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Best Warm Eye Mask Compress [2025 edition]
Updated August 5th, 2025
By Matthew Pham
Warm eye compresses are an important strategy in dry eye management and in active treatment of eye styes. It’s important to choose a good eye mask as the main thing we want is good consistent heat transfer to the eyelids.
Why should you trust us?
We are an independent optometry office and have no financial interests in these companies. We are often asked how to do a warm compress as part of our treatment plans we tell our patients. Dr. Pham has had 10 years of experience with treating dry eye and styes in his private practice.
Our Testing Process
We bought and tested multiple highly rated eye compresses to find out how well they performed. We followed manufacturer’s instructions and then measured the temperatures emitted.
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We measured the initial temperature over 5 areas per side
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Then measured every minute with an infrared thermometer.
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We looked if the mask can first get to a proper temperature and secondly, how long it could maintain it.
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Lastly we evaluated the re-usability and comfort of the mask.
Our Picks
Best pick
All around winner
Mask performs well, easy to clean and good value
Tech pick
Plug and play, more expensive
Automatically set at the right heat, simply wear it.
Budget pick
Simply works
Mask still performs well. It's just big and not as cleanable. Great to buy locally.
What does the research say?
Over time the oil glands of the eye can become blocked and their secretions reduced. This will cause dry eye by Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD) and can also cause sudden styes. Therefore warm compresses are a mainstay in the management of these conditions.
Research says the sebum of these glands flow at temperature ranges of 50-113 F (10-45C). Therefore if glands have become blocked we need to warm the sebum to that above the body’s resting temperature 98.6 (37C). So an ideal compress should heat the eyelid to a higher temperature and due to heat loss, we should aim for an eye mask to deliver at around 104-113 F (40-45C)¹.
Results
After browsing reviews and reading about the mask features, we narrowed our search to these masks:
Bruder Eye Mask, Medivaz, Renpho Eyeris, Thermolon, Myhalos, Kimkoo, and Aroma season electric heated eye mask.
The purple shaded area in the graph is the optimal treatment temperature range for a warm compress.
A disadvantage of microwavable masks is that they start off very hot and then cool down. So to have them perform in the right temperature, microwave them less initially and reheat in the middle of a treatment session if the temperature drops too low. As the graph shows, if you can get the initial temperature to around 118, it should last around 6 minutes in the optimal range.
Electric masks use a heating element to warm the mask, we found that they heated up relatively quick and importantly stayed in the proper temperature without overshooting it. Some may be weary of having these things right on the eye so be sure to check the manufacturer safety data they have.
Best Overall - MyHalos Eye Mask for Dry Eyes
The MyHalos Eye mask did manage to stay warm throughout the full 10 minute session in both eyes. It started a bit hot so care should be used initially. Both the left and right side were relatively close, differing only by a couple of degrees. It has a very soft removable outer that can be washed. A comfortable and wide strap distributed the weight of the mask well on the face.
Flaws:
It is on the bigger end and does require a microwave to use. May need to heat it less because its initial temperature was hot. For those that need it faster, this has to be bought online. Overall it performs well and is at a great cost point.
Best Runner up - Thermalon
The thermalon mask also starts off a bit too hot and decreases itself into the proper temperature range throughout the 10 minutes. The left and right side did vary about 4 degrees but the left side which was lower still maintained a theurapetic temperature. Readily available locally. Great price, also wins our pick for best budget eye mask.
Flaws
This was the biggest microwavable mask we tested. Cleaning and drying it will take longer.
Pictured is the Bruder mask, this company also makes the thermalon mask which looks like this mask but is bigger.
Best Tech Oriented Eye Mask - RenPho Eyeris
For those that do not want to use a microwave to heat a mask, the Renpho Eyeris consistently delivers an accurate temperature in both eyes and does have a relaxing pulsating mode. It does not overshoot the temperature range and almost immediately gets to that range.
It is heavy and cleaning it requires using wipes since there isn’t a removable portion and because of its electronics, you can’t dunk the whole thing in water. It has a pulsating feature and mini speaker where nature sounds are emitted.
Overall this is the choice for those that do not want to use a microwave or would like the more advanced tech.
Flaws
The settings reset every time you use it, so if you don’t like the sound or the pulsating settings they have to be turned off each time by cycling through the buttons until it's at your selection you want.
Summary of Warm Compress Eye Masks
Eye Mask | Best For | Price When Tested | Purchase Link |
|---|---|---|---|
Kimkoo Moist Eye Compress | Softer feeling | 14.99 | https://amzn.to/4ojhfMh |
Aroma Season Heated Eye Mask | Electronic mask on budget | 19.99 | https://amzn.to/4omPa6H |
Mediviz | Removable cover, expensive | 25.95 | https://amzn.to/4my1pM4 |
Bruder | Online and optometrist availability. Solid overall | 20.53 | https://amzn.to/3UhmCxB |
Renpho Eyeris | High tech and consistent heat | 49.99 | https://amzn.to/45lXASS |
Thermalon | Local purchase, bigger faces, budget. | 8.97 | https://amzn.to/3IZQzQl |
MyHalos | Dry Eyes, Styes | 15.99 | https://amzn.to/4mtI7XR |
FAQ
What is an eye compress?
It’s anything that transfers heat to the external eyelid area.
How long should we do a warm compress?
Around 10 minutes. If not done long enough, the heat would not have enough time to warm up the eye glands.
How often to do a warm compress?
Typically once a day but consult your doctor if you are doing this for styes or for other reasons.
Why do them?
Eyeglands become clogged over time so this helps open them up again.
What’s the temperature an eye mask should be at?
Warmer than body temperature but not too hot to irritate the delicate tissue around the eye. Around 104-113 F (40-45C).
Can I use a rag or towel with hot water? Or run my face in the shower?
A towel will lose heat too fast and eventually will actually be cool which is opposite of what we need. Shower water isn’t warm enough
The rest of the competition:
Bruder - This mask didn’t deliver the proper temperature in our first tests. After testing by heating it longer it did reach the proper temperature. Overall it’s a good option for smaller faces as long as you check the temperature on this. This company also makes the thermalon mask which we prefer over this.
Mediviz - This mask was closer to the optimal treatment temperature range. The outer fabric felt a little thin and it was more costly than our best pick.
Aroma season - The other electric eye heat mask we tested. It takes a couple of minutes to hit the right temperature but once it did, it maintained it. We didn’t like the cord hanging down the side of our face and we aren’t sure we trust the heating element on this being that close to the eye. It does have a digital timer display which is helpful. But for a budget electronic eye heat mask it does work.
References
1. Lee G. (2024). Evidence-Based Strategies for Warm Compress Therapy in Meibomian Gland Dysfunction. Ophthalmology and therapy, 13(9), 2481–2493. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40123-024-00988-x https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40123-024-00988-x
Borchman D. (2019). The optimum temperature for the heat therapy for meibomian gland dysfunction. The ocular surface, 17(2), 360–364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtos.2019.02.005
About the Author
Dr. Matthew Pham has practiced optometry since 2017. Before opening his own office he had worked for two other offices in Houston, TX where he has seen dry eye affect all kinds of people.