How Red-Light Therapy Is An Anti-Aging Secret Weapon
Every year, billions of dollars are spent on anti-aging products. Unfortunately, many of these products and treatments do not work because most of the ingredients of anti-aging products cannot penetrate the skin’s outermost layer.
Procedures such as dermal fillers, botox, and dermabrasion are more effective, but many have significant drawbacks, being invasive, painful, and expensive. Also, most topical products like lotions and creams that claim to have anti-aging benefits only work on the surface level.
On the other hand, red light therapy devices provide youthful skin benefits on the cellular level. It enhances skin health from the inside out by stimulating your body with red and NIR wavelengths. RLT works by delivering safe, concentrated wavelengths of natural light to your skin, with no chemicals, UV rays, or excess heat.
These wavelengths of natural light stimulate the mitochondria in your cells, reducing oxidative stress and increasing circulation, so your body is able to make more ATP energy. Red light therapy is generally affordable, completely safe, painless, and most importantly—effective.
A Brief Introduction to Red Light Therapy
Red light therapy (RLT), also known as photobiomodulation (PMB) and low-level light therapy (LLLT), is an innovative biohacking technique that uses red and near-infrared light to supercharge your cells and, as a result, boost overall health and wellness.
The term “red light” includes wavelengths of red and near-infrared (NIR) light. It is the most popular and most widely studied form of light treatment, due to its broad range of effects. The main difference between them is that NIR wavelengths are longer and penetrate much deeper into the skin than red light.
When red and NIR light is absorbed into the skin, it affects the body’s cellular health, improving an individual’s health and longevity from the cellular level.
Red light therapy works by shining red and/or NIR light onto an area of the body. When the body is exposed to red light, the light wavelengths stimulate the mitochondria to produce more ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP is a molecule that produces the energy our body needs to function so that it can heal tissue, cells, and systems.
The most fundamental and far-reaching benefit of red light is increased cellular energy. It’s the start of a positive chain reaction that starts with increased cellular function and ends with improved systemic function.
There is a lot more science to explain this, but the short and simple version is that: our cells work better when the mitochondria within those cells are producing more energy.
More than 4000 studies and scientific reviews have been conducted to investigate the physiological effects of red light therapy. The main benefits include collagen production, repair and recovery of muscles, and relief from symptoms of illnesses that stem from some type of inflammatory response.
Focusing on skin benefits, red light therapy improves skin health and appearance by helping your cells rejuvenate and heal. Studies have also found an increase in circulation after a session, which indicate that tissues are receiving more oxygen and other nutrients important for healing. RLT also has a proven anti-inflammatory effect and can boost your own natural collagen levels.
When you incorporate red-light therapy into your life, along with other aspects of a healthy lifestyle such as circadian rhythm optimization, a nutritious diet, proper sleep, exercise, and stress reduction, you can keep your cellular energy production and your immune system working at an optimal level. This will help your body to respond more effectively to viral and bacterial threats.
How Red Light Therapy Can Help Reduce Signs of Aging
Red light therapy is not a quick fix that only treats the surface layers of the skin. While it does promote skin health, more importantly, it stimulates the start of several biological processes and treats the underlying conditions that accelerate aging.
Wrinkles and Fine Lines
Red light improves the appearance of skin that has been damaged or aged by the UV light (from the sun), which breaks down the collagen and elastin fibers that make the skin toned.
Red light therapy has the potential to increase collagen production in the skin, which lifts and tightens loose skin, reducing wrinkles.
Other than collagen benefits, red light therapy also improves blood circulation and aids in both the production of fibroblasts and the development of new capillaries. Through these, red light can give you a smoother skin tone, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, repair sun-damaged skin, lighten and fade stretch marks, reduce the appearance of scars, and heal acne and other skin conditions.
In another 2013 study, a group of 136 people aged 27 to 79 received red light therapy twice a week for 15 weeks. At the end of the period, those treated with red light therapy reported significantly improved skin complexion, including a visible reduction in wrinkles, fine lines, and signs of aging.
A study in 2013 conducted red light therapy on women aged 30 to 55. After six weeks of treatment, the participants saw significantly reduced wrinkles around their eyes. The researchers concluded that RLT“had positive effects on wrinkle and moisture content of adult women’s faces.
Mitochondrial Dysfunction
Red light can reverse a condition called mitochondrial dysfunction, which is the root cause of rapid aging. Mitochondrial dysfunction occurs when the mitochondria, the energy producers of the cells, are unable to convert raw materials into energy.
This condition has been flagged as a leading contributor to many chronic conditions, including neurodegenerative disorders and rapid skin aging since energy-depleted cells are unable to perform their functions and become more vulnerable to viruses and bacteria.
Mitochondrial dysfunction may be caused by several factors, such as inflammation, genetic abnormalities, chronic stress, poor diet disease, or environmental factors such as certain drugs and cigarette smoke.
Deep penetrating red light therapy restores normal mitochondrial functioning by stimulating the production of a cellular fuel called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). More fuel energizes the cells so they can perform their specialized functions, repair themselves, and replicate.
Telomere Length
Cellular senescence (the cell’s inability to progress through the cell cycle) is a normal process that happens as we age. The reason that cellular senescence occurs is due to our telomeres shortening over time. Each time cells divide for growth or tissue repair telomere length reduces.
When it reaches zero the cells can no longer divide and die. But there are other causes as well. Stress, chronic disease, infection, and inflammation all contribute to telomere shortening.
Red light therapy, in conjunction with maintaining a healthy lifestyle, will delay telomere shortening and potentially help them regrow.
Genomic Instability
Genome instability is caused by defects in certain processes that control the way cells divide. It is a characteristic of most types of cancer. These defects may include mutations in certain genes involved in repairing damaged DNA or mistakes that don’t get corrected when DNA is copied in a cell.
Red light therapy can help genomes have less damage, which increases genome quality, reproducibility, and viable yield.
How To Use Red Light Therapy in Your Anti-Aging Routine
Thanks to LED technology, you can achieve younger-looking skin from the comfort of your own home.
The key to success is consistency and patience. It’s important to remember that red light therapy is not a quick fix. In contrast, it is an inside-out approach that treats the root cause of aging skin, such as chronic inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction.
Skin cells take about a month to regenerate and they don’t all regenerate at once. Plus, collagen and elastin proteins need time to form and strengthen the support structure of the skin. You should think of red light therapy as a long-term but highly effective treatment. You can expect to see results after around 1-4 months of consistent use.
There is no hard and fast rule for the duration of sessions. For some, 5 minutes is enough, while others may need longer sessions. As a rule of thumb, 10 minutes per day is a good amount of time to treat skin issues.
As to the frequency, red light therapy is safe to use every day. In fact, many people like to incorporate it into their daily routine. For the best results, we recommend having 3 sessions per week.
If you’re ready to make red light therapy a part of your anti-aging routine, check out our high-quality red light devices!
Sample Application: How to Use RLT to Minimize Wrinkles and Fine Lines
Device to use
Our RED LIGHT PANEL is the ideal device to use, because of its size and coverage area. Shop RED LIGHT PANEL and our other RLT devices here.
Duration
20 minutes is the optimal duration
Distance
We recommend positioning the device 6 inches away from your face.
Wavelength:
For optimal results, we recommend 660nm and 850nm (red light).
