Treatment FAQ

what is considered optimal treatment schedule for red light therapy

by Ophelia Kuphal DDS Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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They concluded that red light therapy effectively treats skin wounds, which minimizes scarring. For skin wounds, stretch marks, and mild scars, a good treatment program is 10- to 20-minute red light sessions three to five times per week at 6” to 12” for a period of one to four months.

10-15 Minute Treatment Times: 10-minute treatments per area at 6 inches from your device are optimal. 15-20 minutes for symptomatic areas may be beneficial, but beyond that, the evidence points to diminishing returns (your cells can only absorb so much light at once).

Full Answer

When should you consider red light therapy?

If you’re experiencing the frustration of accelerated aging, suffer from chronic pain, or have a condition that has been stubbornly resistant to conventional treatment, consider red light therapy. And remember, frequency of using red light therapy depends totally on you and your unique needs.

What is the optimal red light therapy application distances?

Optimal Red Light Therapy Application Distances The optimal power density during light therapy treatment tends to range between 20 – 200mW/cm 2.

What is red light therapy (RLT)?

Red light therapy (RLT) is a controversial therapeutic technique that uses red low-level wavelengths of light to treat skin issues, such as wrinkles, scars, and persistent wounds, among other conditions. In the early 1990s, RLT was used by scientists to help grow plants in space.

What is the best light intensity for my treatment area?

(Porridge optional.) Light intensity, known as irradiance, is greatest at 6”, and this is perfect for joint or muscle health. For skin conditions, 12” to 18” is ideal. To learn how distance affects irradiance and the treatment area, check out the irradiance chart for PlatinumLED BIO and BIOMAX models.

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How many times per week should I use red light to establish results?

Consistency Is Your Greatest Ally for Seeing Red Light Therapy Results. To see results, make sure you're using your device the minimum recommended 3-5 times per week. Sessions should generally be between 10-20 minutes long.

How often should red light therapy be used?

You may need a treatment each week for about a month. Then you might need maintenance treatments every month or every few months. Some at-home devices may also require a substantial time commitment. You might need to use your device twice a day for 30 to 60 minutes for four to five weeks.

How long should I do red light therapy at home?

The general rule is to have your sessions range anywhere from 10-20 minutes, but you can play around with this too. Every body is different, after all, and reacts to treatment in its own way. You're likely not going to see results if you keep all your sessions to 5 minutes.

How much red light therapy can you do a day?

Red light therapy is one skincare treatment that responds well to multiple daily uses and using it more than once a day may bring you faster results. A red light therapy device does not harm the surface of your skin or the underlying tissue.

Can red light therapy reduce belly fat?

It's a type of body sculpting that may help you get rid of stubborn fat. Most research shows that red light therapy removes some fat from your waist and arms, but results are modest at best.

Can I use light therapy twice a day?

Treatment sessions can last from 15 minutes to three hours, once or twice a day, depending on individual needs and equipment used. The average length of a session for a system delivering 10,000 lux illumination is, for example, much shorter than for 2,500 lux (30 minutes vs. two hours).

What should I put on my face before LED light therapy?

What Should I Put on My Face Before Red Light Therapy? For best results, it's always recommended to use LED products on a clean face with no serums or moisturizers. This allows the light therapy to effectively penetrate the skin without any barriers.

Can you overuse LED light therapy?

What Are the Risks? Red light therapy is generally considered safe, even though researchers aren't exactly sure how and why it works. And there are no set rules on how much light to use. Too much light may damage skin tissue, but too little might not work as well.

Does red light therapy tighten loose skin?

Red Light Therapy (RLT) is a therapy treatment that has been shown to help with weight loss and treat skin conditions using low wavelength red light. The treatment has been shown to diminishes the appearance of scars, blemishes, fine lines, and reducing loose skin by tightening the skin and shrinking fat cells.

Can red light therapy reverse GREY hair?

In agreement with the results, the Photobiomodulation Therapy using red and blue light improves the alopecia treatment as well as decrease the gray hair.

Should you wear goggles in red light therapy?

The truth is, light therapy can cause eye damage. “Eyes should always be protected,” says Shamban. But that does not mean all goggles used in LED light treatments are created equal. “Think about shades in your bedroom — there are super sheer, semi-light blocking and total blackout versions,” she says.

Can you use retinol with red light therapy?

Using retinol and light therapy together can give your skin care routine a boost. Keep in mind, you should never apply retinol before light therapy use, as your skin may react unexpectedly. However, retinol can safely be used after light therapy.

What is red light therapy?

Red light therapy(RLT) is a treatment that may help skin, muscle tissue, and other parts of your body heal. It exposes you to low levels of red or near-infrared light. Infrared light is a type of energy your eyes can’t see, but your body can feel as heat. Red light is similar to infrared, but you can see it.

Does red light therapy help with dementia?

Red light therapy may help with: . Dementia. In one small study, people with dementia who got regular near-infrared light therapy on their heads and through their noses for 12 weeks had better memories, slept better, and were angry less often. Dental pain.

Does RLT cause hair loss?

Hair loss. One study found that men and women with androgenetic alopecia(a genetic disorder that causes hair loss) who used an at-home RLT device for 24 weeks grew thicker hair. People in the study who used a fake RLT device didn’t get the same results. Osteoarthritis.

Does red light burn skin?

Some experts think this helps cells repair themselves and become healthier. This spurs healing in skin and muscle tissue. Red light therapy uses very low levels of heat and doesn’t hurt or burn the skin. It’s not the same type of light used in tanning booths, and it doesn’t expose your skin to damaging UV rays.

Does RLT help with tendinitis?

One study found red and infrared light therapy cut osteoarthritis-related pain by more than 50%. Tendinitis. A very small study of 7 people suggests RLT lessens inflammationand pain in people with Achilles tendinitis. Wrinklesand other signs of skin aging and skin damage.

What is red light therapy?

Red light therapy is also called photobiomodulation, or low level light therapy (LLLT). Red light devices are fitted with LED bulbs that expose the skin to specific wavelengths of light. These wavelengths, which vary in length based on their color, are measured in nanometers (nm). Different wavelengths of light penetrate ...

How does red light therapy help with muscle recovery?

Muscle Healing. Red light therapy has proved to be effective at stimulating, healing, and regenerating damaged muscle tissue. Many athletes improve their sports performance by using red light for pre-conditioning before exercise, and also after exercise.

What is the wavelength of red light?

The term “red light therapy” includes red light, whose wavelengths range in size from 630nm to 660nm; and near-infrared light (NIR), which ranges from 800nm to 850nm. Research has shown that the most health benefits occur within the red and NIR wavelengths (known as the therapeutic window).

How long does it take for red light to grow hair?

To stimulate hair regrowth, use red light for 10 to 20 minutes three to five times per week at a distance of 6” to 12”. Once hair starts to grow, a maintenance program will continue stimulating normal hair growth.

How long can you use RLT?

According to Michael Hamblin⁠—associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a noted expert on red light therapy⁠—“You could use RLT for 24 hours a day and wouldn’t damage the skin. It’s almost impossible to cause any harm.”.

Can you use red light therapy for chronic pain?

If you’re experiencing the frustration of accelerated aging, suffer from chronic pain, or have a condition that has been stubbornly resistant to conventional treatment, consider red light therapy. And remember, frequency of using red light therapy depends totally on you and your unique needs.

Does red light therapy help with hair loss?

Hair Loss. Although it may sound too good to be true, red light therapy really has been proven to regrow hair. One of many studies was conducted during 2017 and involved 90 patients aged 18 to 70. All participants suffered from androgenic alopecia, which is the scientific term for baldness.

How long does it take for red light to recharge?

A study in The Journals of Gerontology found that brief exposure to deep red light — three minutes a day for two weeks — improved older adults’ ability to discern letters against a similarly colored background.

Why do we use red light?

Red light therapy is used to calm acne, heal wounds and reduce arthritis. Now, new findings suggest red light may also protect our eyes as we age. But eye experts warn that the practice has not been well studied in humans — so don’t try this at home.

Does red light recharge the cell?

Some scientists think red light recharges the cell’s powerhouse or “battery,” known as the mitochondria. As we age, mitochondria produce less energy. Deep red light may restore energy production to youthful levels, studies suggest .

Is red light safe for eyes?

Deep red light is not an approved eye treatment. “Based on research so far, there is some evidence that light therapy has the potential to improve eye health,” says Ninel Z. Gregori, MD, an ophthalmologist at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami.

Does red light affect the retina?

But this isn’t the first study to hint at red light’s protective effects on the retina. Most research has been done in animals and in cells grown in the laboratory. A 2017 study found that red light partially reversed the effects of aging in the retinas of old mice, enhancing retinal performance by 25%. And a 2019 study found that ...

What is light therapy?

Also known as phototherapy or bright light therapy, light therapy can be used to treat SAD and other conditions by using artificial light. To use light therapy, you need to sit or work near a light therapy box for about 30 minutes.

How to use light therapy

While there are light therapy options like dawn stimulators and natural spectrum light bulbs, using a light box (a flatscreen device that uses full-spectrum fluorescent light) is the most common in treating SAD.

How to get the most out of red light therapy?

To get the most out of red light therapy, applying the correct dose is important. The best way to determine the correct dose is to find doses that have been proven effective for particular conditions in red light therapy studies. (See table 3)

Why is it important to apply light from a distance?

One advantage is that it will apply the dose to a larger area of body tissue, which means more cells will benefit. However, from a farther distance, the cells will receive a smaller dose than from a closer distance, so it may be useful to increase the treatment time when applying the light from a distance.

Is it better to use red light or white light?

When it comes to red light therapy, more isn’t necessarily better. Some studies have shown that applying red light for too long may actually begin to cancel out the benefits. So before you go out and buy the brightest light you can find and shine it on yourself for hours at a time, it’s useful to take a look at what doses scientists have found useful for treating certain conditions.

Is red light therapy safe?

Remember, red light therapy is one of the safest treatments ever developed, so don’ t be afraid to experiment on yourself with various treatment times, treatment sessions, power densities, distances and different parts of your anatomy. Notice how the treatments make you feel and take note.

What is red light therapy?

Summary. Red light therapy, also known as low-level light therapy, is a non-invasive procedure that may help remove fat from targeted areas of your body.

How long does it take for a laser to remove fat cells?

When you attend a laser session, a trained professional, such as a board certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon, will place the laser on each treatment area for 10–40 minutes.

Is red light therapy good for fat removal?

Bottom line. Red light therapy — also known as low-level laser therapy or infrared light — is an emerging non-invasive fat removal treatment. While it may sound too good to be true, proponents of red light therapy claim it has helped remove “stubborn” fat that diet and exercise have failed to get rid of.

Can you lose weight with red light?

Nevertheless, you do not need red light therapy to lose weight.

Do you need red light therapy to lose weight?

Nevertheless, you do not need red light therapy to lose weight. Following a diet comprised of minimally processed foods and adopting a regular exercise regimen can help you achieve the calorie deficit that’s needed for weight loss. Summary.

Does red light help with weight loss?

Red light therapy — or low-level laser therapy (LLLT) — may cause modest weight and fat loss. That said, adopting a healthy diet and exercise regimen may be a more sustainable way of achieving long-term weight loss.

It May Take Up to 4 Months to See Results From Red Light Therapy

It helps to think of red light therapy as exercise for your cells. Much like with weightlifting for your muscles and cardio for your heart and lungs, red light therapy strengthens your cells’ ability to produce energy (how exactly does it do this? This article explains the process in detail).

Consistency Is Your Greatest Ally for Seeing Red Light Therapy Results

To see results, make sure you’re using your device the minimum recommended 3-5 times per week. Sessions should generally be between 10-20 minutes long. While the more frequent the sessions the better (every day is ideal), increasing the length of individual sessions has not been shown to increase efficacy.

Take Steps to Track Your Progress

If you’ll allow us to revisit the gym metaphor, you’ll likely start noticing results based on how your clothes fit, what the scale reads, how many reps you can do, or how long you can last on the treadmill. Even then, you may not notice your progress until there’s a major difference, or until other people start noticing.

What Happens When You Do Achieve the Desired Results?

Your pain is all but gone; your eyesight has improved; your skin is firmer and younger looking: now what? Should you maintain the same schedule? Or can you stop treatments altogether? The answer lies somewhere in the middle.

Red Light Therapy At Home Is Your Best Option for Optimal Effectiveness

The bottom line is that if you don’t see improvements within the first few sessions, or even within the first few weeks, don’t sweat it. This might be easier said than done, however, if you’ve opted for red light therapy treatment in a professional setting.

Mito Red Light - MitoMax

The MitoMax is ranked #1 red light therapy device for its highest grade in light output & cost effectiveness without loss of quality or warranty.

Red Therapy Co - RedRush 720

The RedRush 720 is by Red Therapy Co, based out of Solana Beach, CA, they are relatively new to the red light therapy scene but already receiving great feedback & reviews.

Joovv - Solo

The Joovv Solo by Joovv is probably the most well known in red light therapy, currently they have the widest network of marketing in the red light therapy industry.

Irradiance Power Testing

The different brands all state irradiance power of their devices at 6” in mW/cm2, this is as summarized in the table at the top of the page.

EMF Shielding & EMF Output of Devices

In the above table we report the EMF’s of all devices to be in the negligible range.

Healthy Wave Mat, Far Infrared Therapy & Red Light Therapy

Another product which uses red light therapy are the Healthy Wave mats.

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