LED Light Therapy in Aesthetics
Skin has a strange love/hate relationship with the light. Light has the unyielding ability to cause disease and damage but can also have therapeutic benefits. Talk about mixed messaging. Lately, I’ve had a few patients asking what red light actually does. Research shows benefits to the skin even though the nuances of how it actually works aren’t fully understood. Apparently there is still a little mystery left in the world.
Humans fascination with light has been in the works for millenia. Back in 1896 a doctor named Niels Finsen really started experimenting with light as a healing treatment. His interest was spurred by his own experience of dealing with chronic illness and having to stay inside his house. He wondered if he had more exposure to sunlight if it would have an affect on some of his ailments. During this time he did discover that treatments were wave dependent. He went on to win the Nobel Prize in 1903 for his “contribution to the treatment of diseases, especially lupus vulgaris, with concentrated light radiation, whereby he has opened a new avenue for medical science” (Gøtzsche 41).
Fast forward to 1967 and the development of the first low level laser therapy by Endre Mester by accident while he was trying to reproduce an experiment by another scientist. He found low-level laser light stimulated hair growth and promoted better wound healing in rats.
Since those early development days it was found that true coherent laser light wasn’t actually needed. (Cue the development of modern LEDs.)
NASA experiments further propelled the investigation of the LEDs effectiveness while conducting experiments for boosting plant growth in space and subsequently found that skin wounds on the scientists involved also healed faster. When scientists used LEDs in conjunction with hyperbaric oxygen to promote wound healing the results were definitely compelling. “LED produced improvement of greater than 40% in musculoskeletal training injuries in Navy SEAL team members, and decreased wound healing time in crew members aboard a U.S. Naval submarine. LED produced a 47% reduction in pain of children suffering from oral mucositis” (Whelan 2001).
In the skincare world, LEDs are mostly used to kill bacteria that can cause acne, reduce inflammation, and stimulate collagen production. I’ve read a lot of LED and near infrared light studies, a lot more than just the ones cited here, in the hope that one would break down how the light does all of these amazing magical things. The closest thing I found was a broad comment on how the light is absorbed by the cell’s mitochondria, stimulating some biological responses that result in the good stuff we eventually see on the skin’s surface. You can nerd out and read this great paper on some of the minutiae of the chemical processes that happen. Long story short, it’s not fully understood yet.
To glean the benefits of this light it has to be within a certain nanometer wavelength and a select amount of energy. All of the studies mentioned above had a range of parameters. One said 633 nm and 830 nm were the most effective for activating fibroblasts that reduce wrinkles and increase skin elasticity while another said 632 nm was ideal for wound healing. The NuFace device that we sell at Aesthetics by Design has a LED attachment that contains a spectrum of beneficial wavelengths. It has 22 red lights from 628-642 nm, 10 amber 605 nm lights, and 4 infrared lights at 850 nm to help target fine lines and wrinkles.
LED therapy has a wide range of therapeutic benefits across several fields of medicine especially in dermatology and aesthetics. Even though the exact mechanisms of action for these benefits may not be totally understood yet, this modality has proven to be safe and effective when used regularly. Like most things in aesthetics, consistency is pivotal in getting the best results. LED is a great tool in addition to whatever else you’re doing to have the healthiest, most youthful possible.
Avci, Pinar et al. “Low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) in skin: stimulating, healing, restoring.” Seminars in cutaneous medicine and surgery vol. 32,1 (2013): 41-52.
Cotler, Howard B. “A NASA discovery has current applications in orthopaedics.” Current orthopaedic practice vol. 26,1 (2015): 72-74. doi:10.1097/BCO.0000000000000196
Gøtzsche, PC. “Niels Finsen’s Treatment for Lupus Vulgaris.” Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, vol. 104, no. 1, Jan. 2011, pp. 41–42, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3014565/, 10.1258/jrsm.2010.10k066. Accessed 23 Nov. 2019.
Holick, Michael F. “Biological Effects of Sunlight, Ultraviolet Radiation, Visible Light, Infrared Radiation and Vitamin D for Health.” Anticancer Research, vol. 36, no. 3, 1 Mar. 2016, pp. 1345–1356, ar.iiarjournals.org/content/36/3/1345.long.
Lee, Seung Yoon, et al. “A Prospective, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blinded, and Split-face CLinical Study on LED Phototherapy for SKin rejuvenation: Clinical, Profilometric, Histologic, Ultrastructural, and Biochemical
Evaluations and Comparison of Three Different Treatment Settings.” Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology, vol. 88, no. 1, July 2007, pp. 51-67, 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2007.04.008.
Nguyen, Julie K. “Light Emitting Diode Phototherapy for Skin Aging.” JDDonline - Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 11 Mar. 2020, jddonline.com/articles/light-emitting-diode-phototherapy-for-skin-aging-S1545961620P0359X/. Accessed 23 June 2022.
Whelan, H T et al. “Effect of NASA light-emitting diode irradiation on wound healing.” Journal of clinical laser medicine & surgery vol. 19,6 (2001): 305-14. doi:10.1089/104454701753342758