What is Red Light Therapy?

Red light therapy, also known as low-level laser therapy or photobiomodulation, has its origins in medical research conducted by NASA in the 1990s. It involves exposing the skin to specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared light that penetrate the skin and stimulate cellular activity.

The science behind red light therapy revolves around the use of specific wavelengths, usually between 630 and 850 nanometers. These wavelengths can transfer energy to mitochondria, the energy centers of cells, promoting various beneficial effects. By stimulating mitochondria, red light therapy is thought to improve energy production in your cells, simultaneously improving their functions while suppressing inflammation.

People use red light therapy to improve sleep quality, enhance athletic performance, minimize chronic pain, and improve their skin. Red light therapy devices are growing in popularity, and the recent emergence of professional-grade red light therapy panels has made this treatment accessible to everyone.

Why Does Red Light Therapy Work for Anti-Aging?

Aging affects your appearance by changing your skin and hair. Aging makes your skin thinner, less elastic, and less full, ultimately creating wrinkles and uneven skin coloration. Your hair changes by becoming thinner and losing its pigmentation.

Red light therapy can help improve each of these effects of aging, with the sole exception being that it will not reverse the change in the color of your hair. There are several effects of red light therapy that can help promote a youthful appearance. Red light therapy can boost collagen production, increasing cell turnover and skin elasticity, and reducing inflammation and oxidative stress. These all contribute to reversing the effects of aging.

Boosting Collagen Production

Collagen is a protein found in our skin and plays a crucial role in maintaining its structure and firmness. Collagen acts as an elastic connector for skin cells and tissues. This protein is what keeps skin attached to the tissues under it and helps the skin maintain its shape. Collagen is what makes your skin return to its normal shape when you pinch it and then let go.

As we age, collagen production decreases. With less connective collagen, your skin starts to develop fine lines and wrinkles. Because collagen anchors your skin, decreased collagen causes sagging and allows your skin to move more freely, increasing age-related deformities.

Improving collagen levels is quite difficult, as it is something that your body has to make itself. Collagen creams may contain collagen, but the collagen itself doesn’t actually absorb through your skin. Collagen powders, pills, or other collagen supplements also contain collagen, but the collagen is broken down in your digestive tract before it is absorbed. This can provide your body with the nutrition it needs to build collagen; however, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will produce more.

Red light therapy helps to improve collagen production by stimulating cells called fibroblasts. These cells make collagen, and stimulation of these cells can help increase the amount of collagen your body naturally makes. Unlike collagen supplements, which simply provide the building blocks of collagen, red light therapy can actually boost collagen production.

Increasing Cell Turnover

Cell turnover is the process of shedding old skin cells and replacing them with new ones, which is crucial for maintaining youthful skin. As you age, your body replaces skin cells more slowly. This contributes to uneven skin tone, thinner skin, and decreased skin elasticity.

Red light therapy boosts cell turnover by stimulating the production of new cells and promoting elastin, a protein responsible for the skin's elasticity. Increased cell turnover can help your skin to be more elastic and have a more even skin tone. The smoother, firmer skin that results reverses the appearance of aging.

Improved cell turnover also helps your hair to grow. Red light therapy can stimulate hair follicles to work faster and better, leading to improved hair growth. This can improve hair thinning that occurs as you age.