Red Light Therapy & Skin Rejuvenation

The origins of Red Light Therapy (RLT) can be traced back to the positive effects of laser light on a wound incision. While lasers (LLLT) are still in use today, in most cases equivalent results are obtained using LEDs.

Red Light Therapy units are available from any number of retailers including Amazon and Walmart. RLT is an easy therapy to do at home.

Medical and Cosmetic

Those hundreds of clinical studies weren’t just for cosmetics and wrinkles, red light therapy is effective for treating a host of medical skin issues like; acne vulgaris, herpes simplex, and wound healing.

Source https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29356026/

I am not recommending that anyone treat a medical skin condition with Red Light Therapy without first consulting your doctor or dermatologist. You may have to arm yourself with a couple of clinical studies to be taken seriously by your doctor. An easy way to get a few studies is to go to PubMed and do a search.

Pubmed

Pubmed is the NIH funded National Library of Medicine.

PubMed® comprises more than 30 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and…

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

If you need a clinical study to show your doctor the effectiveness of RLT for your particular skin condition, go to Pubmed and search for Red Light Therapy with your skin condition.

Pubmed will return studies that are targeted on your search terms. You may have to dig a little bit. Keep in mind that Low-Level Laser Light Therapy (LLLT) is practically synonymous with RLT. If a treatment has been established using LLLT, around 630 nm, there is a very good chance the same therapy will work with RLT.

Back To Wrinkles

Red LED light at 660 nm has the benefit of reducing fine line wrinkles. Source. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28195844/

Skin Elasticity

This study not only shown a decrease in wrinkles but also measured a 19% increase in skin elasticity. Source https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17566756/

Dosage

One study on wrinkles used 126 Joules per square cm of red light at 633 nm light along with 66 Joules per square centimeter ( 66 J/cm(2)) of near-infrared light at 830 nm. There were nine treatments given over the course of nine weeks.

At the end of the treatment cycle, more than 50% of the treated subjects had a 25–50% improvement in photoaging scores and 81% showed a significant improvement in wrinkles.

Figuring Out Dosage

Because the light dosage is so important I wrote an article on calculating light dosage.

Want To Use Red Light Therapy- First Learn How To Calculate Light Dosage

The proper dosage is critical to achieving the benefits of red light therapy.

Purchasing an RLT unit

There are many Red Light Therapy units available for sale online. You have a decision to make as to which unit will serve you best.

The wavelength, in most of the studies I have read, 660 nm (red light) and 850 nm (Near-Infrared Light) are used most often. Small variances in wavelength should not affect results. In other words, if you are using 633 nm light instead of 660 nm light, in my opinion, the effect will be the same. Likewise for the NIR. I would recommend getting a unit with a combo light of both 660nm and 850 nm.

Face mask units will certainly target your facial skin, but not much else.

Torches, RLT flashlights, throw light on targeted areas. I see these units used on animals to target wound healing and joint repair. Torches can sometimes contain Laser Diodes, either exclusively or in combination with LEDs.

Caps, hats, and helmets are typically targeted toward the scalp and hair regrowth. Although there is a considerable body of evidence that RLT helps with neurodegenerative diseases.

Soft Wearables are as the name suggests, flexible lights that can be wrapped around a knee or elbow to illuminate the joint with the red light.

Wall Units are easily the largest market for RLT units. So you will have various sizes and power outputs. If you read my article on figuring out dosages, and if you haven’t you should before purchasing a model, it’s important that the company provide power-distance illumination data. What is power-distance illumination data, read the article.

Don’t Fry Your Eyes

My research on RLT devices has led me to caution people regarding the Infrared Red (IR) light emitted by these units. I have written an article on the topic. Basically, the article recommends wearing a #5 shade sunglasses to protect your eyes when using RLT. You can read the full article here:

The Dangers of Infrared Light (IR) in Red Light Therapy (RLT)

Users of RLT don’t want to develop cataracts in 20 years from IR exposure.

Conclusion

Remember RLT is a treatment regime, not a cure. Consistency is the key to obtaining and maintaining good results.

More Information on Red Light Therapy and Photobiomodulation

I recently published a book on Red Light Therapy, titled “Living Younger Longer Using Red Light Therapy”. The book is available on Amazon.com, I have ePub, PDF, and print books available from my website at :

https://john-iovine.com/living-younger-longer.html

Living Younger Longer Using Red Light Therapy

Disclaimer

The content and information contained in this article are for informational purposes only. The information provided in this article is not and must not be taken as an alternative to any advice by a doctor, physician, or medical professional.

The author, John Iovine, has narrated his research experiences in this article by observing and evaluating facts and figures. The reliance on the facts and figures has been done in good faith and believed to be reliable according to the author’s best knowledge. The sources of referenced information could change or be updated in the future. The author cannot guarantee the validity and accuracy of the sources, which may change, be modified, updated, or removed in the future, and thus, disclaims himself from any such changes, modifications, updates, and removals.