Are you continually searching for new ways to up your skincare game? Do you find yourself trying a variety of anti-aging remedies, methods, and gadgets? Red light therapy may be for you if you are seeking natural health, wellness, and skin benefits. And if you’re anything like me, weighing the pros and cons is a must when it comes to health. So, how beneficial is red light therapy, and what makes it worth considering?

What is Red Light Therapy?

Known for its remarkably powerful form of energy, red light provides incredible benefits to your body. Red light therapy is known to make improvements to the way you look, feel, and even behave. Anti-aging skin benefits are typically the most sought-after results with this method. Through the use of a red light lamp, device, or laser, exposure allows a portion of your cells, the mitochondria, to soak in the light and produce more energy. Health experts believe this safe method supports cells in becoming healthier and able to repair themselves, offering tremendous anti-aging skin benefits.

In the 1990s, NASA began utilizing the fantastic effects of red light to support the growth of plants in space. It wasn’t until much later that this technology was available as a therapeutic treatment in various clinical settings. Lamps for these settings began to help reduce oxidative stress while stimulating cellular energy production. In other words, it helps improve cell functioning, resulting in a variety of anti-aging skin benefits you’ll love!

You’ll be in awe of the results you’ll see with red light therapy, from a long list of skin benefits to anti-aging effects, muscle tissue repair, and mood. It’s a natural health treatment that provides you with an option to make use of a noninvasive natural light method that will benefit you both inside and out. And who wouldn’t benefit from that?

Is Red Light Therapy Safe?

It’s a valid question, especially when you’re looking for anti-aging skin benefits, so let’s dive into the safety of using red light therapy. Not to be confused with tanning bed methods, using red light therapy is a safe and effective way to attain a variety of health and skin improvements. The lack of UV rays makes red light therapy ideal for reliable anti-aging skin benefits. The FDA has given its approval for several red light therapy (RLT) devices, noting fantastic health benefits. Short periods of exposure to low levels of red or near-infrared light provide healing. By setting aside five to fifteen minutes of your day for treatment, you’ll see incredible results from this concentrated, natural light without sacrificing time. I bet that raised a few eyebrows. I think we can all agree squeezing in fifteen minutes is doable when we're talking skin benefits, right?

If you’re still a bit skeptical, think of it this way; we all face exposure to and absorb red and near-infrared light more often than you realize. However, the sun is unable to deliver the necessary wavelengths of light in nanometers or the proper intensity we would need to see therapeutic results. You won’t run the risk of skin cancer with RLT either. So, for all my sunbathers, don't run out to the pool expecting to see anti-aging skin benefits with your tan! Red light therapy can penetrate deeper within our body and work its magic at the cellular level. Pretty impressive, isn’t it? You may also hear red light therapy referred to as:

• Photobiomodulation (PBM)
• LED light therapy
• Low-level light therapy (LLLT)
• Soft laser therapy
• Cold laser therapy
• Biostimulation
• Phototonic stimulation
• Low-power laser therapy (LPLT)

The Benefits of Using Red Light Therapy

Red light is a form of therapy that helps boost your production of collagen, a known anti-aging force, and enhance your overall health and wellness through:

•       Improving your quality of sleep while reducing insomnia
•       Reducing joint pain and inflammation
•       Enhancing muscle recovery
•       Supporting stronger, healthier hair regrowth
•       Skin benefits including improvements to overall clarity, tone, and texture
•       Supporting your weight loss goals
•       Reducing signs of scarring and stretch marks

Red Light Therapy as an Anti-Inflammatory Treatment

I’m a firm believer in the crucial need for anti-inflammatory methods. Inflammation can cause all forms of illness, disease, as well as a decline in mental health, and battles against chronic fatigue. Not to mention, it negates all your hard, anti-aging work.  Red light therapy goes right to the source of your inflammation and provides an increase in your blood flow circulation. This allows repairs to be made to areas with tissue damage while boosting the regeneration of your cells. Targeting inflammation with red light therapy reduces pain as well as recovery time while supporting the healing process of your body. This therapy method is also beneficial in healing injuries that may be affecting your tissue and bones. That’s why red light therapy is often the sought-after choice of many athletes and weight trainers. Its ability to stimulate muscle growth, help reduce muscle fatigue, and enhance strength and endurance levels make it ideal for any fitness enthusiast. 

Anti-Aging Skin Benefits of Red Light Therapy

Anti-inflammatory methods, such as red light therapy, are fantastic for anti-aging skin benefits. In fact, many dermatologists use red lights for their incredible healing benefits, including eczema treatment. The red light offers the ability to deliver its power source directly to your skin cells. It improves the overall health of your skin by increasing circulation, the production of energy, and reducing inflammation. Red light therapy helps support your overall skin health and improvements by diminishing the appearance of those fine lines and wrinkles we all want to get rid of. Skin benefits also include reducing the healing time for cuts, burns, and scars, including those from acne. You’ll experience anti-aging skin benefits like younger, glowing skin and a brighter, more even skin tone. And what if I told you there were health and skin benefits, including an increase in skin moisture, skin rejuvenation, and full-body hyperpigmentation?

Red light therapy promotes the regrowth of hair and prevents additional hair loss. You’ll experience thick, healthy hair growth and significantly reduce male and female pattern baldness. One study shows those with androgenetic alopecia, a genetic disorder causing the loss of hair, grew thicker hair by using an in-home red light for twenty-four weeks. Participants using a placebo did not show signs of denser hair growth. Not bad for spending only minutes a day under a red light, right?

RLT can also help clear up pesky acne and acne scars by increasing lymphatic drainage. This method supports the clearing of toxins from your body. The light also works to penetrate deep into your skin to target sebum production and reduce inflammation and irritation. Your sebaceous glands produce sebum but tend to have a clogging effect on the pores. This causes issues with acne and scarring for many. While sunlight helps to calm your overactive glands, we know it isn’t the healthiest option. Red light therapy allows those with acne-prone skin to combat these issues and enjoy clear skin benefits. Additional skin conditions like eczema and rosacea can also benefit and offer an excellent option for all skin types.

By supporting the production of collagen, RLT rejuvenates your skin, giving you a plump, radiant look and feel. Anti-aging methods, such as RLT, stimulate elastin and collagen production without side effects, leaving you with a healthy, desirable glow and suppleness. And don’t worry, you won’t need to wait to show off your fresh face and skin benefits. There are no areas of redness, tenderness, or bruising you typically find with other anti-aging treatments. Who’s excited to hear that?

Additional Benefits of Red Light Therapy

Other benefits include successful treatments for Seasonal Affective Disorder, depression, and anxiety. An improvement in mood, motivation, and overall mental health are all positive findings. The light tends to offer a healing alternative to our need for natural outdoor light to boost our levels of mental wellness.

While studies are still on-going, researchers have seen vast improvements to many areas of the body with the use of red light. Beyond the incredible anti-aging skin benefits it offers, red light therapy may help you with:

Tendinitis

Red light therapy has shown improvements for people with Achilles tendinitis by lessening pain and inflammation.

Dental Pain

Patients with Temporomandibular dysfunction syndrome, or TMD, report feeling less pain, jaw tenderness, and clicking sounds after using red light therapy.

Bone Health

Study results are supporting the benefits of RLT use in bone healing. Red light may help accelerate bone healing after facial bone defect surgeries and treatment. We know that RLT supports the reduction of pain and inflammation and certainly plays a role in the bone healing recovery process.

Brain Health

In one study of people with dementia, a method of using near-infrared light therapy through their noses and on their heads ran for twelve weeks. Patients began reporting better memory recall, improvements in sleep quality and quantity and were typically experiencing better moods. Brain health also includes the preservation and renewal of your brain cells and tissues while stimulating the mitochondria. High-quality RLT devices can penetrate your skull, allowing an increase in cerebral blood flow and oxygen consumption. There have also been studies showing amazing benefits of red light therapy for patients with brain injuries and disorders.

Cellulite

How does a little cellulite reduction sound to you? By incorporating exercise, and even massage techniques, increasing circulation through the use of RLT sessions can support fading of cellulite and stretch marks. Yes, please!

Osteoarthritis

A study with osteoarthritis patients using red light therapy shows related pain was more than fifty percent less than the pain before treatments.

Hashimoto Hypothyroidism

A lack of hormone production from your thyroid gland can wreak all sorts of havoc throughout your body by slowing various functions down. Red light therapy supports your thyroid by picking up the speed again, bringing relief from pain, and alleviating additional symptoms. 

Improvement in sleep

A huge issue for so many of us, sleep disturbances affect over seventy million Americans. Lack of sleep can lead to serious health issues, including poor mental health and heart disease. By using a red light every evening, we can benefit from healthy sleeping patterns, restful hours, and an overall feeling of rejuvenation each morning. Chronic fatigue battlers rave about red light therapy and improvements to their overall mental and physical health from countless nights of good sleep.

Where Can I Get Red Light Therapy?

Curious about where you can get your hands on this wondrous anti-aging device asap? I thought you might be. While you should always consult your doctor before any health treatments you're considering, your doctor’s office may even be offering RLT. You may also find many salons and dental offices in your area are offering red light therapy services. Purchasing your red light therapy device is also an option well worth exploring. By using the link provided, you'll receive a free gift with your red light therapy device by using code KELLYANN at checkout! If you choose the personal device route, be sure to research and review light use carefully to ensure safe use. Safety should always come first!

Concerns of Red Light Therapy

But what, if any, are the concerns you should be aware of when seeking anti-aging skin benefits or other health improvements from RLT? While many researchers have known about the incredible effects of red light therapy for quite some time, in-depth studies are still limited. With an impressive list of health benefits from use, there are still on-going studies comparing RLT to alternative methods in each instance.

There is also a lack of concrete guidelines to follow. Some professionals suggest five minutes per session, while others prefer twenty minutes or more. A common suggestion of three days a week is a typical practice, while other recommendations vary. You may find tips of use from eight to twelve weeks, while many studies follow a twenty-four-week guideline.

It’s important to note that too much red light may irritate or damage skin tissue, while not enough may not yield the results you desire. You must also use care when under an in-home red light. Relaxing it may be, but falling asleep leads to too much exposure and the risk of burns.   

It’s hard to deny the incredible list of benefits red light therapy has to offer our bodies, both inside and out. With proper research and careful use, red light therapy may just be a worthwhile addition to your health and beauty routine. Find out more on how to fight inflammation, create healthy habits, and reward yourself with anti-aging skin benefits.

Keep Positive and Stay Healthy!