Red Light Therapy Panel FAQs
Red light therapy, for low-level red and near-infrared light wavelengths, has been extensively researched and clinically proven to produce medical-grade results for various skin conditions.
Benefits include skin rejuvenation (collagen production, reduced fine lines & wrinkles, recovery from sun damage, reduced pigmentation), reversed inflammation, cellular repair, wound healing, pain relief, and muscle recovery, depending on the light source parameters, treatment schedule, personal background and tissue background.
Other uses of LED light therapy include acne, dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis and rosacea treatment.
Therapy for joint pain can make an immediate difference, for muscle soreness a difference in feeling may come in between 8 hrs. after the therapy to 3 sessions. Long-term benefits such as the feeling of an energized body, a glowing skin, and faster recovery after strength training may be visible in 4 to 8 weeks.
Consistency is the key to achieving results, as in every other aspect of well-being. You may not notice an improvement, since it will come gradually from the early days. By measuring and reporting in quantifiable terms, you will realize greater improvement.
You can improve the effects even more when combined with proper diet, sleep, and exercise.
When starting Red Light Therapy at home, you should adjust your skin gradually, with shorter sessions, no more than one session per day daily. This is very similar to starting a work out. If you push yourself on the early days, you will get the benefits.
As your skin get used to the activity, you may and should increase the duration of a session. Once you reach to an ideal duration, it would be better to decrease your frequency to every other day.
For more information to correct dosing in Red Light Therapy, you may see our blog post The Correct Dose for Red Light Therapy.
The ideal device for you will be determined by the treatment area you are going to focus on, your projected routine, your space available, and finally your budget. There is no single correct answer.
A larger panel will cover more area for full body therapy, whereas a desktop panel or mask will be ideal for targeted treatment. You can use your panel integrated into your workout or stretching routine by putting it somewhere near wile working out, or choose to have a dedicated session while meditating or listening your favorite podcast.
Note that all of our mono chip panels can be used modularly, you can link them together to increase treatment area. So you can always start with one panel and add an additional panel to operate in sync, if you need more.
Irradiance (or power density), is a measurement expressing the amount of light energy, shedding on a given area. For red light therapy, this is often expressed as mW/cm² (milliwatts per square centimeter). Irradiance from a light source is adversely affected by distance and ambient light.
Red light therapy is effective within a particular window. The beneficial "sweet spot" in between corresponds to the irradiance of the sun. Hence, mimicking sunlight intensity (total 80-110 mW/cm2, NIR 30-35 mW/cm2) will trigger beneficial cutaneous effects. If irradiance is lower than the physiological threshold value (which is the sunlight intensity, concerning our evolutionary setup), it will not produce beneficial effects. Intensity (irradiance) is likely more important than the fluence (dose) delivered.
The commonly used unit for dose is J/cm2 (Joules per square centimeter). The formula to calculate this dose is: J/cm2= (Irradiance in mW/cm2, at the distance of application) x (Treatment time in seconds) / 1000
EXAMPLE: Say that the product you are using has an irradiance reading 100 mW/cm2 at 30 cm (12''). To have a 60 J/cm2 session with the device, while you are 30 cm apart; 60 = 100 x Time (sec) /1000, You need to have a 600 second (10 minute) session.
For skin and topical treatments, the recommended sweet spot of dosing for a given treatment area is roughly between 2-10 Joules/cm2.
For deeper tissues, such as muscles, ligaments, or bone, the sweet spot for a given treatment area is between 10-60 J/cm2. Consult your dermatologist for extended doses.
As a rule of thumb, 10-15 minutes per treatment area at a distance of around 20 to 35 cm for deep tissue or 30 to 48 cm for superficial facial skin therapy on bare skin per day is a great average usage guideline, basically for almost everybody.
For more information about the correct dosing in Red Light Therapy, please visit our blog post The Correct Dose for Red Light Therapy.
Hair will deflect light. Facial or body hair will prevent some light from penetrating the skin. The best results are achieved when the mask is used after shaving.
All electric devices have some degree of electromagnetic field, due to the nature of their power source. The light source (visible and NIR spectrums) in Red Light Therapy devices emit Non Ionizing radiation, that does not have enough energy to break up (ionize) atoms or molecules.
The EMF output of our devices are very low and drops down to 0.0 µT at 15 cm (6"). This means that at 6" and beyond, you are receiving zero EMF exposure.
Red light therapy does not include UV wavelengths, and therefore will not give you any tan.
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You can see all related health and safety information in our Health & Safety page.