Red Light Therapy
Red light therapy is back and better than ever!
Red light therapy, a tried and true treatment has been around for decades, yet now it’s named one of the hottest treatments of 2025. Could this be the fountain of youth your skin has been searching for?
Imagine a treatment that addresses all your skin woes in one! Aging, sun damage, acne, and pain. Red light therapy works by boosting collagen, soothing inflammation, and even boosting your seasonal mood. Today we are digging into why estheticians and skin care professionals have been raving about this treatment for years. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know, which treatment is best for you, and why you must try it!
What Is Red Light Therapy
Red light therapy (RLT) is a non-invasive treatment using low levels of red light to stimulate the body’s response system. The Benefits? Fights wrinkles, stimulates collagen, brightens the skin, heals sun damage, reduces inflammation, relieves pain, and repairs muscle tissue.
In 2013 a study published by PubMed, researchers found that “Although the skin is the organ that is naturally exposed to light more than any other organ, it still responds well to red and near-infrared wavelengths. The photons are absorbed by mitochondrial chromophores in skin cells. Consequently, electron transport, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) nitric oxide release, blood flow, reactive oxygen species increase, and diverse signaling pathways get activated. Stem cells can be activated allowing increased tissue repair and healing. In dermatology, LLLT has beneficial effects on wrinkles, acne scars, hypertrophic scars, and healing of burns.”
Who Does Red Light Therapy
Estheticians, Dermatologists, and Medical Spas offer this service. While there are now more options, such as at-home devices in the form of panels or masks, professional treatments offer deeper penetration and enhanced results especially when paired with at-home devices. Click here to learn more about red light treatments offered at Skin Deep Esthetics.
Is Red Light Therapy Safe?
Yes! Red light therapy does not contain UV light, which means it cannot burn the skin or cause harm. This treatment is FDA-approved and safe for regular use. Potential side effects are rare but can include temporary redness or warmth in the treated area, mild skin sensitivity, or sensitivity to sunlight.
Is Red Light Therapy For You?
If you are suffering from aging, sun damage, uneven skin tone, acne, acne scarring, pain, or inflammation – this treatment is a game-changer.
How Does Red Light Therapy Work?
Red light therapy stimulates mitochondria cells, which create cellular energy. A blog post by Celluma regarding mitochondria: “Our mitochondria can be imagined as the power plant of the cell. Day in and day out, they diligently produce the energy essential for life.” Mitochondria are the life force of our cells. Without healthy mitochondria, our skin cells begin to break down. Red light therapy also strengthens our fibroblast cells, responsible for collagen and elastin, keeping our skin youthful. When you come in for your treatment, you only have to lie down and relax under a panel of red lights!
Best Time Of The Day To Do This Treatment
We recommend doing this treatment in the morning or during the day. Some people feel energized after doing red light therapy because of the effects on the mitochondria and how it energizes our cells. This can increase energy in some people and cause sleep difficulties. However, if you don’t feel the energy boost from this treatment and it relaxes you (like it does me), you can do it at night in bed to help you improve your sleep quality.
Doing this treatment regularly in the winter months can improve your mood, especially in our Chicago winters where we barely see the sun and can feel depressed. Red light therapy increases our mood!
Infrared vs. Red Light Therapy
The main difference between infrared and red light is the wavelength of penetration.
🚨 Red light: (630-700 nanometers) – Penetrates the dermis and stimulates fibroblast cells, collagen, and elastin stimulation for aging benefits.
🚨Infrared light: (700-1000 nanometers) – Penetrates beyond the dermis into the subcutaneous fat layer, targeting pain and muscle recovery.
There are variations of infrared light: near and far infrared light
🚨 Near-Infrared Light: Penetrates the subcutaneous layer of the skin, meaning it aids in pain management, wound healing, muscle recovery, and skin rejuvenation, and is best used for the face.
🚨Far Infrared Light: Used in heating lamps and saunas and emits thermal energy. This is not recommended for use on the face.
At Skin Deep Esthetics, we use the Celluma device, which combines red light and near-infrared light. According to Celluma, “Only near-infrared wavelengths are used in Celluma because these wavelengths are capable of being absorbed by the mitochondria to increase ATP so compromised cells do their job more effectively. Mid and far infrared cannot penetrate the cells and cannot be absorbed by the mitochondria, so these wavelengths do not upregulate mitochondrial activity.”
Aging, Sun Damage, and Pain
🧖♀️ Aging: Aiding in the skin’s ability to slow down aging by reteaching your skin to rebuild collagen and elastin, turning back the clock on wrinkles. Pair this treatment with at-home serum ingredients such as retinol and salmon DNA used daily to maintain the health of our fibroblast cells.
🧖♀️ Sun Damage: Repairing collagen and elastin, reducing scarring and dark spots. According to the companies that make these devices, Red light therapy works best when paired with chemical peels or microneedling for maximum effectiveness.
🧖♀️ Pain: By increasing blood flow and ATP production, reducing inflammation and pain. In a blog post about pain management, Celluma states, “Light energy stimulates the release of nitric oxide, causing blood vessels to increase in diameter (vasodilation) and allowing more blood flow, oxygen, and other important factors to be delivered. This increase in oxygen and nutrients increases ATP production, which activates pain-relieving pathways.” At Skin Deep Esthetics we love our Celluma device because it offers multiple treatment options.
NOTE: Skin treatments aren’t enough to maintain the health of your skin. Your lifestyle impacts how you age. So if you are coming in for treatments, but not doing proper skin care, eating unhealthy, drinking sugary drinks and alcohol, and not exercising – you will not see the full benefits of these treatments.
Can This Treatment Cause Cancer?
There is little evidence and studies done on red light and cancer. A statement from a study done by PubMed, “There is little scientific evidence available as regards oncologic outcomes and local responses to LLLT (low-level light therapy) in cancer patients. Although it is unlikely that LLLT would induce de novo cancer development as there is no evidence that LLLT causes DNA damage, its effects on cellular proliferation have been the empiric basis for withholding treatment in cancer patients.” This means more studies must be done to answer this question properly.
Does It Help With Acne
This treatment reduces inflammation and stimulates collagen, which helps prevent acne scarring. If acne-causing bacteria are present, blue light therapy is a better option. Blue light targets bacteria in the skin due to its shorter wavelength, meaning it can only reach the epidermal layer. Effective treatments often combine red and blue light therapy to treat acne. Hormonal acne or gut-related acne responds best to red light therapy. Traditional acne benefits best from blue light therapy.
How Long Does It Take To See Results?
Consistency is key! While some clients notice skin improvement after only one treatment, the best results are seen in a series of treatments over several weeks. It may take up to 6-8 treatments to begin to see results especially when it comes to aging, sun damage, acne, and acne scarring.
At-Home vs. Spa Red Light Therapy Treatments
Nowadays, at-home devices are more popular than ever, allowing clients to maintain skin results between spa visits. While convenient, at-home devices are less powerful than those used in spas, salons, or medical spas. Overuse of spa-grade devices at home can lead to misuse and/or skin problems.
While at-home devices are great to use between spa treatments, we do still recommend coming in for treatments to get the maximum benefits of our red light therapy. We recommend complimenting your at-home routine with professional treatments. Our spa-grade devices penetrate the dermis and beyond for maximum benefits.
At-Home Face Masks That Work
There are hundreds of red light therapy masks on the market. You can literally do a Google search and see hundreds of options. Which ones are best?
Here are our top two favorites:
🔹 OmniLux Face Mask: An at-home device you strap onto your face. It’s easy to use – you can sit and watch TV while the device works. They recommend three 5-10 minute treatments per week, so it is quick and convenient. Click here for more information or to purchase your device.
🔹 Celluma: This at-home device is a panel that can be used on the face or body for aging or pain management. We prefer this device because it is multi-functional, and has three settings: aging, acne, or pain management. We love to use this device on the decolletage area to help with chest wrinkles! The panel design does require you to lie down and relax during the treatment. We love doing this treatment at night in bed because you can fall asleep with the device on. It automatically shuts off after 30 minutes. Click here for more information or to purchase your device.
Ready To Get Started?
Red light therapy is more than a trend, it is a popular treatment for both in-spa and at-home use. Whether you’re targeting wrinkles, acne, dark spots, or pain red light therapy has you covered. We have always loved this treatment and are excited to see that red light therapy is listed as one of the most popular treatments in 2025.
If you have questions or are ready to book an appointment, please click here to get started.
