10 Points For Good Mirror Lighting

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When we look in the mirror – really look in the mirror such as when we shave or apply make up – it is essential that we have good lighting. But what is good lighting for this type of application? Here are 10 factors to consider.

The overall lighting, the ambient effect, is not as important as the lighting over, above or within the mirror itself. Lighting behind you or above or to the side will not generally make the specific task easier.

To really make the task easy, you should light the face, not the mirror. Thus a light over the mirror and/or lights either side of the mirror that shine light onto your face are the most effective solution to highlighting the area you are going to be working on, whether that work is shaving, plucking eyebrows or applying make-up or even searching for zits! However, a bright spotlight aimed straight at you is more likely to temporarily blind you rather than help in the search.

Think about the light source you will use and weigh the pros and cons of good colour rendering against energy saving. Here are some points for and against the various options available for mirror lighting.

Fluorescent or compact fluorescent, (sometimes referred to as CFL or PL or 2D). Fluorescent are linear tubes in various lengths and thicknesses. Compact fluorescents are stubby, single ended lights which plug into a socket with pins, a screw cap or a bayonet cap. Fluorescents come in various colours but compared with the standard GLS light bulb, they are generally considered very white and not a good colour to light the skin. They are energy saving (middling) and have a much longer life than ordinary bulbs. This is quoted by the manufacturers as being 10-12 times longer than a GLS lamp but that quoted life is an average and frequent switching or enclosing the lamp in a confined fitting can reduce that quoted life considerably.

GLS light bulbs are being phased out by the EU but many mirror lights use double ended tubular (DET) striplamps which use the same technology as the bulb being a long tungsten filament. The light output is ideal for mirror lighting as the warm colour given off enhances skin tones. However, because of the long filament, they are unsuitable for mounting vertically as it shortens the lamp life so are only suitable really for mounting above a mirror. The average lamp life is said to be around 1000 hours and the wattage is 60W so they are not energy saving.

The latest technology is Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and you can now get a special version that fits the 284mm striplamp referred to in 5 above. These are quite a white light, somewhere between the fluorescent and the DET striplamps but they are the ultimate in energy saving as they use only 3W! Further more, with a quoted lamp life of 30,000 hours, they probably will last a lifetime so never need changing, something to bear in mind when weighing up the extra cost involved in the initial purchase. Unlike the DET striplamp, they can be mounted vertically.

Many mirror lights come complete with a shaver socket which is a very handy feature and are known either as ‘razor lights’ or ‘shaver lights’. They can be used either with a razor or a rechargeable toothbrush but under the wiring regulations in the UK will cut out if you try and operate something more powerful in the bathroom such as a hair dryer. The cut out resets itself after a short time so no permanent damage is done.

If you want a localised switch, select one with a pull cord switch as, again, by law, you should only have such switches in bathrooms for safety reasons.

There is an alternative to having a mirror and separate lights and that is to select a mirror with built-in lighting. These are usually opaque panels within a mirror with most usually fluorescent tubes behind which will have the same effect as luminaires either side of a mirror.

Finally, one of the bugbears of a mirror in the bathroom is when the steam generated by a shower or bath clouds the mirror just when you need it most! There are special mirror demisters which adhere to the back of a mirror. Connected to the power supply, they give off a small amount of heat which is sufficient to prevent the mirror from steaming up in the first place!
So, there you have it. If you want to do a good job of preserving your looks and attending to the daily tasks that that involves, you need to consider all the above and insist on good quality lighting where it matters most.

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