Red Light Therapy at Home

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red light therapy

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You’ve likely seen them on your social media feed. Unlike more discreet dermaplaning tools or microdermabrasion kits, the robotic mask-like beauty gadgets are hard to miss—and even harder to forget.

They’re called red light therapy tools, and many of them look a lot like hydrating sheet masks but are generally much bulkier and rigid. Plus, they illuminate the face an eerie shade of red (some also give you the option to use other LED lights like blue light for other beauty benefits).

What is red light therapy?

Red light therapy, also known as LED light therapy or RLT, is a treatment that uses a very specific and low wavelength of energy—infrared light—for therapeutic purposes, says Nina Desai, a board-certified dermatologist in Manhattan Beach, California. In this therapy, red light penetrates both upper and deeper levels of the skin, is absorbed by the cells, and is turned into energy. With this influx of energy, skin cells have improved ability to repair themselves, minimizing visible signs of aging, among other benefits.

What are the benefits of red light therapy?

“Clinically, we can use red light therapy for several different purposes,” explains Desai. Of course, anti-aging is probably the most widely known benefit of led light use. “Because of the way red light therapy improves cellular function, studies show it can be used to increase the production of collagen and elastin in the skin, which helps with tone and texture, as well as fine lines and wrinkles,” she says.

But red light therapy is also a great treatment for the blemish-prone. “Low energy red light can really help calm redness and inflammation associated with mild to moderate acne,” says Desai.

In dermatological offices, there are other applications that are often used as adjunct treatments for conditions like male and female pattern hair loss and precancerous lesions.

Can you use red light therapy at home?

Of course, for the more standard use cases—aging and acne—you can experiment with red light therapy at home. “Red light therapy is considered relatively safe, because the spectrum of light is not in the UV spectrum,” says Desai. Many at-home red light therapy tools are also FDA-approved for your peace of mind.

What’s more, you can’t really overuse red light therapy at home. While most devices will provide a recommended time frame, Desai says treatments generally range from about 5 to 30 minutes.

How long does it take for red light therapy to work?

These treatments are cumulative, so don’t expect results overnight, says Desai. It takes time and multiple treatments to see results—especially with at-home devices that aren’t typically quite as intense as medical-grade devices in dermatologist offices.

That said, even at-home treatments can still be very beneficial if you use the right device and are consistent, says Desai. First and foremost, “look for a device that has a wavelength of somewhere between 600 and 900 nanometers,” she says. And make sure it’s easy to use, since this will help with consistency.

Our Top Picks

    1

    Best Professional-Grade

    RejuvaliteMD Red Light Therapy

    Desai likes this open-style light, because she says it “definitely has an in-office feel to it.” Use the arched light over your face, or lay down and position over a specific area of your body for thorough coverage. It’s quick, too—it takes just five minutes, she says.

    2

    Best With Blue Light

    DRx SpectraLite™ FaceWare Pro LED Light Therapy Device

    Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare

    Of medical-grade caliber and from a very reputable company, you can be sure this red light therapy tool is both safe and effective, says Desai. And though it’s pricey, it has both red light and blue light—a great bonus for anyone with acne-induced inflammation.

    3

    Best Budget

    Revilit LED Light Therapy Tool

    Though not necessarily cheap, this red light device is comparably much more affordable than other LED lights. Still, it features three different types of light—blue, red, and green—for versatility. And you won’t have any trouble storing the compact handheld device.

    4

    Best Customizable

    UFO 2

    This palm-sized LED light is very customizable, says Desai. You can play around with a number of settings—thermotherapy, cryotherapy, T-Sonic pulsations, and eight LED lights—and you can even use a sheet mask or serum with it to deliver extra benefits.

    5

    Best Handheld

    LightStim for Wrinkles LED Light Therapy Device

    If you’re new to red light therapy tools, you’ll love how easy this one is to hold. The tapered design makes it easy to grip, so you can effortlessly target all areas of your face, including crow’s feet, forehead, nasal folds, jawline, and lips.

    6

    Best Compact

    Red Light Advanced Skin Care Wand

    With some of the larger red light therapy tools, it can be difficult to target the smaller areas of the face, like crow’s feet, without disrupting super delicate areas like the eyes (yes, even with goggles on!). This tiny razor-like tool helps you target all of those smaller areas more easily, but still works just as well on bigger surfaces, like the forehead.

    7

    Best With Warranty

    Contour FACE

    This face mask-style red light features a fully wraparound design and two thick straps that keep it securely in place, so you won’t be constantly adjusting it during the 10-minute treatments.

    8

    Best Full Body

    Solo 3.0

    Expensive? Absolutely. But the great thing about this red light therapy tool is that it is large enough to target very large chunks of the body—like the entire back—at a time. And there’s no need to fiddle with it during treatment, since it conveniently mounts to the back of a door or a wall, depending on the mount kit you select at checkout. Alternately, you can also get one of two floor stand options.

    9

    Best Splurge

    LED 2.0 LightMAX Supercharged LED Mask

    This sheet mask-like red light therapy tool has a unique, patented flexible silicone design that wraps around the face to make more direct contact with your skin in order to deliver maximum results. It has both red and blue light options, too, so you can choose whatever setting best suits your area of concern.

    10

    Best Multi-Light

    LED Light Energy Mask

    Though priced much more reasonably than most other red light therapy devices, this mask has 7 LED light color modes, including red light for anti-aging, blue light for acne, green light for soothing effects, yellow light for oxygenation, white light for skin tone, and more.

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