For your discomfort, your skin, and your wounds, let there be light. Red light has the potential to cure a number of health and cosmetic issues, and this potential is just now beginning to be recognized owing to the involvement of academics, academic institutions, and medical facilities as well as the availability of at-home devices.
Photomedicine is "the use of light to treat skin and other health conditions," according to Jared Jagdeo, MD, the founding director of the Center for Photomedicine at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, New York. Red light therapy (RLT) is one use of photomedicine.
Learn more about the history, operation, possible advantages, and other aspects of the therapy here.
Red light therapy's past
Photobiomodulation, or PBM for short, is another name for light therapy, according to Praveen Arany, PhD, DDS, an associate professor at the University of Buffalo and the acting director of Shepherd University's Center of Excellence for Photobiomodulation in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. According to him, other names for the same procedure include cold laser treatment, photostimulation, and low-level laser treatment (LLLT).
Over 50 years have passed since the invention of light therapy. According to a study report published in December 2017 in the Journal of Biophotonics, it was first identified by the Hungarian physician Endre Mester in the 1960s when scientific tests with red lasers on rats resulted to hair growth and wound healing. Over time, light treatment was mainly regarded as a hoax. But the scientific world has begun to pay attention as a result of fresh studies (some of it contradicting).
Red light treatment is still not accepted as mainstream science in the US at the moment. However, more academic and clinical facilities are utilizing the technology and making it accessible to patients, according to Dr. Arany.
There are now institutions, such as the one at Shepherd University, as well as professional associations, such as the North American Association for Photobiomodulation Therapy (NAALT) and the PBM Foundation, devoted to educating medical professionals and scientists about the reliability of PBM as a clinical treatment. Skin care is one of the most well-liked applications for red light therapy, and the accessibility of reasonably priced equipment for use at home has increased this appeal.
The Workings of Red Light Therapy
Photobiomodulation makes use of light at particular wavelengths. According to Arany, this ranges from 400 nanometers (nm), or blue, to 1,200 nm, or near-infrared. The National Center for Atmospheric Research states that the wavelengths of red light range from 620 to 750 nm. This light can be seen.
He claims that PBM therapy has been successfully carried out using blue, green, and red light. Additionally employed in PBM, near-infrared light has a larger wavelength (up to 1,200 nm) and is accessible in infrared saunas. Although infrared radiation seems red, it is actually invisible and warms the body from within to cause physiological changes.
Particularly red light treatment has gained popularity recently and is arguably the most well-known and accessible. Devices that emit red light are more prevalent and easier to build, according to Arany.
So how does it function? According to the American Society for Laser Medicine & Surgery, when photons (light particles) are brought close to the skin, they penetrate the tissues and activate chromophores (the component of a molecule that gives it color), which results in cellular changes. According to the PBM Foundation, red light treatment also has an impact on mitochondria, the powerhouse of cells, which produce ATP (energy) to aid in healing.
According to your health concern, particular procedures and dosages must be utilized for red light treatment to be effective, which is why having a qualified practitioner is crucial, according to Arany. If at all feasible, look for this treatment in a clinical, academic, or hospital context. He advises avoiding using red light treatment at spas or salons.
According to Dr. Jagdeo, red light skincare gadgets are available for purchase and may be used at home as advised.
Note: How are inferior red light lamps sold on the market passed off as superior ones?
1️⃣ Misleading: Using "ordinary red lights" to impersonate "therapeutic red light"
Problem: Inaccurate wavelength (therapeutic red light has a strict range, such as 650nm), insufficient energy, only red color, no therapeutic effect.
Identification: Legitimate products will clearly indicate the peak wavelength (e.g., 650nm±5nm) and provide a spectrum diagram. Products that only say "red light" are basically ineffective.
2️⃣ Exaggerated claims: Claiming to cure all diseases
Problem: Boasting about curing arthritis, hair loss, cancer, etc., contradicts medical principles.
Identification: Red light therapy requires slow, stable, and continuous use for several months to see results. Claims of "effective in a few days" or "curing all diseases" are false advertising.
3️⃣ Cutting corners: Insufficient energy, falsely advertised power
Problem: Low LED power, poor drive circuitry, extremely low actual output energy.
Panel Type
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