Red Light Therapy, or RLT, is one modern type of treatment that is receiving quite some attention lately. Over the past decades, humanity has done its best to achieve higher levels of medical knowledge in order to minimize treatment duration and expenses, and guarantee the success of more complicated medical operations. Red Light Therapy is one of humanity’s efforts to move forward and climb the medical ladder.

But, what is Red Light Therapy? How does it work? And are there any risks that you should worry about in case you ever decided to have it?

If these are some of the questions that come to your mind whenever you hear about Red Light Therapy, then this Red Light Therapy guide is one good starting point that answers the above-mentioned points and more.

With that being said, let’s get into the Red Light Therapy guide:

• What is Red Light Therapy?

To break the ice, it seems fair to start our Red Light Therapy guide by having a holistic idea about what Red Light Therapy is. This part of the guide will highlight the general use of RLT alongside the different terms that are related to this kind of treatment.

Red Light Therapy, or Low-Level Laser therapy, or Low-Power Laser Therapy, – or Photobiomodulation if you want to sound like a medical school graduate- are all terms that refer to the type of treatment that is used to heal muscle tissues, skin and other body parts through exposing the latter to low levels of red or near infrared light.

In case you don’t know, infrared light cannot be detected by the human eye. Still, your body can feel it through an increase in temperature. The difference between red light and infrared is that you can see the former. The thing about Red Light Therapy is that there’s only a limited number of studies that has been conducted concerning this subject. In other words: it is still a new thing. This is why certain websites do not provide 100% accurate data about RLT and may even use the word “may” when it comes to stating facts about this type of treatment.

Not only that, but the cost of a Red Light Therapy session may not be suitable for all people. Although this mostly depends on where you live and how valuable your national currency is, the cost of a Red Light Therapy 30-minutes session may start from $25 and up to $85 or even more. This is why some people decide to get their own at-home Red Light Therapy bed or Red Light kit. These latter may cost up to $250. And in case you ever found a good deal on Amazon or Ebay, be aware that not all devices perform the same.

With that being covered, let’s move to the next point: what are the different uses of RLT?

• What are the uses of Red Light Therapy?

 The above mentioned uses are the most common, but RLT is not limited to these only. In fact, Red Light therapy is nowadays used to treat a decent number of illnesses and inconveniences such as:

• Hair Loss: the first use of Red Light Therapy in our guide is to treat Hair Loss, but not any kind of hair loss. RLT has been recently used to treat Androgenetic Alopecia, which is a medical condition with a genetic background that causes hair loss among men and women. In fact, according to WebDM, “One study found that men and women with an at-home RLT device for 24 weeks grew thicker hair.”, and they support their claim even more by stating that others were given a fake RLT, and these latter did not notice any sort of change. This proves that RLT can be very effective when it comes to treating Androgenetic Alopecia.
• Signs of Aging and Wrinkles: the second use of RLT in our guide  is to eliminate the signs of aging and wrinkles. A number of studies showcased that Red Light Therapy is one effective solution against wrinkles and ultraviolet sun damage. Not only that, but the same research suggests that RLT also helps with scars and even minor burns. So, if you suffer from one of these, then RLT might be worth a try.
• Anger and Dementia: According to WebDM, a small study illustrated that RLT helps in reducing anger and is a good treatment for Dementia. That study showed that a number of patients got their heads exposed to regular Low-Power Laser Therapy for a dozen of weeks, and there were actual results at the end of the process. These results include better memories and better sleep.
• Acne: To be more precise, RLT has been used to heal inflammation brought about by acne. Acne destroys skin tissues, and Red Light Therapy is used to repair the damaged tissues. More info on how Red Light Therapy works will be illustrated in the following section.
• Bruises: Red Light Therapy helps in the formation of new capillaries, which in case broken, may lead to a leaking of blood to skin tissues. And since the blood cannot exit the body unless there’s an opening in the skin, a bluish hue forms. RLT can be used to heal bruises since the treatment has the potential to speed up the healing process of the damaged area by delivering nutrient-rich blood.
• Dry Skin: Red Light Therapy has the potential to help people who are suffering from dry skin. As mentioned before, it has been claimed that Red Light Therapy can help in delivering nutrient rich blood. This means that the dry skin will now be nourished and hydrated since the blood will be full of nutrients and oxygen.

Not only this, but other studies showcased how RLT has been used to treat dental pain, tendinitis, and Osteoarthritis according to an article ( you can link the article here to show that you are not plagiarizing and that you are showing intellectual honesty) written by WebMD.

Now that we know what RLT is, and what are some of its uses, we can move on to a more practical side of the Red Light Therapy guide: how it works.

• How Does Red Light Therapy work?

You may have realized by now that RLT is a kind of treatment that is purely external. In other words, it doesn’t require any sorts of medicine to be taken or any sort of restrictive diet. Still, it is important to consult your personal doctor before undergoing the treatment in case your health condition requires extra attention of some sort. Also, if you are a pregnant mother or expecting a child soon, then you need to pay extra for this kind of treatment since there’s only a little data about its potential side effects.

As for RLT, you should have in mind that this therapy works on the basis of exposing the designated part of your body to a device that either works with a red lamp or red laser. This device allows for the red light to roughly penetrate 5 millimeters below the skin’s surface. This stimulates your “Mitochondria”, which plays the function of power generators in our body, to generate even more energy, through generating more ATP ( adenosine triphosphate), by absorbing that red light as claimed by a number of experts. Red Light Therapy works through stimulating skin regeneration instead of controlled tissue damage, which is one of the many benefits of RLT.

Still, one question remains: are there any risks related to Red Light Therapy?

• What are the risks of Red Light Therapy?

As mentioned before, there’s not a lot of research around Red Light Therapy. Although a number of people claim that it really works, so far, there were a number of reports that state that some people developed “burns after falling asleep with the unit in place, while others experienced burns due to broken wires or device corrosion” as claimed by Healthline.com. And as stated by Medical News Today: “Improper use of RLT may also cause some side effects.”. Although the treatment does not show any sort of side effects when using the unit wisely, it’s preferable to consult an expert before undergoing the therapy.

Also, when it comes to exposing your face to Red Light, it’s better  to have proper eye protection. Remember, Red Light Therapy has been tested on skin not on eyes, let alone the fact that if there’s a possibility of skin getting burned, then what might happen to an eye might be worse. So, always be cautious when it comes to new kinds of treatments.

• Conclusion:

From the above-mentioned points, it seems fair to say that you now have a basic understanding of what Red Light Therapy is. RLT is one kind of treatment that is truly worth a shot. The treatment itself is revolutionary and looks promising. Still, it’s always preferable to do a little bit of extra research before exposing any part of your body to any source of light. Also, if you are interested in having a better idea on how beneficial this kind of treatment is, then we have dedicated a whole article just for that, which you can access by clicking here.

Here at Woscan Lighting, we dedicate our time and effort to offer you real value because we believe that your trust is worth more than the physical return. And this is why we believe that providing you with the necessary education about Red Light Therapy is a crucial step in order to raise awareness about this particular type of treatment.