Back in the day, red light therapy (RLT) was a treatment only available in select health centres and clinics that knew how to fully operate them. Today, RLT devices are now more available, affordable, and convenient than ever for consumers.
While RLT is very safe to use, it’s also quite possible to make some mistakes as you learn how to fully utilise them for yourself.
In this article, we’ll go over the possible reasons why you aren’t getting the full red light therapy benefits you expect and what you need to be aware of in order to optimise your treatment.
The biggest advantage of owning a red light therapy device is that you can use it whenever you like in the comfort of your home. However, many people are not utilising this convenience, and are essentially letting their investment and the potential benefits go to waste.
Granted, they may not be able to receive consistent treatment - life obligations, tight schedules, forgetfulness, or lack of understanding of how to use the device effectively are all valid obstacles. However, multiple studies have proven that consistent red light therapy application can lead to better results.
A 2014 study published in the Photomedicine and Laser Surgery found that consistent RLT application helped increase collagen density in female subjects. However, this may be due to the physiological differences between the male and female skin, requiring further research before reaching a fundamental conclusion.
In an older study, applying LLLT over time at lower doses resulted in improved wound healing on skin fibroblasts. However, the study also highlighted that we should avoid taking cumulative higher doses, as it can result in a detrimental effect.
One thing we notice is that users tend to treat red light therapy as an instant ‘solution’ to their problems. Red light therapy results take time and work on different timeframes for everyone as we are inherently unique on a biological level.
In a randomised, controlled study published in 2014, results from the patients were only taken after 15 and 30 treatments, with follow-up assessments at 6 months. This suggests that the effects of red light therapy (in this study, on skin rejuvenation) can be observed over a period of several weeks to months.
So, what does this mean? For example, if you’re using red light therapy to improve your skin, improvements will be barely noticeable until someone points it out to you.
With that said, we highly recommend taking before-and-after pictures of your sessions over a given period of time, to better track changes to physical appearance. This can be extremely helpful in order to keep yourself motivated, and to stay consistent with your treatment.
As mentioned before, there is no standard RLT dosage available – it might take some trial and error on your part to get the right dosages for you. Instead, we can recommend loose ‘usages’ we found through online sources:
Note: These recommendations only serve as a loose guideline that serves as a starting point to find your dosage.
While red light therapy has been proven to be a safe, painless, and effective alternative treatment option (assuming that you are not overusing it), consulting with your healthcare provider first may help you maximise benefits and avoid any potential side effects.
With that said, we suggest avoiding red light therapy if you have the following conditions:
Red light therapy offers a safe alternative to other popular forms of treatment. However, users must always conduct prudent research on their end in order to maximise potential benefits while sidestepping any risks and side effects.
If you would love to reap these benefits while minimising any downsides, we recommend checking out our red light therapy devices in the shop. Our RLT devices have ultra-low electromagnetic field (EMF) and extremely low frequency (ELF) radiation features, which help maintain our body’s electric and biochemical responses.
Do you have any questions, concerns, or inquiries? As one of the leading advocates for red light therapy, we invite you to reach out to us today for assistance – we would be happy to help you!