Are At-Home Red Light LED Skin Care Devices Strong Enough To Work?

If you’ve been on SkinTok lately, you’ve probably seen beauty influencers basking in the glow of big red LED panels or sporting “Tron”-esque face masks. They claim red light therapy is the secret to firmer skin, fewer wrinkles, faster healing and less acne. And the best part is, it’s all completely non-invasive.

From face masks to spot-treatment wands to panels and full light-up sleeping bags that target your entire body, they range in price from hundreds to thousands of dollars — there’s no shortage of companies looking to create a red light therapy device for your specific skin care need.

But do these devices actually deliver on their promises — or are these at-home devices yet another expensive gimmick? We spoke to three dermatologists and an ophthalmologist on what you need to know about red light therapy before taking the plunge.

How does red light therapy work?

While using light to treat your skin woes may seem too good to be true, phototherapies are a well-established practice in dermatology. Using very specific wavelengths of light, dermatologists can treat skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis.

But why red light? Dr. Angela Casey, an Ohio-based board-certified dermatologist, explains that while other colors on the visible light spectrum, like blue or yellow light, only penetrate the outermost layers of the skin, red light is able to reach the deeper layers of the dermis, which houses collagen and elastic tissues.

As mitochondria of skin cells absorb red light, they may be able to boost energy production and enhance cellular function.  This, in theory, increases blood flow and stem cell activity, improving the skin’s ability to repair itself.

According to Casey, red light is also thought to help reduce fine lines and wrinkles by stimulating the fibroblasts that produce collagen while inhibiting the enzymes that can break down collagen.

While the non-invasive benefits of red light therapy sound impressive at first glance, you might want to wait before hitting that “add to cart” button. Much of what scientists understand about red light’s effects on the skin is based on theory and early studies rather than definitive, proven data.

“I have yet to purchase a red light device myself because I just don’t think we have enough hard evidence to support consistent use,” Casey said.

Can at-home red light devices actually change your skin?

While there are several studies on red light therapies that currently look promising, the experts we spoke to highlight many key flaws preventing these studies from proving the effectiveness of red light therapy.

“So far, we don’t have placebo-controlled, randomized studies [for red light therapy],” said Dr. Sabrina Alessi Cesar, a board-certified dermatologist and assistant professor of dermatology at Duke University.

Dr. MaryAnn D. Bentz, chief of dermatology at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital at Yale New Haven Health, pointed out another issue with current studies on red light therapy — most human studies generally have a relatively small number of participants. Bentz explained that while clinical studies should have several hundreds to thousands of participants to get valid statistical data, many of these studies only have sample sizes of less than a hundred participants.

Another concern dermatologists have with at-home red light therapies is the difficulty of ensuring that you get an accurate dosage. Unfortunately, getting an accurate dosage of light therapy is a bit more complicated that switching on a panel across the room and lounging on your couch.

According to Bentz, effective light therapy requires not only a very specific wavelength but also the right intensity or brightness. Unfortunately, as there’s no standardization in the wavelengths and light intensities used by different red light device manufacturers, experts say it can be difficult to ensure you’re getting an accurate, effective dose of red light.

For example, the BIOMAX 900 red light panel from Platinum LED Therapy Lights claims that irradiance at 6 inches is 202 mW/cm², meaning if your skin is 6 inches away from the panel, every square centimeter of surface under the light will receive 202 milliwatts of energy from the light source. 

However, the similarly sized Red Reactive R3 panel from Da Vinci Medical claims its irradiance at 6 inches is only around 78 mW/cm².

And to add even more confusion, the Red Light Therapy PowerPanel MEGA from Block Blue Light gives two separate irradiance measurements at 6 inches using two separate light measurement tools, a light spectrometer and a solar meter. Using the light spectrometer, the panel’s irradiance measures 89 mW/cm² at 6 inches away. But using the solar meter, the irradiance at 6 inches measures at 167 mW/cm². However, the previous two panels did not indicate on their product information pages what light measurement tool was used in measuring their panels’ respective irradiances. 

Additionally, the three red light panels we looked at all vary greatly — both in the specific wavelength measurements and the number of wavelengths used by these machines. This is all to say that your average shopper isn’t easily able to compare the strength of models.

You should take some precautions before trying red light therapy at home.

From a cost-benefit perspective, the dermatology experts we spoke with would recommend opting for treatments with proven effectiveness like retinoids over spending hundreds of dollars on a device that just might work.

But considering that most at-home red light therapy devices generally won’t cause too much harm (outside of your wallet), our experts wouldn’t necessarily advise against using them outright.  

There are just a few factors you should consider before going under the lamp.

Look for FDA clearance and always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

As dupes and counterfeit devices flood the online markets, experts recommend ensuring your device is cleared by the FDA in order to ensure that it passes a safety review.

“When you have devices that have solid clinical studies behind them, and they’ve gotten the clearance [by the FDA], those are likely to be the safest,” Casey said.

Due to the lack of standardization among red light devices, experts strongly urge users to follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

“I tell [my patients] to pay attention to the instructions,” said Dr. Sruthi Arepalli, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at Emory University School of Medicine. “Sometimes people get really eager to use these devices, and they’ll use them for way longer than the intended time period.”

Following the manufacturer’s instructions is particularly important with devices that also use infrared or near-infrared light to penetrate deeper into the dermis layer of the skin, as Bentz warns the heat from the infrared light could potentially cause a thermal burn.

“I’m concerned if people use [these devices] for too long, could that potentially ... burn your skin,” Bentz said.

Protect your eyes.

“As a general rule, I usually say implement some type of eye protection when you’re using any type of these devices. Not all LED devices are manufactured the same or deliver the same amount of light,” Arepalli said.

For greater eye protection, Arepalli recommends choosing a red light device that is able to sit as close to your skin as possible in order to reduce the exposure to your eyes.

If you’re using a device with infrared or near-infrared light, Arepalli strongly recommends usinginfrared goggles to protect your eyes, as burns from the infrared light can damage your cornea and retinas, potentially causing cataracts or even blindness.

“Your eye structures are so much more delicate than your skin. And so although you may be able to tolerate [the light] on your skin just fine, your eyes can’t tolerate it in the same way,” Arepalli said.

Be careful if you have photosensitive conditions or a darker skin tone.

While red light therapy is generally safe, if you have certain photosensitive skin conditions such as lupus or are taking medications that cause photosensitivity, such as doxycycline, Bentz recommends staying away from red light therapy.

Casey also recommends that those with darker skin tones use caution around red light therapy devices, as they could potentially cause hyperpigmentation.

“We know that even heat can trigger conditions like melasma or hyperpigmentation [in those with darker skin types],” Casey said.

Remember, we’re still learning about red light’s effects.

While the current data on red light therapy is promising, it’s important to remember that we still have yet to explore many areas of red light therapy.

“I wouldn’t combine [red light therapy] with any other topicals,” Alessi Cesar said.

Casey agrees, noting that currently, we do not have any studies showing how red light therapy works when used with certain skin care topicals.

Casey also cautions that we still don’t know much about the long-term effects of red light therapy.  

“To date, there are no links in terms of skin cancer or any sort of cellular damage or compromise from these devices,” Casey said. “However, we don’t have a lot of data on what happens when individuals use these devices consistently for years at a time because historically, an LED or low-level light therapy was really only available in a physician’s office or in a medical setting.”

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