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Should You Try Home LED Light Therapy?

Home LED light therapy devices are becoming a popular home treatment for a variety of skin concerns, such as acne, melasma, rosacea, and wrinkles. Some also recommend LED light therapy as a general anti-aging treatment. But are the devices really effective? Are they safe? The answer is that home LED light devices appear to be quite safe and, at least for conditions such as acne, they are generally effective as well, although professional dermatological treatments likely offer the most benefits.

Home Light Therapy for Skin

 

How Home LED Light Therapy Works

Light Therapy works by using LED light, which can penetrate the skin better than topical agents. LED light produces energy that acts to reduce inflammation and target bacteria. This happens when bacteria molecules react to the light by producing oxygen. The bacteria is then destroyed because it cannot survive in an oxygenated environment.  The color of light can have different effects.  For example, red light therapy will target inflammation, while a blue light therapy targets acne causing bacteria.

Does Home LED Light Therapy Work?

 

light therapy devices

 

LED light treatment for skin conditions such as acne is generally FDA approved, with several home devices being FDA cleared. But measuring the overall effectiveness of home products can be difficult. As Dr. Glenn Kolansky, a Board Certified Dermatologist in New Jersey, explains:

“Many companies make claims  about the effectiveness of treatments, but true clinical based trials of the efficacy of home products are rarely performed. Certain wave lengths of light can penetrate tissue better than others *** LED light has been used to repair ‘recent injuries’ that need more energy. Light close to and near the infared range does have documented benefit for promoting wound healing *** Red LED light is non-invasive but can penetrate deeply into the skin tissue. It has shown some benefit to improving skin tone and texture, however the benefit may be difficult to quantify.”

Dr. Kolansky further notes:

“It is difficult to determine the effectiveness of home machines; pictures are not comparable due to the angle the picture is taken, and the amount of smiling can change things.  It is sometimes difficult to appreciate any difference, or the minimal difference, in before and after photos in regard to wrinkle improvement.”

Also of concern are devices that do not actually use LED light or that have less powerful, and hence, less effective lights. Dr. Neal Schultz, a Board Certified Dermatologist in New York, notes that “the power and the energy and the actual quality of the lights in the at-home devices just isn’t the same as it is in the professional devices.”  Describing the difference between professionally performed light therapy and at home devices, Schultz observed that, in a professional machine, there are approximately 800 LED lights and the treatment usually lasts for about 23 or 24 seconds. In comparison, home treatments normally have a small number of lights and a treatment time of 3-15 minutes. Thus, Schultz states:

“Clearly we’re talking about two very different worlds. If I give the at-home devices the benefit of the doubt and say, ‘Yes, they can possibly have some small level of efficacy,’ I’ll leave you with two thoughts. Number one, of course, buyer beware. And number two, you don’t always get what you pay for, but you can be sure of one thing, you never get more than you pay for.”

Others however, report quite a bit of success. For example, Kathleen Stegman, Founder of Midwest Medical Aesthetics, has used home LED devices in her spa and found them to be especially effective, noting that some of the benefits seen are a decrease in inflammation after spa procedures, decreases in pigmentation, lessening of wrinkles, and a decrease in inflammation in patients who get treatments for acne. Likewise, Debra Jaliman, a New York Board Certified Dermatologist and author of the upcoming book, Skin Rules: Trade Secrets From a Top New York Dermatologist, says that, while not as effective as professional machines, at home LED devices are effective for acne treatment and she would recommend them. However, Jaliman also noted that, for wrinkle treatment, the light in home devices does not penetrate deeply enough to treat visible lines, but they might be effective for prevention.

In general, home light therapy is most likely to be successful for inflammatory conditions such as acne or rosacea (see our previous discussion of the Light Stim Rosacea Light). But the lights might be best used solely as a preventative for wrinkle and anti-aging treatments.

Is At Home Light Therapy Safe?

home led light therapy red led device

Dermatologists generally report that using a home LED light device is safe. The eye area should be properly protected (most home devices include goggles for the user to wear), and the manufacturer’s instructions should be followed. The user should also purchase only devices that use LED lights. Non-LED devices can cause burns.

The Top At Home Light Therapy Devices

There are a number of LED devices on the market. The following are a few of the led therapy devices that are regarded as the best home light therapy devices for safety and effectiveness.

High End Devices

Tria Beauty Skin Perfecting Blue Light: For Acne Treatment, a top recommendation is Tria Beauty’s Skin Perfecting Blue Light. Tria reports that their FDA-cleared device is considered one of the most advanced acne light treatments available, delivering the same strength of Blue Light used by dermatologists.

Baby Quasar (Now Quasar MD):  Quasar offers a dual duty blue and red combo product, the Baby Quasar Clear Rayz to tackle both acne and anti-aging.  Quasar used to be my preferred product, but that has now been taken over by the devices from Lightstim, Tria and Silk’sn. 

LightStim:  Lightstim’s anti acne light is my favorite for treating acne. 

Silk’n: The Silk’n Face FX is my favorite red light for anti aging.   It is affordable and well respected.  Silk’n also makes the Silk’n blue light for acne. 

Bargain Devices 

For those looking for bargains, there are a few more affordable choices. While budget friendly, these devices do not claim to provide the same strength of light that is used by dermatologists.

Project E Beauty: The Project E Beauty red light therapy device looks good on paper and gets generally good reviews yet costs half that of the big name devices.

Tanda Zap: For Acne Spot Treatment, Tanda, which also offers standard blue and red lights, has a cute little item called the Tanda Zap. At around only $20, and meant for use on single blemishes, it offers a rather affordable way to utilize light in acne treatment. Consumer reviews of the Tanda Zap have been rather favorable.

8 Comments

  1. So I have a question : How does the Tanda LUXE and sirius aurora compare? They are both red light LED systems with what looks like the same wavelength? Advice appreciated!!

  2. Hi! I haven’t personally used the Tanda, but I have used the Sirius Aurora. Based on what I know of the Tanda, I think both products are pretty comparable. One nice thing about the Aurora is that it comes with lenses for different color lights. With the Tanda, I think you have to buy different color heads separately. The Tanda does add some sonic vibration and warming, but I am not aware of anything that makes that cause the light to be more effective. I prefer to do sonic cleaning separately and I use the Sirius Skinsonic for that. I do like my Aurora just fine. It is also quite affordable, but you can tell that it is cheaper in that it is made of thinner plastic and cheaper materials etc. (my Tanda Zap is like that too) It seems perfectly effective though. I think the best home LED light overall is the Baby Quasar, followed by the Tria, but those are pricier units. For a budget option, I recommend the Aurora.

  3. Just wanted to say that I read a review comparing the Baby Quasar ($399) vs. the Aurora ($149). The Baby comes with a red light, the Aurora with a blue, red & green. The head of the Aurora is larger than the Baby making treatment faster. The penetration depths of the lights on both systems are comparable. The only benefit I saw of the Baby Quasar is that it is constructed out of better materials (SS handle vs. plastic).

  4. Hi Bridget. Yes, the Aurora definitely offers more light options, while the Baby Quasar is better constructed (much better in my opinion). I have come across opinions that the light in the Quasar is also better than the Aurora, but I can’t verify that and have likewise seen opinions that both are equally good. I am happy with my Aurora in general other than that the plastic materials seem cheap on it.

  5. I have been intrigued by light therapy for skincare. In fact, I had seen a light therapy mask that made the wearer look like Freddie (is he the right monster?), but it seemed like a cool idea. I do not own one, but I would consider it.

  6. Silk’n is the one I’d love to try. I had a different machine that had red light but I didn’t notice a difference. It’s not on this list and I think it was one of the less expensive ones.

  7. This is great information, I have to say I haven’t tried any Home LED Light products but I have been quite curious. After reading this post, I realized there is some much I hadn’t thought about and researched. But this has helped to further inform my decision making.

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