How to get a Shark LED mask for free with little-known Boots scheme

One beauty product that the Mirror beauty team probably gets asked about more than anything else is LED face masks, and in particular, the popular Shark CryoGlow LED Mask. Our head of shopping Zoe thinks it's worth the money – but we've noticed a way that shoppers have been getting their hands on one for 'free'.

Over on TikTok, a number of videos are going viral with shoppers explaining how they're able to get high-value items such as designer perfumes or the Shark LED mask for free using Boots' recycling scheme, something that we admit that we knew very little about before hitting upon this hack. Here's how it works...

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First, you'll need to download the Recycle at Boots app, and find your nearest store taking part in the scheme. Next, scan your beauty empties and log them on the app – most materials except for those easily recycled via kerbside services (e.g. glass jars, plastic shampoo bottles) are accepted. This is perfect for getting rid of items such as toothpaste tubes and pumps, which are normally tricky to recycle at home.

Then, simply bring your beauty empties along with you into store (cleaned out as well as possible), scan the QR code on the bin, and drop them in. For every five items you recycle, you'll receive a bonus of 500 Boots Advantage Card points when you spend £10 or more in store within three days. As every Advantage Card point is worth 1p, this gets you £5 worth of points to spend however you like – and these all add up.

Of course, you do have to spend money to accrue these points (£10 to get the 500 point recycling bonus), but if you plan it well, you can time your recycling drop-off with stocking up on everyday essentials such as deodorants, shampoo and even prescriptions.

You will also have to diligently save up your points for a good while before you'll be able to afford to spend them on a pricey item like an LED mask; you'll need 30,000 points to be able to exchange them for a Shark CryoGlow, and on a couple of the most popular TikTok videos on this topic, the creators explain that they saved up their points for 12-18 months before having enough to use to buy this. However, if you're good at saving (and waiting!), it could be worth it in the end – and, of course, you're ensuring all your beauty empties get properly recycled.

Of course, if you can't wait that long to get your hands on an LED mask, you can always just buy the Shark mask immediately for £299.99, and there are lots of other options available to buy nowadays. One of the best value ones is the UKLASH LED Dual Light Pro-Therapy Face Mask, £199 (you can read my full review of it here), while I also really like the CurrentBody LED Light Therapy Face Mask: Series 2, £399.99.