‘It appears magical’: does light therapy actually deliver clearer skin, healthier teeth, and more resilient joints?

Light-based treatment is definitely experiencing a surge in popularity. Consumers can purchase light-emitting tools designed to address complexion problems and aging signs to aching tissues and periodontal issues, the latest being an oral care tool equipped with miniature red light sources, described by its makers as “a breakthrough for domestic dental hygiene.” Internationally, the sector valued at $1bn last year is expected to increase to $1.8bn within the next decade. Options include full-body infrared sauna sessions, where instead of hot coals (real or electric) heating the air, the thermal energy targets your tissues immediately. As claimed by enthusiasts, it feels similar to a full-body light therapy session, enhancing collagen production, soothing sore muscles, reducing swelling and chronic health conditions as well as supporting brain health.

Research and Reservations

“It appears somewhat mystical,” observes a Durham University professor, professor in neuroscience at Durham University and a convert to the value of light therapy. Of course, we know light influences biological functions. Sunlight enables vitamin D production, essential for skeletal strength, immune function, and muscular health. Light exposure controls our sleep-wake cycles, too, stimulating neurotransmitter and hormone production during daytime, and preparing the body for rest as darkness falls. Artificial sun lamps are standard treatment for winter mood disorders to combat seasonal emotional slumps. Undoubtedly, light plays a vital role in human health.

Various Phototherapy Approaches

While Sad lamps tend to use a mixture of light frequencies from the blue end of the spectrum, consumer light therapy products mostly feature red and infrared emissions. During advanced medical investigations, such as Chazot’s investigations into the effects of infrared on brain cells, finding the right frequency is key. Photons represent electromagnetic waves, which runs the spectrum from the lowest-energy, longest wavelengths (radio waves) to high-energy gamma radiation. Therapeutic light application uses wavelengths around the middle of this spectrum, with ultraviolet representing the higher energy invisible light, then visible light (all the colours we see in a rainbow) and finally infrared detectable with special equipment.

Ultraviolet treatment has been employed by skin specialists for decades to treat chronic skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and vitiligo. It works on the immune system within cells, “and dampens down inflammation,” says a dermatology expert. “There’s lots of evidence for phototherapy.” UVA reaches deeper skin layers compared to UVB, whereas the LEDs we see on consumer light-therapy devices (which generally deliver red, infrared or blue light) “generally affect surface layers.”

Risk Assessment and Professional Supervision

UVB radiation effects, such as burning or tanning, are well known but in medical devices the light is delivered in a “narrow-band” form – indicating limited wavelength spectrum – which decreases danger. “It’s supervised by a healthcare professional, so the dosage is monitored,” says Ho. Essentially, the devices are tuned by qualified personnel, “to ensure that the wavelength that’s being delivered is fit for purpose – as opposed to commercial tanning facilities, where regulations may be lax, and wavelength accuracy isn’t verified.”

Consumer Devices and Evidence Gaps

Red and blue light sources, he says, “aren’t really used in the medical sense, but they may help with certain conditions.” Red light devices, some suggest, improve circulatory function, oxygen uptake and skin cell regeneration, and promote collagen synthesis – an important goal for anti-aging. “Studies are available,” comments the expert. “But it’s not conclusive.” Regardless, given the plethora of available tools, “we don’t know whether or not the lights emitted are reflective of the research that has been done. Appropriate exposure periods aren’t established, proper positioning requirements, whether or not that will increase the risk versus the benefit. Numerous concerns persist.”

Treatment Areas and Specialist Views

One of the earliest blue-light products targeted Cutibacterium acnes, microorganisms connected to breakouts. Research support isn’t sufficient for standard medical recommendation – even though, notes the dermatologist, “it’s frequently employed in beauty centers.” Certain patients incorporate it into their regimen, he says, though when purchasing home devices, “we just tell them to try it carefully and to make sure it has been assessed for safety. Unless it’s a medical device, standards are somewhat unclear.”

Innovative Investigations and Molecular Effects

Meanwhile, in a far-flung field of pioneering medical science, Chazot has been experimenting with brain cells, revealing various pathways for light-enhanced cell function. “Nearly every test with precise light frequencies demonstrated advantageous outcomes,” he reports. It is partly these many and varied positive effects on cellular health that have driven skepticism about light therapy – that it’s too good to be true. Yet, experimental evidence has transformed his viewpoint.

The researcher primarily focuses on pharmaceutical solutions for brain disorders, but over 20 years ago, a physician creating light-based cold sore therapy requested his biological knowledge. “He developed equipment for cellular and insect experiments,” he says. “I was pretty sceptical. It was an unusual wavelength of about 1070 nanometres, that many assumed was biologically inert.”

The advantage it possessed, nevertheless, was its efficient water penetration, allowing substantial bodily penetration.

Cellular Energy and Neurological Benefits

Additional research indicated infrared affected cellular mitochondria. Mitochondria produce ATP for cell function, producing fuel for biological processes. “Every cell in your body has mitochondria, particularly in neural cells,” says Chazot, who, as a neuroscientist, decided to focus the research on brain cells. “It has been shown that in humans this light therapy increases blood flow into the brain, which is consistently beneficial.”

With specific frequency application, mitochondria also produce a small amount of a molecule known as reactive oxygen species. At controlled levels these compounds, notes the scientist, “activates protective proteins that safeguard mitochondria, preserve cell function and eliminate damaged proteins.”

These processes show potential for neurological conditions: antioxidant, inflammation reduction, and pro-autophagy – self-digestion mechanisms eliminating harmful elements.

Ongoing Study Progress and Specialist Evaluations

The last time Chazot checked the literature on using the 1070 wavelength on human dementia patients, he states, several hundred individuals participated in various investigations, incorporating his preliminary American studies