‘It sounds like witchcraft’: can light therapy really give you better skin, cleaner teeth, stronger joints?

Light-based treatment is certainly having a wave of attention. Consumers can purchase glowing gadgets designed to address skin conditions and wrinkles along with muscle pain and periodontal issues, the newest innovation is an oral care tool enhanced with miniature red light sources, marketed by the company as “a significant discovery in at-home oral care.” Internationally, the industry reached $1 billion in 2024 and is forecast to expand to $1.8 billion by 2035. 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. According to its devotees, it’s like bathing in one of those LED-lit beauty masks, boosting skin collagen, easing muscle tension, alleviating inflammatory responses and long-term ailments as well as supporting brain health.

The Science and Skepticism

“It appears somewhat mystical,” says a Durham University professor, a scientist who has studied phototherapy extensively. Certainly, certain impacts of light on human physiology are proven. Sunlight enables vitamin D production, crucial for strong bones, immune defense, and tissue repair. Natural light synchronizes our biological clocks, too, stimulating neurotransmitter and hormone production during daytime, and signaling the body to slow down for nighttime. Daylight-simulating devices are a common remedy for people with seasonal affective disorder (Sad) to boost low mood in winter. Undoubtedly, light plays a vital role in human health.

Different Light Modalities

While Sad lamps tend to use a mixture of light frequencies from the blue end of the spectrum, most other light therapy devices deploy red or infrared light. In serious clinical research, like examinations of infrared influence on cerebral tissue, finding the right frequency is key. Light constitutes electromagnetic energy, which runs the spectrum from the lowest-energy, longest wavelengths (radio waves) to high-energy gamma radiation. Therapeutic light application employs mid-spectrum wavelengths, including invisible ultraviolet radiation, then visible light (all the colours we see in a rainbow) and finally infrared detectable with special equipment.

Dermatologists have utilized UV therapy for extensive periods to manage persistent skin disorders including eczema and psoriasis. It works on the immune system within cells, “and dampens down inflammation,” says a dermatology expert. “Considerable data validates phototherapy.” UVA penetrates skin more deeply than UVB, while the LEDs in consumer devices (usually producing colored light emissions) “generally affect surface layers.”

Safety Protocols and Medical Guidance

Potential UVB consequences, 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. “Treatment is monitored by medical staff, so the dosage is monitored,” notes the specialist. And crucially, the lightbulbs are calibrated by medical technicians, “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.”

Commercial Products and Research Limitations

Colored light diodes, he says, “don’t have strong medical applications, though they might benefit some issues.” Red wavelength therapy, proponents claim, help boost blood circulation, oxygen utilization and skin cell regeneration, and stimulate collagen production – a key aspiration in anti-ageing effects. “The evidence is there,” says Ho. “But it’s not conclusive.” In any case, with numerous products on the market, “it’s unclear if device outputs match study parameters. Appropriate exposure periods aren’t established, proper positioning requirements, whether or not that will increase the risk versus the benefit. Many uncertainties remain.”

Specific Applications and Professional Perspectives

Initial blue-light devices addressed acne bacteria, microorganisms connected to breakouts. Research support isn’t sufficient for standard medical recommendation – even though, says Ho, “it’s frequently employed in beauty centers.” Certain patients incorporate it into their regimen, he says, however for consumer products, “we recommend careful testing and security confirmation. Unless it’s a medical device, oversight remains ambiguous.”

Cutting-Edge Studies and Biological Processes

Meanwhile, in innovative scientific domains, researchers have been testing neural cells, discovering multiple mechanisms for infrared’s cellular benefits. “Pretty much everything I did with the light at that particular wavelength was positive and protective,” he states. It is partly these many and varied positive effects on cellular health that have driven skepticism about light therapy – that claims seem exaggerated. Yet, experimental evidence has transformed his viewpoint.

The researcher primarily focuses on pharmaceutical solutions for brain disorders, though twenty years earlier, a doctor developing photonic antiviral treatment consulted his scientific background. “He developed equipment for cellular and insect experiments,” he says. “I was pretty sceptical. This particular frequency was around 1070 nanometers, which most thought had no biological effect.”

The advantage it possessed, though, was its ability to transmit through aqueous environments, meaning it could penetrate the body more deeply.

Mitochondrial Impact and Cognitive Support

More evidence was emerging at the time that infrared light targeted the mitochondria in cells. Mitochondria produce ATP for cell function, creating power for cellular operations. “Every cell in your body has mitochondria, even within brain tissue,” says Chazot, who prioritized neurological investigations. “It has been shown that in humans this light therapy increases blood flow into the brain, which is always very good.”

With specific frequency application, cellular power plants create limited oxidative molecules. In low doses this substance, says Chazot, “triggers guardian proteins that maintain organelle health, look after your cells and also deal with the unwanted proteins.”

These processes show potential for neurological conditions: antioxidant, inflammation reduction, and cellular cleanup – autophagy being the process the cell uses to clear unwanted damaging proteins.

Present Investigation Status and Expert Assessments

When recently reviewing 1070nm research for cognitive decline, he states, several hundred individuals participated in various investigations, incorporating his preliminary American studies