Lelo Mona Spectra Review: My Honest Thoughts After Testing the Red Light Therapy Vibrator

5 min readRed light therapy (RLT) is beloved by skincare enthusiasts and elite athletes alike for its ability to improve blood flow, enhance collagen production, and promote tissue repair. You’ve seen the trendy tech take the world of face masks and muscle recovery tools by storm, and now, Lelo has debuted a red light therapy vibrator: the Mona Spectra. It currently retails for $299, which may be more expensive than the average G-spot vibrator, but costs nearly $100 less than similar red light therapy intimate wellness devices, like the Joylux vFit.So, why is any red light therapy vibrator worth your hard-earned cash? It’s about so much more than making your nether regions look good. When used on vaginal skin and tissue, RLT can help increase intimate moisture and improve pelvic floor comfort. This may be particularly helpful for people navigating postpartum and perimenopause/menopause because this is when the body tends to make less estrogen. That often leads to vaginal dryness, which can make sex (both solo and partnered) uncomfortable.Just don’t expect an instant fix. It takes repeated usage to reap the benefits of any red light therapy device, and the Mona Spectra is no exception. Lelo recommends customers use the device for 15 minutes a few times a week, but if that’s too intense, users can begin with five-to-10-minute sessions. Think of it as you would any wellness practice—this one just happens to come with the optional orgasm.With that in mind, we asked a Women’s Health editor to test out the Mona Spectra, and after just a few uses, she considers it “the ultimate tool in sexual self-care.” Here’s why:​How I Used the Mona SpectraProsLess expensive than other red light therapy vibratorsCan be used both internally and externallyMultiple LED light optionsApp-compatibleWaterproofConsButtons can be a bit confusing at firstRequires consistent, repeated use to reap the most benefitsMaterialBody-safe silicone, ABS plasticVibration 8 settings, 16 intensity levelsSize7.7 x 1.7 x 1.4 in.Insertable Length4 in.Weight0.3 lbsRun TimeUp to 2 hours, but device auto shuts off after 20 minutesTotal LED PowerRed LED: 1.4W; Green LED: 2.1W; Blue LED: 2.1W; Near-Infrared LED: 0.45WUse discount code “SPECTRA10” to get an additional 10% off the Mona Spectra. Overall, our tester enjoyed using this vibrator, but she admitted it was a bit difficult figuring how to activate the red LED light at first. “You have to double-click the center button to turn on the red light therapy,” she says. “Otherwise, you’re just cycling through different vibration patterns and intensities.” She suggests fellow first-timers download the online manual because it was more helpful than the paper manual that comes with the vibrator. “You can also use the Lelo app to control this toy,” she adds.After activating the LED light and familiarizing herself with the 8 different vibration settings and 16(!) intensity levels, our tester used the included sachet of water-based lube to make inserting the vibrator easy and comfortable. (FYI: Silicone-based lube should never be used with silicone sex toys to avoid degrading the material.) “I really liked the feel of the Mona Spectra. It’s not too thick or too long, and the slight S curve hit my G-spot just right,” she says. “The ridges really added to the overall feel of the vibration, too.”She also enjoyed the gentle warmth that came from the LED light—an added perk that may help relax the pelvic muscles and increase blood flood to the vagina. “I’ve never really used a warming vibrator before, but this heated up quickly without becoming too hot,” she says. “And I do think it helped me relax into the vibration and just generally feel more comfortable.”Ahead, she shares the other major perks of this sexual wellness device:It slows down self-pleasure, truly turning each session into self-care. “Often, when I’m masturbating, I’m trying to orgasm as quickly as possible, but having the 15-minute session goal in mind forced me to slow down and really take my time experiencing the peaks and valleys of pleasure,” our tester says. “During that time, I read a spicy scene from one of my favorite romantasy books. I love reading for pleasure in general, so this just felt like combining one form of self-care with another.”The added time spent focusing on self-pleasure also allowed arousal to build slowly and naturally. “When I started each session, I wasn’t necessarily turned on because this was a scheduled thing I was doing for my sexual health, kind of like kegels or other pelvic floor exercises,” she says. “But this was actually fun and didn’t feel like work. It was just a nice, gradual way to experience arousal and pleasure without orgasm being the only goal.”It can be used as both a G-spot and clitoral vibrator.The Mona Spectra is designed to be a G-spot vibrator, but our tester used it on their clitoris as well. Worth noting: Many many researchers and sex therapists believe the G-spot to be part of the internal clitoral network because, contrary to popular belief, the clitoris isn’t just the tiny nub at the top of your vulva. It also has “legs” made from erectile tissue that wrap around the vaginal canal, which expand when you’re aroused. This is why vaginal penetration, and particularly rubbing or vibrating against the G-spot, can feel pleasurable but may not always lead to orgasm.Our tester enjoyed the internal sensation of the Mona Spectra, and tried multiple different vibration patterns and settings to see what felt best for her body. That included using the toy externally from time to time, too. “I have difficulty orgasming from G-spot stimulation alone, so if I felt my arousal dipping, I’d pull the vibrator out and rub it against my vulva and clit for a few seconds before reinserting it,” she says. “I’d also end each 15-minute session by pressing the toy against my clitoris, leading to a super strong climax.”The Lelo app offers more than just red LED light. If you’re interested in exploring the potential health benefits of other kinds of LED light, you’ve come to the right place (pun absolutely intended). Connecting the Mona Spectra to the Lelo app allows users to try three other kinds of LED light: blue, green, and near-infrared. According to Lelo, blue “helps harmonize the skin’s appearance,” green “contributes to [a] balanced and even-looking complexion,” and near-infrared “supports overall skin wellness [and promotes] wellbeing and relaxation.” All lights are UV-free.“I personally only used the red LED light, but I like that you have the option to try different types of lights for different purposes,” our tester says. “I plan to explore them all as I continue my sexual wellness journey.”The Bottom Line: Is the Lelo Mona Spectra Worth Buying?If you want to transform your self-pleasure routine into a truly luxurious self-care session—with potential long-term sexual health benefits to boot—the Mona Spectra is the perfect vibrator for you. And it’s waterproof, so you can even create the ultimate self-care sesh in the bath.Overall, our tester loved how easy the device was to use, how it felt, and how it encouraged her to slow down and really focus on her sexual wellness.Shop More Of Our Favorite Pleasure ProductsBest Vibrators For Women | Best Lelo Vibrators | Best Clitoral Vibrators | Best Sex Toys For Couples | Best Rabbit Vibrators