What does LED light therapy do?

What does LED light therapy do?

From a medical point of view, What is the benefits of red LED light therapy?

Presumably, women who love beauty have heard of "photoaging", and at the same time spend a lot of energy and expenditure on sun protection. But what about the "light therapy beauty" that is very popular now? Is there any scientific basis for the principle of action? Will it harm our skin? So today I will discuss with you the latest technology about phototherapy and beauty, and what are the advantages compared with other popular beauty techniques (radio frequency(RF BEAUTY DEVICE), thermal Maggie, microcurrent(ems beauty device), etc.).

First, let’s understand what light is. ——This can help us better understand what kind of light to "protect" and which light can be better used by us for skin beautification.

(the various components of light and their wavelengths)

From the picture above, we can see that the colorful light in the middle is visible light, which is also the real body of our traditional LED photo therapy,the red light therapy is an important part .

Because the refraction of different wavelengths allows the color to be distinguished, it also has different medical effects:

Blue LED light therapy: A bactericidal effect targeting cells and sebaceous glands, which can help eliminate acne and blackhead problems.

Red LED light therapy: penetrate deep into the skin, promote collagen production, eliminate relaxation, and restore elasticity;

LED Light therapy with blue LEDs: Blue light is believed to have a bactericidal effect on acne bacilli. Acne bacteria have a substance called porphyrin, which generates active oxygen under the light of blue LEDs, so if they continue to be bathed in strong blue light, acne bacteria themselves will be strongly oxidized and killed. In addition, blue light also has the effect of reducing sebum secretion, so it can be expected to sterilize the pathogenic bacteria of acne and prevent the exacerbation of existing acne.

LED Light therapy with red LEDs: Red LED light is believed to have the effect of acting on mitochondria and activating cellular action. Red LEDs with a wavelength of 633 nm are most commonly used in medical cosmetology due to their ability to also enhance the action of macrophages (phagocytes), a type of immune cell. It can have anti-aging and other various skin care effects, and it has a wide range of functions:

• Anti-Aging

• Boosts Collagen Production

• Improve small wrinkles

• Improve dull skin

• Improve dark circles

• Improves skin elasticity

• Promote skin metabolism, promote skin regeneration

• Adjust the texture of the skin

• Reduce acne redness, dilute acne marks

• Suppresses inflammation of red, swollen acne

• Promotes blood circulation and brightens skin tone.

Medical research on LED is now also continuing to deepen. For example, green LEDs therapy can improve pigmentation and relieve jaundice; purple LEDs can disinfect mold; yellow LEDs can activate cell repair functions.

7 colors LED light therapy mask

You may not know that it was the famous NASA NASA that first used LEDs. At first, it was to cultivate plants in space, only to find that the effect of LEDs was extraordinary. Later, it was used in the research of astronauts’ wound repair, and found that the effect of LEDs after irradiation DNA synthesis in muscle cells actually increased by 5 times! What's even more amazing is that there has been no report on the side effects of LEDs on the human body so far. It was also announced at the LLLT (Low Power Laser Therapy) seminar held in the United States in 2009 that LEDs only work on stressed cells and will not affect the skin. News about normal cells~~ (I have to say, this is too reassuring~!)

Most of the phototherapy and beauty instruments currently on the market will also be equipped with infrared LED light therapy functions, which work together with red LEDs. Can infrared rays be as safe and effective as LEDs?

As I worried at the beginning, the latest term for anti-photoaging is precisely anti-"infrared". (Yes, even Japanese skin care giant Niu has recently developed a sunscreen that specifically protects against infrared rays...) We can see from the above picture that 50% of sunlight is actually composed of infrared rays (divided according to the length of the wavelength) Near-infrared and far-infrared), and the culprit of photoaging that we have always thought of in the past-ultraviolet rays, actually only account for 1/10 of sunlight!

So is infrared skin beautification really okay? Let’s drink some water to calm down first, because this immediately brings us to another important point of today, the latest phototherapy technology - near infrared, which is what Japanese medical beauty called "white LED".

(Effects of near-infrared, UVA, and UVB on the skin)

It is obvious from the picture above that near-infrared rays can pass through the dermis to the muscles! In other words, if the daily sun exposure is completely ignored, it will of course lead to accelerated photoaging of muscles and skin, making our faces shrink and dry, and accelerating the destruction of collagen in the dermis;

It sounds like a great look! You must know that anti-aging and maintaining girly skin is nothing more than increasing collagen, so that the skin will be firm and elastic; plus the red light and blue light introduced earlier are very powerful for different skin and pore problems. "comprehensive players"? No wonder phototherapy beauty has become more and more popular recently, and beauty devices with phototherapy effects are also flocking to people.

Next, let's look at the advantages of phototherapy beauty LED light therapy device and other radio frequency, microcurrent rf beauty device , and even thermal magi.

1.Radio Frequency RF: It is a non-invasive treatment. After touching the skin through a probe, the radio frequency energy is transmitted deep into the skin. This deep, balanced heating promotes immediate tensioning of the skin structure and subcutaneous tissue, with no energy decay in the process.

The picture above shows the structure of most household RF beauty instruments, with bipolar or according to the number of electrodes, tripolar or multipolar contacting the skin. But it is worth noting that the output frequency of most household RF beauty instruments is actually 0.4~1MHz, and the main action site is on the skin layer.

2. Thermage: The treatment site is marked and positioned before the operation, and then the focus plane (frequency 6MHz) is formed by the radio frequency electric field, and the subcutaneous tissue is acted on to burn the dermal tissue. The stimulated subcutaneous tissue mistakenly believes that the tissue is injured, and will actively send out a healing signal, and then supplement the ACMETEA repair factor to make the subcutaneous tissue produce a large amount of collagen and hyaluronic acid to repair the damaged part, and rely on these collagen nutrition to repair the subcutaneous tissue again. To achieve the purpose of firming and anti-wrinkle. When the energy acts on the skin, it will be transmitted through the epidermis to the deeper dermis, that is, from the outside to the inside. Because it heats a large area instead of focusing on one point, the energy will continue to attenuate during the transmission process. The treatment depth is less than 3.0mm (generally 2.6 to 3.0mm), and the deepest can only reach the dermis, not the fascia.

Comparison of the energy distribution of monopolar radiofrequency (Thermage) and radiofrequency RF in the skin

3. Micro current(EMS beauty device): Our body already has a weak current flowing through it, which is called bioelectric current. Microcurrent is an extremely weak current at the same level as biocurrent. Like low-frequency electricity, it can act on muscles to make muscles contract, thereby promoting blood circulation, but it does not feel like muscle movement like low-frequency electricity. Its cosmetic effect is limited to slight firming, and it is impossible to use microcurrent to significantly improve lines and remove true wrinkles.

4.Near-infrared (infrared beauty device): Due to the strong biological effects of near-infrared rays, by designing the wavelength region and irradiation conditions, it can be effective even for diseases and areas that are difficult to respond to other phototherapy methods. In addition to the above-mentioned effects of promoting collagen resynthesis and promoting the production of elastic fibers, NIR can also be used to relieve excessive muscle contraction.

The picture above is from the literature:

Tanaka Y, Matsuo K, Yuzuriha S. Long-lasting relaxation of corrugator supercilii muscle contraction induced by infrared irradiation. ePlasty. 2011;11:e6:42-49.

To sum it up briefly:

working areaAdvantageweaknessEMSsuperficial skinNo feeling and no pain, using equipment to make facial massage more effective.It can only be used as the most basic skin care, and cannot solve deep aging problems.RFmiddle layer of skinPromotes collagen production and increases skin elasticity.Gel is needed, and the household power is small, so it is impossible to control the best heat.ThermageThe deep layer of the skin (i.e. the dermis)More penetrating than home RF
The cooling effect of the hospital probe is good, and the effect is longer.The price is expensive, and the one-time cost may exceed USD1000. It is only used as a high-level maintenance once a year.light therapyNear infrared can reach the subcutaneous muscle layerNo pain. through different
LED light waves to achieve the solution
The purpose of different skin problems, with near-infrared can directly hit the deep layer of the skin and fascia, effective anti-aging excellent!Generally speaking, there are no obvious side effects, and pregnant women can also use it. However, if the instrument itself is unprofessional, there may be side effects of near-infrared damage to the skin.

As a lover of beauty devices, the author actually understands that there are very few home beauty devices that actually contain "near-infrared" phototherapy (most of them are actually far-infrared), so if you want to buy phototherapy products, you must pay attention to the wavelength of the LED. (or choose a manufacturer specializing in the production of phototherapy equipment, such as the representative cell return), and also pay attention to whether the infrared function is "near infrared", so as to get the most professional effect and let the money be spent wisely .

In addition, when choosing a beauty instrument, should you choose a multi-functional one or a more targeted one? I think many girls will have such hesitation before buying beauty equipment.

my suggestion is: If you just want to do basic daily maintenance, and don’t have the desire for collagen, the source of youth, you can get an instrument with low-medium frequency iontophoresis and a red LED light therapy or LED light mask is enough, and the price will not be very expensive; If you still want to do it once and for all, and want the most professional products, then buy products with a single function, because the quantity and quality of lamp tubes of professional products, and the patented technology of LED modules are the cornerstones of the effect, and nothing is more important than the effect. And this must be unmatched by multi-functional instruments.

Written at the end:

After coding so many dry goods, I ended up talking too much~ As a physical therapist, I still tend to believe that professional manufacturers are better than celebrities who bring goods. Before, I was worried about whether blue light would affect the eyeballs, but later I learned about LED lights. Eye-friendly (so you can even read with it). Not understanding the principles of beauty instruments will lead to blind purchases, just like the pros and cons of near-infrared rays discussed today. (In fact, ultraviolet rays can also treat vitiligo, scars, and wounds in medicine...so the key is whether the equipment can be professional and the dosage can be strictly controlled); I sincerely hope that all manufacturers can disclose the specific parameters in the future, and Give as much safety guarantee as possible~ Although you are eager to love beauty, safety and effectiveness are more important! (Actually, I originally wanted to learn more about the parameters of RF instruments, but I searched the official websites of major online celebrity products and found no publicity... But I will continue to work hard to find out the parameters of beauty instruments.