Little research is done as red light therapy is still considered a newer treatment. However, the good news is that in the last decade, numerous studies have been published on the effects of red light therapy in treating many health conditions, like acne problems, overall skin care, anti-aging, wound healing, etc.
So, how often should you do red light therapy, or whether it provides long-term effects? Although red light therapy is considered one of the safest and non-invasive laser therapy, there are still a few important factors and possible side effects you need to be aware of for safe and effective RLT treatments.
Continue reading to find out!
How Often Should You Do Red Light Therapy?
This question does not have one universal answer because the bodies are different. They function differently, and each of you has unique body physiology.
Therefore, the ideal amount of how often you should do red light therapy is an individual thing and varies from one person to another. However, the optimal amount of red light therapy, in the beginning, is once every week for a month.
Then, as your skin gets more adjusted and used to the red light, you might need maintenance treatments every few months, depending on the severity of the condition you are treating and the results you are expecting.
The process before the RLT
Before you start with the treatments, your esthetician or red light therapy professional will ask you a few essential questions through which they would be able to determine how often you should do red light therapy and for how long.
These questions are regarding the health concern you want to treat, the severity of the symptoms, any other underlying conditions, medications you take, etc.
Additionally, you might expect a skin sensitivity test, through which the esthetician will see how your skin reacts to the red light and whether it can tolerate the red light therapy.
After gathering all the necessary information, the red light specialist will assemble a personalized schedule for your particular health concern. If you want to see results, you must be consistent and not miss treatments.
Probably, you will need to start with one treatment per week, and as your skin gets used to the red light, the esthetician will increase the number of sessions until you start seeing results.
Then, you will need regular treatments every few months.
Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Red Light Therapy?
As mentioned earlier, red light therapy is a relatively safe and non-invasive treatment. However, as with everything, if you overdo red light therapy, there might be such a thing as too much of it.
The biggest confusion about this therapy is that if you do not use it enough, there might not be an effect. But if you use it too much, you might experience side effects such as damaging the skin tissue.
Therefore, as there are no set rules on the amount of this therapy, everyone should consult with a professional and start slowly.
Remember that you need to be aware of the changes and effects this light has on your skin, so you might want to start journaling. This way, by doing daily entries of the severity of the condition and symptoms and then comparing the entries, you will be able to notice when the first changes appear.
Another thing you can do to notice the results is to take pictures of the affected area every 10 days, and when you compare the photos, even the smallest change will be noticeable and visible.
That’s how you would know that you are doing the red light therapy in the optimal amounts for your concern without overdoing it.
Can You Do Red Light Therapy Daily?
This has been one of the most commonly asked questions regarding the frequency of red light therapy, so we decided to make things clearer on this topic as well.
Technically you can do red light therapy daily. However, there are a few items you need to pay attention to so that you do not harm yourself and stay safe.
The first and most important thing is to consult an esthetician or any other medical professional with the needed red light therapy experience.
Then, after they give you the green light, you will need to ensure that you are consistent with the treatment, meaning if you do it twice a week and then seven days a week, you will most likely not see results.
The next few things you need to pay attention to are that you use a high-quality red light lamp and keep it 12-36 inches away from your skin. Also, any piece of clothing on the affected area or wearing SPF will block the infrared from penetrating your skin.
Lastly, using the wrong device might harm your health, so ensure that you buy it from a licensed manufacturer.
If you pay enough attention to these few essential items, there should be no side effects from using the red light therapy daily.
How to Properly Prepare Your Skin for the Most Optimal Results
Properly preparing your skin before every red light therapy session might impact the overall result more than you expect. Therefore, you must always take the best care of your skin pre and post-RLT therapy.
Before starting the session, cleanse your skin with a moisturizing cleanser and then go over the skin with an antioxidant-rich toner. Dry pat your skin and wait 10 to 15 minutes so that the skin can calm down, and you can start with the session.
After the session, apply serum and moisturizer and finally enjoy red light therapy’s benefits.
Conclusion
So, how often should you do red light therapy? After reading this article, we believe that your possible concern about it and what to do for the most optimal results is gone.
We consulted numerous red light therapy experts and estheticians that provide this treatment to gather the most essential and valid information about this therapy.
Moreover, we hope this article will serve you as the ultimate guide and that when you decide to try this therapy, you will have the needed knowledge for the utmost red light therapy experience.
Remember, when considering red light therapy, you should always consult your doctor or another health professional.
Hello! I’m Nicky Rodgers.
Almost a decade ago, I got excited about the idea of employing alternative methods like red light therapy to create a healthier life.
To learn more about it, I did my Certified Light Therapist course from Photonic Therapy Institute and started looking into the intricacies of how light therapy influences several bodily processes. Before I knew it, my interest had become an obsession which resulted in this extensive blog.
Here, I offer countless well-researched articles to help you understand the benefits and uses of light therapy. I hope this information gives you a head start in your wellness journey.