Red-light therapy is a new and exciting way to improve your health and well-being. This therapy uses red and near-infrared light to stimulate collagen and elastin production, improve circulation, and reduce inflammation.
Red light therapy can treat your conditions, like wrinkles, acne, scars, and pain. It can also help with hair growth. The best thing is you can use red light therapy at home! And here you can find all about its benefits and techniques.
What Is Red Light Therapy?
Red light therapy is a treatment that uses infrared-spectrum/red light to stimulate the body's natural healing process. It can be used to treat a few medical conditions and skin disorders.
Red-light therapy is not new; it has been used for centuries in traditional medicine. Today it's primarily used for skin enhancements.
The red-light wavelengths concentrate right to the cellular level during the therapy, deep within the body. It boosts ATP, which supplies energy, generated from the breakdown of the food, to every cell in your body.
This boost helps your body to perform a little bit better, which may impact practically every other bodily function.
Effects and Benefits of Red-Light Therapy
Though the western world is skeptical about red-light therapy, there is enough proof that it has health benefits. It's authorized by the FDA for many health issues. Here is how red light helps.
#1. It Improves Blood Circulation and Collagen Synthesis
When light passes through the epidermal and dermal layers of the skin, it improves circulation, which aids in the formation of new capillaries. It also boosts collagen and fibroblast synthesis.
Red therapy light stimulates the body to create more collagen on its own, which boosts collagen levels organically. Collagen makes up around 70% of the protein in our skin, so it's a major thing!
#2. It Helps with Wound Healing
Red therapeutic light activates fibroblasts and improves circulation, allowing speedier wound healing.
With this treatment, burns, amputation injuries, skin transplants, and infected wounds can all be treated. It's been used to treat skin damage induced by cancer therapies, including mouth and mucus membrane damage.
#3. It Helps in Thyroid Treatment
A 2013 research shows that near-infrared and red-light treatment improved thyroid patients. After nine months, 47 percent of the patients didn't require further medication.
Other studies have shown…
- The red light treatment helped 38 percent of patients lower their thyroid medication dose in a 2010 Russian study (17 percent stopped medication completely)
- Red light treatment decreased the requirement for medication by up to 75% in a 2003 trial of postsurgical thyroid patients.
#4. It Helps with Acne, Rosacea, and Eczema Relief
Red light therapy's collagen and ATP-stimulating properties make it a viable treatment option for acne, rosacea, and eczema. It reduces stretch marks and wrinkles. And you may also see new hair growth on your hairline over time.
#5. It Reduces Inflammation
Red light treatment helps reduce inflammation on a cellular level by targeting inflammatory cells: it decreases oxidative stress while concurrently enhancing antioxidant defenses.
#6. It Helps in Hair Loss Treatment
24-week research found that red light therapy improved hair density and thickness, causing no adverse side effects. Participants wore a helmet that radiated red therapeutic light to accomplish this effect.
Can You Really Get the Same Benefits from the Sun?
Many people question whether Red Light Therapy works similarly to sauna treatment or the sun's effects. There is no straight answer for this. Yes, they work the same way, but not used for the same reasons.
People use sauna or sun exposure treatment to increase the overall body temperature. This can be done by just being in an open area during any sunny day, especially in the summer.
However, using infrared exposure is a bit different. It concentrates in one area of your body like joints, head, face, or belly! This provides better benefits in less time and at lower temperatures by heating the body from the inside out.
Also, red light therapy is not intended to enhance sweat or improve cardiovascular function. It affects cells at the cellular level, improving mitochondrial activity and ATP generation. It basically "feeds" your cells to boost their energy levels.
Both have their advantages and disadvantages, depending on what you're trying to achieve.
Red Light Therapy Technique
After seeing the benefits, if you decide to receive the advantages yourself, there is good news. No, I'm not telling you to buy anything from me. In fact, you can forget about all the sophisticated apparatus and intricate technology.
All you need to make your own red-light source are:
- A clamp
- A red-light bulb
- Eye protection (optional)
Infrared light bulbs are readily available online or at your local hardware shop. Some cost as little as $10. Just make sure it's CE approved and emits wavelengths between 600nm and 1000nm.
The whole setup should not cost you more than $30-$40. You can watch this video to see how it's done.
How It's Done?
The person will sit in front of one or more bulbs for 15 minutes every day, after which they can go about their daily routine. Focus on the areas you want to treat. Like:
- To increase hair density, attach the clamp with a bulb near your bed and put your head under it.
- If you want to do acne treatment, just sit at a table and focus the light on your face. In this case, use the eye protection we talked about.
- If you want to heal a wound, just grab the setup on the injury, maintaining little distance.
Yeah, that how simple it is! This is the best way for a session of DIY red light therapy. Check another red-light forum to see more techniques like this.
If you don't like DIYing, Red Light Therapy is also offered by many spas, rheumatologists, and dermatologists. It can cost between $50 and $100 for each session. A doctor may also be able to recommend you to a professional who can help you.
Why Not Give DIY Red Light Therapy a Try?
The best thing about the DIY red light therapy technique is that everyone can do this regardless of income or situation. You need a red bulb and a safe place to plug it in.
Exposure to red light may be beneficial if you have skin issues, emotional disorders, pain, sleeplessness, or accidents.
Besides DIY, portable devices, red light blankets, headgear, handheld wands, and even home saunas are alternatives to this therapy.
Whatever device you choose, you can get your red light treatment at home, on your own time. Nobody should have to suffer needlessly... particularly when the solution to your problem may be as easy as turning on a light bulb!