Red Light Therapy Pros and Cons
“Red light therapy is the key for smooth, even-toned, youthful-looking skin.”
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Shani
Red light therapy is all the rage, and it’s not hard to see why. With benefits that include reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, reducing blemishes, and reducing hyperpigmentation, we aren’t surprised it’s popular.
But does red light therapy have any side effects? Not so much, but we still recommend contacting your dermatologist if you notice anything out of the ordinary.
What Is Red Light Therapy?
Red light therapy is a subset of LED light therapy that involves using red LED lights to improve skin texture and appearance. While red light therapy is the most common type, LED light therapy uses multiple colors to achieve different benefits.
For instance, red light wavelengths target fine lines and wrinkles, while blue light wavelengths are most commonly used to fight breakouts. Some devices even use near-infrared light wavelengths to penetrate the deepest parts of the skin.
These devices typically take two forms: wands and masks. Wands are small handheld devices that are best for targeting specific areas of your skin. If you have combination skin, these small devices are especially helpful for targeting each section of skin.
However, masks are designed to cover the full face at once, which provides an easier and more efficient treatment.
Many dermatologists or estheticians use clinical strength LED panels to deliver immediate results. Although devices for home use are often more convenient and less expensive than a professional treatment session, they typically operate at a lower capacity. This means it can take much longer for you to see results.
Unless, of course, you use our LED Light Therapy Mask. This revolutionary LED mask provides clinical strength results from the comfort of your home.
From combatting acne to easing pigmentation and minimizing wrinkles thanks to red and blue light, our LED Light Therapy Mask does it all. No matter your skin type, our LED mask works to tackle a variety of skin concerns and issues, all while also helping to boost your collagen production, improve your mood, and support sleep quality, too.
Let’s take an even closer look at the benefits of red light therapy.
What Are the Pros of Red Light Therapy?
Why use red light therapy in the first place? Our very own celebrity esthetician Shani Darden gives us the LED lowdown.
Get Smoother, Firmer Skin
Fine lines and wrinkles are a normal part of aging, but you aren’t alone if you’re hoping to minimize them. Fortunately, red light therapy can help improve these visible reminders.
Red light therapy takes a two-pronged approach to this issue. First, red light therapy can stimulate collagen and elastin production.
Collagen is a protein that your skin produces to help it stay firm and plump. Collagen combines with elastin, a protein that keeps your skin stretchy and elastic, to help your skin bounce back from stress.
If your skin has low elasticity, you’re more likely to see visible signs of premature aging like fine lines and wrinkles. However, improved collagen and elastin production can help smooth the texture of wrinkles.
Red light therapy can also support your skin’s natural antioxidant production. Many forms of photoaging occur due to free radical damage. Free radicals are unstable atoms that can cause cosmetic damage if left to their own devices.
Luckily, antioxidants are helpful compounds that can neutralize free radicals and prevent this damage. When your skin produces more antioxidants, you are less likely to experience premature photoaging.
Even Skin Tone
Sometimes, the only thing that stands between you and even-toned skin is a pesky dark spot or two. Hyperpigmentation can be frustrating, but luckily, well-placed red light therapy can help restore even-looking skin.
Hyperpigmentation occurs when skin cells encounter stress or get damaged. This can happen due to sun damage, environmental stress, the wrong skincare products for your skin type, and even hormonal fluctuations.
When the cells get damaged, they often create extra melanin to signal their distress. This melanin can take the form of dark spots, freckles, and age spots. That’s why freckles often appear after a day spent in the sun.
Red light therapy can stimulate the mitochondria in these damaged cells, increasing energy production. Your cells can then use this energy to repair and lessen any hyperpigmentation.
Breakup With Blemishes
A few ingredients must come together to create a blemish: sebum, dead skin cells, dirt, and bacteria. One of the most common blemish-causing bacteria is Propionibacterium Acnes, or P. Acnes for short.
- Acnes bacteria is sensitive to blue LED light. By exposing your blemish-prone skin to blue LED light, you can kill this pimple-causing bacteria and help restore balance to your skin.
Our LED mask uses a special combination of red LEDs and blue LEDs to kill blemish-causing bacteria and help fight scarring from those blemishes.
Noninvasive
These LED devices are safe and non-invasive alternatives to expensive cosmetic surgeries and procedures. Because they are non-invasive, red light therapy devices do not require a recovery period.
Brighter Skin at Home
Going to the dermatologist’s office can be pricey and inconvenient. To help make sure that even the busiest among us can have access to LED light therapy, we decided to bring clinical strength red light therapy into the comfort of your own home.
Whether you’re using the mask at home or traveling, you can achieve clinical results even while on the go.
What Are the Cons of Red Light Therapy?
While the pros far outweigh the cons of using red light therapy, those cons are still present. Here are a few things to be aware of when choosing red light therapy.
Consistency Is Key
Red light therapy can show results quickly, but there’s only one way to get lasting results — consistency. We recommend regularly using your LED mask or LED light therapy wand to achieve the best results.
Ask Your Dermatologist
If you have any doubts regarding red light therapy and whether it’s a good choice for you, we recommend asking your dermatologist. Your dermatologist should know enough about your current skin and skincare background to know whether or not you are a good candidate for red light therapy.
How Should I Use Red Light Therapy?
We have a few tips to achieve the best results from your red light therapy LED device. Read on for these tips and some of our expert skincare suggestions.
The first thing you need to do is cleanse. Your skin should be completely clean before using red light therapy to avoid irritation and ensure a thorough treatment. We recommend using Shani’s Cleansing Serum to thoroughly cleanse without stripping the skin. This cleansing serum uses hyaluronic acid to keep your skin hydrated, which is vital for LED light therapy.
After cleansing, apply your LED device. The recommended time to leave the mask on is ten minutes, although the treatment time varies depending on the particular LED mask.
You can follow up with your regular routine depending on the time of day you’re using your LED light therapy. If you prefer using LED light in the morning, follow up with an antioxidant serum — like iS Clinicals Pro-Heal Serum — Shani’s Intensive Eye Renewal Cream, and a great sunscreen like Supergoop Play Everyday.
At night, follow up with your treatment serum such as Retinol Reform, a hydrating serum if needed, and a great moisturizer for your skin type.
Final Thoughts
Red light therapy or LED Light Therapy is a bit of a new innovation in the skincare world, but it is still a powerfully effective tool to keep in your skincare routine. LED Light Therapy uses wands or masks to target skincare concerns like fine lines and wrinkles, blemishes, and hyperpigmentation.
Red light therapy is also incredibly convenient, and some mask options even offer clinical strength results. Red light can also help you experience more positive emotions while you use it, but you will need to commit to regular use for best results.
Red light therapy is one of our favorite ways to get glowing and radiant skin, and our LED Light Therapy Mask can help you achieve your more radiant skin yet with both red and blue light. Whether you’re looking to reduce acne, minimize pigmentation, or nix fine lines and wrinkles, our mask can help — while also boosting collagen and supporting a positive mood.
Check out Shani’s skin tips for more important tips and tricks, and check us out on social media.
Sources:
Low-Intensity Light Therapy: Exploring the Role of Redox Mechanisms | PMC
Clinical Efficacy of Self-applied Blue Light Therapy for Mild-to-Moderate Facial Acne | PMC