LED light therapy for acne
LED does nothing about the blockage and nothing about the oil. It works on what comes after: the bacterium that thrives in a blocked pore and the inflammation that follows. So it almost never stands alone.
Why this here does about it
In a blocked pore a bacterium grows that occurs naturally in the skin. That bacterium makes substances that react to blue light of a certain wavelength; in doing so oxygen is released that damages the bacterium itself.
Red light does something else: it penetrates deeper and calms the inflammatory response around it. With acne they are therefore often given one after the other, blue on the bacterium and red on the redness.
What LED does not do is clear the pore. Without a cleanse or a peel the blockage stays and the bacterium returns, and then you are treating the same thing over and over.
What is goes differently than usual
Usually straight after, not on its own
After a cleanse or a peel, once the pore is clear. Then the light tackles what is still in there rather than what lies on top.
Blue and red, in that order
Blue on the bacterium, red on the inflammation. Which of the two counts more depends on how red and how inflamed your skin is.
Short but often
A session takes twenty minutes and there is no recovery time. It works through repetition, so a series with a few days to a week in between.
What it gives you
Calmer skin with fewer inflamed spots, and less redness around the spots that are there. It is the quiet step in an acne programme: no recovery time, no irritation, and the effect comes from the repetition.
- How often
- Usually straight after another treatment.
- Recovery time
- None.
- From
- € 30
When you would choose something else
- As a single treatment it does little; without tackling the blockage it comes back.
- With severe inflamed acne a doctor should take a look.
- Certain medication makes the skin light-sensitive; you should mention that before any light goes on.
What people asked about this.
That is possible, but then you get little out of it. The light works on the bacterium and on the inflammation; if the pore stays blocked it keeps coming back. It is meant as a step within a programme.
No. You lie for twenty minutes with goggles on under the light and at most you feel some warmth. Afterwards you carry straight on with your day.
Whether this suits you,
your skin will show.
Everything above applies to this concern in general. What is going on with you and whether this is the right route is established by the therapist at the skin consultation. If the answer is no, you hear that too.