TLDR: If you thought there couldn't possibly be any more benefits of red light therapy, think again. Red light therapy has been shown to dramatically improve skin health by rejuvenating, enhancing collagen production, reducing wrinkles and aging, improving the appearance of scars, and even accelerating tissue repair in wounds! Read on to learn more about what the research says about the benefits of red light therapy.
Improved Skin Health
There are several benefits for the skin derived from the application of red light therapy. The cells of the skin receive an immediate flood of energy and are the first to be impacted by the light.
Red light therapy has been shown to accelerate wound healing, prevent formation of scars, improve existing scars, improve acne, enhance collagen, reduce the effects of skin aging and wrinkles, rejuvenate the skin, and even induce hair re-growth.
Improved Acne
Acne is an extremely common condition, the eighth most prevalent disease in the world, currently affecting up to 9.4% of the world’s population [71]. It is estimated to affect up to 90% of individuals by the age of 21, caused by increased sebaceous gland production (skin oil), changes in skin keratin formation, colonization of bacteria in follicles, and increased inflammation following immune response [72].
Considered a chronic inflammatory disease, acne is non-life threatening, but has been found through many studies to significantly impact the quality of life of those individuals affected. Interestingly, some studies have found it to cause similar pain or discomfort to conditions such as disabling asthma, epilepsy, back pain, arthritis, and psoriasis. Anxiety and depression are seen to be significantly higher in patients with acne compared with standard populations, along with pain and discomfort [72].
With these points, any treatment which helps individuals who suffer from acne is highly desired. Specifically, according to research, the most important attributes of treatment are that they are fast-acting, non-irritating, and non-bleaching [72]. Most topical cream acne treatments fall under this category.
Red light therapy has been shown to be an effective tool in improving both inflammatory and non-inflammatory acne. Although many studies review the effects of combined blue light and red light therapy in the treatment of acne [73][74], red light therapy alone has been repeatedly shown to be effective [75][76][77]. One study found that red light in combination with blue light resulted in significantly more improvement than blue light alone [74].
There are two primary functions that red light therapy provides to cause this to occur. First, red light can affect the sebaceous glands which produce the oil of the skin and change keratin behavior. Red light also influences cytokines from macrophages and other cells, which in turn reduces inflammation, known to be a key factor in the development of acne [4].
Increased Collagen | Reduced Aging & Wrinkles
Skin appearance is quite possibly the most utilized benefit of red light therapy, and users see dramatic results. No wonder it is so popular! Aside from improved acne due to reduced inflammation, the improved skin appearance after red light therapy might be attributed to collagen.
Collagen plays a critical role in skin health and appearance. It has been shown that collagen synthesis is significantly reduced in aged skin vs. younger skin [78]. Collagen also has been directly linked to skin hydration and elasticity, and wrinkle appearance [79][80][81].
Red light therapy has proven effective in enhancing and increasing collagen synthesis and rejuvenating the skin, significantly reducing wrinkles, reducing skin surface roughness and even skin complexity and feeling [82][83][84]. One study found that after receiving red light therapy, 50% of subjects experienced a 25 to 50% improvement in photoaging scores, 80% experienced significant improvement [85].
Improved Scar Appearance
Research has shown that red light therapy has a positive effect on both the prevention of the formation of scars, as well as improvement of already existing scars [86][87][88]. Researchers have concluded that red light therapy can be used safely to suppress the formation of surgical scars [88].
The skin cells known as keratinocytes play a critical role in scar formation [89]. This may explain the benefits of red light therapy on scars.
Enhanced Tissue Repair / Wound Healing
Red light therapy, incredibly, has shown to be useful in the enhancement of healing wounds [90][91][92][93]. One paper reviewed several other studies and found that LED therapy reduced the presence of inflammatory cells, enhanced fibroblast proliferation, stimulated the formation of new blood vessels leading to return of blood flow, accelerated tissue formation and increased synthesis of collagen [93].
One study showed that after 90 days, from the participants given red light therapy, 58% had fully healed, while 75% were 90 to 100% healed. In the group that did not receive this treatment, only one participant passed 90% healing in 90 days [90].
The mechanism that allows this to occur is thought to be red light therapy’s effectiveness in stimulating keratinocyte cells [94][95]. Keratinocytes are known to play a critical role in wound repair, including use as structural cells in the formation of new tissue but also in the body’s immune response and controlling of inflammation. The keratinocytes can release both pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines to control inflammation, both of which are a part of the healing process [96].
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