Dr. Sam Ellis
Dermatologist Explains Red Light Therapy at Home: Worth it for Anti-Aging? Best Devices?
Are red light therapy devices worth it or are they just a gimmick? As a dermatologist, I get these questions all the time, so I share my thoughts on red light therapy in this video. Watch this video to find out what red light therapy does, the anti-aging benefits, the best devices to try, and more.
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro
00:25 How Light Affects Skin
01:30 Benefits
02:42 At-Home Devices
03:05 What to Look For
06:34 Melasma
07:02 Eye Safety
07:24 When to Use it
07:48 Why it's Worth it
09:25 Favorite Devices
11:38 Subscribe!
IMAGE CREDITS:
What is blue light from Digital Devices? is it harmful for eyes? Eyesafe. (2022, November 2). Retrieved January 2, 2023, from https://eyesafe.com/bluelight/
GST-IR. (n.d.). Basic Concepts about Infrared Thermal Imaging. Basic concepts about infrared thermal imaging. Retrieved January 2, 2023, from https://www.gst-ir.net/news-events/popular-science/57.html
DISCLAIMER: The information in this video is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician. Some of the links in this description may be affiliate links (marked with *). Affiliate links help support my YouTube channel so I can continue to create fun, informational skincare videos for you. Also, some products may have been received as PR. Thanks for watching!
should you invest in an atome red light therapy device what do they even do today we're going to talk about [Music] them if you're new here welcome I'm Dr Sam Ellis and I'm a board certified medical and cosmetic dermatologist in Northern California I'm here to help you understand your skin and find products that work for you so if that sounds good give this video a thumbs up and don't forget subscribe to the channel when it comes to at home red light therapy devices I feel like they've gained a lot of momentum or they've also gained like really good marketing Traction in the past few years but they also tend to be quite the investment so I think it's reasonable that you all asked me to talk about red light devices because if you're going to make the investment you kind of want to be sure that it's actually going to do the thing you expect it to whether you recognize it or not you already understand light's ability to affect biological processes and biological structures within the skin because how many times have you heard a dermatologists tell you to limit your UV light or ultraviolet light exposure and that's because we know ultrai light can exert some negative effects on the skin like damaging cellular DNA and breaking down structural proteins that support the skin but ultraviolet light is very different than red light it has a shorter wavelength and sits on a different part of the electromagnetic spectrum while ultraviolet light is quite damaging for skin red light and near infrared light so the wavelengths of light that sit next to red light on the electromagnetic spectrum are known to be quite regenerative for the skin and have some really positive effects red light was initially sort of touted for its ability to accelerate wound healing feeling but in recognizing that ability of red light they also noticed that it helped reduce redness and inflammation and really help with skin Rejuvenation overall by reducing fine lines and wrinkles improving elasticity and just evening out the overall tone of the skin this process of red light and near infrared light inducing these positive effects on the skin is known as photobiomodulation with photobiomodulation you essentially have a little packet of red light or near infrared light called a photon interacting with a cell within your skin and causing that cell to create some type of chemical change that alters how it functions depending on which cell within your skin is affected it might proliferate better it may be induced to repair some type of damage that it has or it may just function better and produce new proteins like collagen and elastin which is great for skin Rejuvenation and because of all these amazing positive effects of red light and near infrared light these devices have been used in dermatology offices and plastic surgery offices and wound healing centers for quite some time in order to make the skin behave in more optimal way but of course then that creates this market for having at home red light therapy devices where people don't have to go in the office to get sort of the same effects and believe then the question is raised are these atome devices still therapeutic enough to be worth it I definitely think there are some atome red light therapy devices that can induce some really positive changes within the skin but of course not all red light devices are created equal or are engineered the same way so I'm going to review some of the specifications that I look for in an atome red light therapy device to help me kind of understand whether or not it has a high likelihood of being effective for me so number one you want to look at the wavelength of light being emitted by your at home device so red light and near infrared light sort of exist in a range on the electromagnetic spectrum it's not just one specific wave length of light however when it comes to how effective that light really is in inducing that photo biomodulatory change we know that there are two wavelengths of light that are most specific and helpful and that's 630 3 nanm for red light and 830 nanm for infrared light that means when I'm looking for an atome device I want it to specifically say that it emits 633 NM light and 830 NM light and it doesn't give me this broad range of red and near infrared light because that lack of specificity may also mean a lack of efficacy generally higher quality LEDs or light emitting diodes which is the light source for these at home devices tend to be more precise but also tend to be a little bit more expensive which which is why some of these more touted devices that have more proven efficacy also tend to cost a bit more in addition to precise wavelength another thing you want to look for in an at home red light therapy device is its IR Radiance which essentially is the intensity of that device this is usually measured in mwatt per cm squared and essentially means how much energy is hitting 1 square cm of your skin per second and the reason the radiance or the intensity of the light is so important is because even if you're using the correct wavelength of light you need enough of that light hitting the target tissue quickly enough to induce the biological response that you're seeking now the optimal clinical irradiance sort of has a big range depending on what studies you looking at but somewhere between 40 m per cenm squar and 100 Ms per cenim squar is thought to be ideal this is not just based on how many bulbs are in your at home device but also how much light each bulb is actually emitting so it's not really enough to just like count the bulbs and compare two masks head to head I would argue that you should either ask the company for the irradiance or look for the irradiance in the published data about the device that you're getting to make sure that you're in that range or close to it if a company is unwilling to share or publish data on the irradiance of its device I kind of take that as a red flag I think that is a key parameter you need to look at and if it's not available to you then you really don't know what you're getting and then the final thing I really look for in an at home red light therapy device is how frequently you need to use it and how long you need to use it for in my mind that is the dose of light that you're getting if the intensity or the irradiance of an atome therapy device is higher then the treatment time is usually less the other thing that's important to note is how close the bulbs sit to your face that all kind of goes into the calculation of how intense and how high of a dose you're getting of red light so for me the kind of Ideal atome red light therapy device is going to list specific wavelengths of light that it's emitting 633 NM and 830 NM and it's going to have an Radiance that is comparable to what has been shown to be clinically effective so somewhere near 40 would be ideal also just from a practicality standpoint I cannot use an at home device that requires me to have it on for 30 minutes or an hour a day it needs to be something that is actually able to be fit into my lifestyle and if it's in the form of a mask which most of these at home devices are I need that mask to be comfortable and I need the mask to actually cover my entire facial skin or all the skin that I'm trying to treat I'd also like that device to sort of be portable if possible I have a little kid and I need to be able to get up and move and so I don't necessarily want to be plugged into a wall or stuck there during my treatment a couple other things I'll mention because it often comes up when I talk about using LED light at home for myself is one does it make malasma worse and no it should not highquality LED devices should not emit heat like at all it should not really feel warm on your face and it's really the heat of a red light device that would make me concerned about exacerbating malasma and I want to be totally clear we're talking about red light there are blue light LED masks that have the potential to exacerbate hyper pigmentation in some individuals another question that often comes up is is this okay for my eyes like can I have my eyes open when I'm using an at home red light therapy device most of the manufacturers will put on their packaging whether or not it's considered safe for your eyes I personally like to have my eyes closed I don't wear goggles but I use it as a time to relax and I just sort of lay back also I kind of want it to help the skin on the top of my eyelid so I think it works better if your eyes are closed another question I get asked a lot is well how does this fit into your skincare routine and I really use this on clean dry skin exclusively so if I'm doing it in the evening which is usually when I'm doing it I will shower and then after the shower I'll do my red light and then I'll go in and put all my serums and products on or if I'm not showering that night I will wash my face and then after I wash my face I will do my red light exposure and then I will go in and finish my skincare routine now deciding whether or not red light therapy is really worth it to you can be a tricky question to answer and I can't answer that for you but I can tell you why it's worth it for me so one I have rosacea and as part of my rosacea I sort of have this lowgrade chronic inflammation of my skin and I really find that when I use red light it helps reduce my redness and also makes my skin feel better and I didn't really realize that until I tried red light we have red light at my office that I got after a hydrofacial and it made my redness calm down so quickly I was like oh I need to get red light in my life more consistently the other thing is I already do a lot to improve the quality of my skin I really punished my skin when I was younger and I spent so much time Outdoors not protected from the Sun and so I use sunscreen now I try to avoid midday Sun I use a topical retinoid to reverse some of the signs of photoaging I do in-office procedures micro needling lasers Botox fillers all the things but red light comes at my skin from a totally different biological angle and there's really nothing in my routine right now that does the same thing that red light does and so to me it's just an added bonus and I'm a dermatologist so I'm kind of going to do it all I actually became motivated to use red light during my pregnanc when you're pregnant so many things are off limits you can't use your retinoid I couldn't do my Botox I wasn't doing any laser procedures and I was like ah like and also like your skin just goes crazy during pregnancy and so bringing red light into my routine felt like I was able to do something really positive for my skin now if you're thinking about using red light during your pregnancy it's something you should talk with your OBGYN about but mine was fine with it and as a dermatologist I felt very comfortable introducing it to my routine the red light device that I personally use is the omnilux Contour face mask it looks like this it is super creepy if you have it on and all the lights in your house are off so I've definitely scared my husband on more than one occasion but when I was looking into what red light therapy mask I wanted to bring into my routine I did quite a bit of research looking at all the parameters that I discussed with you earlier in this video and this sort of checked all the boxes for me and was at the right price point now is this a cheap mask certainly not it's several hundred so still definitely an investment but there were other devices in the Thousand multi thousand range that didn't offer much extra for me and then there were a lot of Cheaper devices that didn't really have specific parameters either on their wavelength or the radiance that they used and so I decided not to go with those either for this specific mask when you start using it use it for 10 minutes at a time 3 to five times a week for four to 6 weeks and then you go into sort of a maintenance mode I've just continued to use it basically every other day and that has worked really well for me aside from helping with my redness and sort of the general uncomfortableness of my skin when my rosacea is flaring I've also found that that it's helped with the fine lines up around my eyes and also the fine lines around my mouth so when I make this face which is this is embarrassing to admit but it causes this like ripple effect in my skin that I really disliked for a long time and that is so much better since starting red light therapy so just to give you a sense this is what the mask looks like it's totally portable you can charge this and then turns on like that there are two straps which I like because it really helps hold all of the LEDs really close to your face I also have the neck and chest version of this mask and I use it for the same reasons obviously I don't have rosacea on my neck and my chest but I do want sort of all of the anti-aging effects I can get from this and it just wraps around like so so in the evening I put on this and my face mask and I just look super hot also I think subconsciously I noted that omnilux was sort of a Pioneer when it came to red light therapy and they are who create a lot of the in office devices that we use and so I felt more confident in using one of their at home devices this is not a sponsored video at all there are definitely other red light therapy masks that are effective and have good specs but I haven't personally tried them and it's very hard for me to recommend something that I haven't personally used if you have additional questions about red light therapy definitely put it in the question box below I want to make sure that all of your questions are answered also if you like me to do a video where I compare different red light devices I'd be happy to do that for you would you invest in a red light therapy device share in the comments no judgment either way I am genuinely curious thank you so much for being here don't forget to like this video And subscribe to the channel and I will see see you next time [Music]
#Dermatologist #Explains #Red #Light #Therapy #Home #Worth #AntiAging #Devices
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Wouldn’t a serum engineered for red light pre treatment significantly boost results? Especially with peptides and a penetration enhancer?
What if the numbers you have are a little bit higher for the red light one I am looking at?
Is that bad?
What do you think of CurrentBody brand.
Get Jack Harlow into it
I have a mask but also a full body mat. I do both together in the morning while drinking my coffee
I would love to see an updated video of this since there are more of them on the market now. Omnilux, Qure, Current Body etc.
Does it help veiny undereyes and venous pool plus thin skin?
hi just watched video. i know it was a couple years ago. do you still recommend the Omnilux mask? i want to use this for acne, red spots and scaring on my nose mostly. will this mask help with that and will it make my nose more red or will it reduce it? thanks
I'm newer to red light therapy and I have the exact same mask which makes me feel alot more at ease now that I know that is what you use. Thank you for all of the in depth information I really appreciate it.
I'm guessing that red light therapy would also help the back of the hands. I'm 75 and my hands look it! Young people, don't forget to use sunscreen on your hands – they get a lot of sun exposure. If I had done that in my youth, maybe my hands would not look so old and wrinkled now.
What about people with melasma?
Pro tip: if you have the neck/chest version, use it on your hands and arms as well!
F this over priced BS eat healthy, exercise and get a script for lactic acid topical ointment
Excellent, in-depth analysis.
Do they help with puffy under eyes?
Thank you for the video. What are your thoughts on CurrentBody red light therapy?
I just bought a JOVS laser mask. It's very strong, 143mW cm2. Dr Rajani says that stronger masks can cause hyperpigmentation, so now I'm afraid to use it. Your thoughts?
I’ve been using a red light mask by Luvisti… and I’m obsessed. It’s made my cheeks fuller and skin tone even. My under-eye area looks awake and healthy.
Hello Dr. Ellis, great video, thanks for posting it. Question for you please if you have a minute. Will one of these masks help remove a red spot from your nose which may be rosacea, or senile purpura or cherry angiomas? If so what setting should a person use, just the red light, or just the infrared, or a combo possibly? Thanks
I have a red light mask… truly amazing. My pores are smaller. My skin looks tighter and more lifted. Especially around my jawline… so defined now.
Can yoy use the red light mask on top of serums?
On darker tone skin I heard that only use near infrared not the red light. Confused
Love your videos!! Thank you for posting this. I purchased the foreo device because it has seven colors. I’m hoping to target PIH, acne and inflammation and hyper pigmentation. Do you think that those other colors matter? Or does red light do it all?
Thank you Dr ❤
Really loved your video – in-depth and informative! Would you consider doing a red light mask comparison next? Curious how newer ones like Shark, CurrentBody, and Ulike stack up. It’d really help me decide what to buy.
What do you think of the JOVS 4D Laser Mask?
Thank you for the great video, this is the explanation that I needed 🙂 I have a question about what products are safe to use with red light? I have very sensitive skin and I need to apply at least a tone for a serum after cleaning my face, otherwise I feel tightness and discomfort. is HA serum ok?
yes, I would get 1. Thanks for the information.
My Omnilux died in 3 years. They are not going to service it to see what’s wrong. All they offer is $100 off. I thought this was an investment but it’s not worth it if the life of the machine is so short
What do you think about EMS treatment?
I have psoriatic arthritis per my rheumatologist. My dermatologist says I have only dry skin, but I have the scaly white patches on my face always the same area plus in my scalp a little bit where I park my hair, hoping red light therapy would work had an outbreak on my stomach and it did clear it up many years ago. What are your thoughts on this product for psoriasis? Thank you.
can we use red guarden led light 7 watt?
Can i use this mask for reduce melasma?
bought $50 mask and works great, dont fall for the BS marketing trying to sell cheap Chinese LEDs for $1000
Hi Dr. Ellis,
I was curious; is it okay to use a red light hair therapy treatment in tandem with a light, (red, blue, or purple), therapy face mask too?
I use one and it has definitely yielded results which is why I'm also considering an at-home light therapy mask.
I was wondering about overlap as well because I use a red light hair band 3 times a week and I just wonder about the parts of my upper forehead where light treatment might overlap and lead to over exposure, and would that be a potential problem?
Thank you so much for any opinion you might have, Dr. Ellis! 🙏