Our data & methodology

GlowSpec is a price and spec tracker. We don't sell devices and we don't run our own lab. Every number on the site links to where we got it. If we couldn't source a value, we leave it blank. We never estimate.

Prices

• Brand store data: the price listed in the brand's own online store on the check date.
• Retailer page: we opened the retailer's product page on the check date and read the listed price.
• Retailer catalog: the retailer's product catalog listing on the check date. We didn't open the page itself.
• Shopping listing (unconfirmed): from a shopping search result. We show it only when nothing better exists, and label it.
• Price tracker: Amazon price history from camelcamelcamel.
• Third-party review: a price recorded by an independent review site on its own check date, shown with that date.

Discount codes, member pricing and in-cart promotions usually don't show in listed prices. A "deal" appears on GlowSpec only if we saw the sale price on the store's own page, or the store showed both a sale price and a regular price. Bundles are compared to the separate prices where we could check.

Light power (irradiance)

Irradiance (mW/cm²) is how much light energy reaches each square centimetre of skin. Session dose = irradiance × seconds ÷ 1000 (J/cm²). We show the brand's claimed figure with its source, and next to it any independent measurement we can find. We currently draw on IrradianceLab, Evident Reviews and Outliyr's open dataset (CC BY 4.0; mostly panels so far). When sources disagree, we show every result. Higher power isn't automatically better.

Hair growth LED & laser devices

For helmets, caps, bands and combs we list the device type, whether it uses laser diodes, LEDs or both, the diode count, wavelengths, the brand's session guidance, cordless or plug-in, warranty and money-back terms, all from the brand's product page. FDA status links to the 510(k) record when we matched the device by name. Where the brand says "FDA-cleared" but we couldn't match the exact model, we mark it "Brand says cleared". Guarantees usually have conditions; read them on the brand's site.

Multi-function wands

Wands that combine light with warmth, a low-level current or vibration have their own category, because they aren't straightforward microcurrent or LED devices. We list each technology the brand names, the wavelengths, battery life and session guidance from the brand's page.

LED body panels

Panel brands usually publish irradiance measured with a handheld solar meter at 6 inches. Spectrometer measurements of the same panels often come in at roughly half. We show the claimed figure with its distance and method where stated, and list third-party measurements separately, labelling brand-commissioned lab reports as such. Size is the panel's own height (its long side, not including any stand), from the brand's spec page, shown in inches and centimetres, with full dimensions on each device page.

Product images

Product photos come from each brand's own product page (its store's main product photo or the page's share image), resized and hosted on GlowSpec. The source page is linked on each device page. Where we couldn't fetch a brand image, we show a placeholder.

FDA status

• FDA-cleared: we matched the product name to a 510(k) record in FDA's public database (openFDA 510(k)). The record is linked.
• Cleared, Rx only: cleared for prescription or professional use, not for home use.
• Brand says cleared: the brand or retailers say it's cleared, but we haven't matched an exact 510(k) yet. Many devices are filed under the manufacturer's name or a model code.
• Not FDA-cleared: a documented source says it isn't cleared. For microneedling pens we rely on FDA's consumer guidance and microneedlingreview.com's lookup.
• No clearance found: we searched FDA's database by name and found nothing. That doesn't prove there's no clearance.

FDA clearance is a regulatory status, not proof that a device works for you.

What we don't do

We don't make medical claims, recommend treatments for conditions, or cover injectables or prescription drugs. For anything that breaks the skin or treats a condition, see a licensed clinician.

Corrections

Spot a wrong price or spec? Reply to any Device Drop email and we'll fix it and note the change.

Data file: devices.json · last checked Nov 1, 2026.