. A 1,200-LED panel covering you standing will get you a comparable session in a device that fits against a wall.
Best for: clinics, gyms and studios treating multiple people a day.
Choosing between them
Three questions settle it.
How much of you do you want treated? Face only points to a mask or a compact panel. Half the body or more points to a panel or a mat. Everything at once points to a full-body panel.
Would you rather stand or lie down? This is not a trivial preference — it is the single biggest predictor of whether a device gets used. A mat that you will actually lie on beats a panel you never set up.
Do you want control over dose? If yes, you want a device where distance is a variable, which means a panel.
One thing that applies whichever you choose: check that the manufacturer publishes an output figure with a stated distance and instrument. A great many devices in all four formats publish a big number with neither. Our UK buyer's guide explains how to read those figures and why the headline number is usually about double the honest one.
A note on what none of these are
All four formats deliver red and near-infrared light and contain no ultraviolet. None of them is a treatment for a diagnosed skin condition, and none is a substitute for narrowband UVB phototherapy, which is a different type of device entirely. If you are weighing the two up, see red light therapy versus narrowband UVB.
Common questions
Is a red light panel better than a mat?
A panel typically delivers higher measured output and lets you control the treatment distance; a mat is hands-free and treats the side of the body touching it. Neither is universally better — the panel gives more control, the mat gives more comfort.
Is a red light panel better than a face mask?
For the face alone, a mask is portable and hands-free. A contact-free panel gives you higher output, nothing resting against the skin, no cleaning between uses, and the ability to treat other areas of the body with the same device.
Do I need a full-body red light bed?
For home use, rarely. A full-body panel covers the same area standing, at a fraction of the cost and without needing a dedicated room. Beds make sense for clinics treating several people a day.
Which format has the highest irradiance?
Panels, generally — the LEDs are densely packed in a rigid frame rather than spread across a flexible surface. But compare published figures at a stated distance rather than assuming, because output varies widely within every format.
Can I use more than one format?
Yes. Some people use a panel for the body and a smaller device for the face. There is no interaction to worry about — it is the same family of light.
This article is general information about choosing equipment and is not medical advice.