Foreo calls for end of sheet masks with smartphone-controlled skin care device

Face masks have become increasingly popular for any skin care woes — whether it’s dry skin, redness, or uneven skin tones. But Swedish beauty brand Foreo is attempting to make face masks even smarter with the introduction of its Foreo UFO.

Unveiled at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Foreo UFO is a smart mask treatment that’s controlled using your smartphone. The 90-second facial treatments uses LED light therapy, thermo-therapy, cryotherapy, and its T-Sonic pulsations.

The circular device can fit in the palm of your hand and comes in light pink, dark pink, or blue color variants. Its medical-grade silicone body is completely waterproof and includes a USB port for charging.

Rather than going through the usual routine of placing a sheet mask completely over your face, you’ll place the mask into the device instead. After turning it on, you’ll then apply UFO directly to the skin as it evenly distributes the active ingredients from the mask directly onto your skin.

Based on its features, the Foreo UFO sets out to address different skin care concerns. Meant specifically for photofacials, it includes a range of LED light therapy treatments: Red LED for anti-aging, green LED for brightening, and blue LED to help treat or prevent acne.

Using hyperfusion technology, heat to open up your pores, and its T-Sonic pulsations, the treatments’ active ingredients immediately soak into the skin. As the final step, cryotherapy seals the ingredients to leave the skin feeling firm.

As for the specific treatments, each UFO Smart Mask is made from soft microfiber-infused with plant and fruit extracts along with natural flower water and botanical oils. To start, Foreo released two masks at launch meant for either day or night use.

While both masks are already pre-programmed into the device, the UFO app allows you to have more control over the device. Available for both iOS and Android, you can use it to control light intensity, heating and cooling, along with how intense the T-Sonic pulsations are. That way, it’s settings are customized to meet your own skincare needs.

The Foreo app will receive updates so you’ll be able to access all of the future smart masks that are released. You’ll also be able to use it to reorder masks whenever you run out.

Both the Foreo UFO and the UFO Mini — a smaller version of the device — will launch in select retail stores this April for $279 and $179, respectively. For a limited time before its launch, you can also pre-order it on Kickstarter for half off the retail price.