LED Light Therapy might sound like some new fad that doesn’t actually work, but it’s actually pretty awesome and first came around in the 90s. Just what millennials need, another thing to brag about (it’s me, I’m a millennial and totally willing to claim cool stuff). Light therapy was actually first used by NASA to help with wound healing in astronauts! Say what? Yup. Totally rad beginnings. So how did it go from helping astronauts to being a skincare staple?
What is LED light therapy?
After seeing that LED light could be used to stimulate cell and tissue growth, it wasn’t too far of a reach to see that it could be used to aid in skincare. Estheticians will combine light therapy typically with other skincare treatments like facials and use an LED device placed over the face (don’t worry, you’ll wear goggles for your eyes) that emits light (typically either red or blue light, but sometimes yellow light is used as well).
Benefits of LED light therapy
Because LED light has been shown to jump start certain cell and tissue growth, collagen, cough cough, the benefits can be great! LED light therapy has been known to help with anti-aging and with a myriad of skincare troubles including:
- Inflammation
- Fine lines
- Wrinkles
- Acne
- Dermatitis
- Eczema
- Psoriasis
- Rosacea
- Sun damage
- Scarring
You definitely had me at the anti-aging help. LED light therapy can leave the skin glowing and radiant, with a youthful, firmer appearance so we are all for it at 614 Beauty. We offer LED light therapy as part of most of our facials because the effects are amazing! Light therapy can be done at home, but the power of an esthetician’s machine is usually preferable as they tend to work more efficiently and have better lasting results. This type of therapy can be done weekly at first and then monthly maintenance from then on.
Different Types of Light Therapy
Most estheticians will use either red or blue LED light therapy depending on the target problem of the skin. Neither of these contain any harmful UV rays so they are safe to use on the skin without causing any damage.
Red light penetrates to the epidermis (outermost skincare layer) causing the stimulation of collagen proteins. Collagen is the holy grail of anti-aging (as you probably know) because our body’s ability to produce naturally occurring collagen decreases as we age and collagen is responsible for youthful, smooth looking skin. So put on the red light.
Blue light therapy targets a different area of the skin and penetrates deeper than red light. It targets the oil glands to dry out acne-prone skin. Blue light reduces the acne-causing bacteria and has also been linked to reducing the activity of the sebaceous glands reducing the amount of breakouts.
Yellow light therapy doesn’t always pop up in your run of the mill facials, but its properties are just as useful for skin healing. Its anti-inflammatory properties are used mainly to reduce swelling or redness caused by sunburns and photoaging or to help lighten hyperpigmentation. Yellow light therapy is also used in post-laser treatments to reduce the erythema (redness) in the skin.
By Sadie Young