Red light therapy treats skin, dental, and inflammatory conditions
Red light therapy uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to treat medical and cosmetic conditions. Body protections
A red light therapy device sends low-intensity red and near-infrared light deep into the body’s cells to promote healing. Red light therapy is noninvasive, painless, and does not use heat.
This article will cover how red light therapy works, what it’s used for, what the evidence says about its potential benefits, the possible side effects and risks, and how much red light therapy treatment costs.
Red light therapy uses low-power red light to activate the cell’s energy generators (mitochondria). Most of the energy made by the mitochondria is housed in a molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which helps your body store and use energy.
Aging, illness, or lifestyle factors can make the mitochondria produce less ATP. Red light therapy triggers a reaction that helps reverse the decline.
People who support red light therapy claim that the treatment will help repair tissue as well as relieve pain and inflammation.
Hungarian physician and professor Endre Mester first used low-level laser therapy in 1967 while studying how cancer cells react to radiation exposure.
For his mouse studies, he would shave the mice before doing surgery. While it wasn’t the goal of his research, he noticed that the mice who had gotten laser therapy at the site of the surgery had their hair grow back faster and their wounds heal quicker than the other mice who hadn’t had laser exposure.
In the early 1970s, he started using the therapy to treat patients with skin ulcers that would not heal.
Red light therapy uses light in the red or near-infrared region because this wavelength range is the best at getting through tissue. It is also more easily absorbed by the parts of cells that capture light energy.
Research evidence supporting red light therapy is limited by small sample sizes, animal subjects or in vitro studies (using a test tube or petri dish in a lab instead of humans), and inconsistent standards. However, more studies are being done to explore the possible benefits of red light therapy.
Red light has been used for a variety of reasons, including in the treatment of skin, dental, and inflammatory conditions.
Red light therapy goes by several names, including:
Red light therapy can also be part of photodynamic therapy in which it activates an agent to help the skin absorb more light.
Red light therapy is a popular option for treating redness, scars, acne, and wrinkles.
The potential for skin health benefits is said to be because of how the light affects collagen production and blood circulation in skin tissue.
Dental professionals may use red light therapy to help with different oral health conditions.
The treatment can reduce pain, inflammation, and ulcers. It may also help keep unhealthy oral microbes in check.
The following treatments make use of red light therapy for oral health:
Red or near-infrared light encourages cells to make antioxidants faster and lower inflammatory markers. Soft laser therapy can increase circulation to help relieve inflammatory conditions without drugs or surgery, including:
Red light therapy is said to support the body's natural healing process. Other conditions that red light therapy might help include:
While people commonly use red light therapy to treat other conditions, there is not enough research evidence to suggest there are benefits.
Red light therapy might have some benefits, but it’s not right for everyone and may not work for everyone, depending on what condition they’re trying to treat.
If you want to try red light therapy, you also need to think about the possible risks of the treatment.
There are some potential benefits of trying red light therapy:
Before you try red light therapy you should learn about the possible side effects and risks.
Human studies on red light therapy had small sample sizes, so more research is needed to confirm the safety and effectiveness of the treatment for most people.
Your healthcare provider or therapist can suggest other nonmedical treatments to manage your condition. Alternatives to red light therapy include:
Red light therapy can be done at provider’s offices and places that focus on wellness, like spas, beauty salons, tanning salons, and gyms.
Where you should go for red light therapy depends on what you’re using it to treat. For example, if you want to use it for signs of aging you might be able to have it done at a wellness center. However, red light therapy for something like severe acne may need to be done at a dermatologist’s office.
You can do red light therapy at home, but the devices you can get to use at home are not as powerful as the treatment you could get at a provider’s office or spa.
The quality of at-home red light devices varies, and some of them may not produce the benefits you expect.
Whether you’re looking to buy a red light therapy device for at-home use or are going somewhere to have red light therapy, make sure that the devices have been “cleared” by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The process the FDA uses for products like LED lights gets “clearance” rather than “approval,” so look for the word “cleared” rather than “approved.”
Red light therapy can cost $25 to $200 or more per session. The price depends on the location and type of service.
Keep in mind that red light treatments are needed about every three weeks and may need to continue for months, so it can be a big investment.
At-home red light therapy devices range from $149 to thousands of dollars.
Most insurance policies do not cover red light therapy. If a provider’s office (like dermatologists) offers the service, it may not be covered by your health insurance and you may have to pay out of pocket like you would at a spa or wellness center.
Your insurance provider can provide guidance on cost and the benefits that are available with your plan.
Red light therapy can be an affordable, nonmedical method for improving many conditions that may not respond to conventional treatments alone. It's safe for most people, but more research is needed to show it is truly effective.
If you're exploring treatment options, you might want to ask your provider about trying red light therapy. Compared to other options, it might be easier and more affordable—you might even be able to do it at home.
Before you try red light therapy, make sure you have reasonable expectations about the results and benefits you could get, as well as the possible risks and side effects.
There is little evidence of potential for weight loss with red light therapy. Most research focuses on weight circumference reductions. Limited studies suggest that this treatment may cause fat cells to shrink, but these studies may be biased since they were funded by device manufacturers.
Red light can deliver light particles to the brain that stimulate mitochondria there. This may encourage blood flow and help lower inflammation in the brain. It can also help the brain create new nerve cells.
Evidence is scarce that red light therapy may help reduce spider veins when used as part of photodynamic therapy.
Currently, it is not known how often you can use red light therapy for specific conditions. Everyday use may be safe in some cases, though. Ask your healthcare provider about the best frequency for you.
Red light exposure can help increase collagen production. In a 2014 study, participants had more collagen density after treatment. Research states that cells involved with collagen production can be stimulated with the wavelengths the red light provides.
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