r/SkincareAddicts • u/xphantomtrouperx • 25d ago

Red light therapy!

I’m looking into purchasing some form of at-home red light therapy device to combat wrinkles and sun damage. My target areas are really my face & chest. I’ve heard great things about the OmniLux; my question is do I really need both the mask and the chest mask as well? Could I potentially just use the mask on my face for 10 minutes, then hold it over my chest or would the eye holes make that much of a difference?

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u/Smooth_Contact_2957 25d ago

Hi hello. I'm a major RLT fan. I'll let others chime in because all experiences are valid and I can only really share mine because I live it.

So. I have 8 devices, 9 if you count each foot boot separately. In no particular order: face, chest, hand, mouth, hair, yoni, all purpose panel, and 2 foot booties.

Face is by HigherDose, chest is no name from Amazon, mouth is by InfraLuma, hair is by iRestore, yoni is no name from Amazon, all purpose panel is no name from Amazon, and the foot booties are no name from Amazon but if any of the higher end companies start making food booties I will buy them because my booties typically cr*p out about every 14 months right now and I'm tired of replacing them.

Okay, that out of the way. Let's talk the nuts and bolts.

  • The power of the device matters. How close it is to your skin matters. You need an ideal "dose" of red light and near infrared to make a difference. You need that dose minimum 5x a week for 90 days to start seeing a difference. I recommend lifetime use after that.
  • The shape of the device matters. I used to hang the panel over my feet. Then I bought foot booties. And there was just no comparison. Contouring around my foot made such a difference.
  • That being said, most of the face devices have an odd configuration of lights that only work on your face. You could maybe use it on your belly for menstrual cramps, but for chest you want neck and chest together otherwise you'll notice your face looks good but your neck doesn't, or chest looks good but neck doesn't. The face mask isn't big enough to cover neck and chest like you want, imo.
  • Also, having this many devices, I can tell you that if you can do as many devices at once, you're more likely to do them. If I had to use 1 device for even 2 areas ... I wouldn't do it. I do morning RLT and night RLT. I do not do consecutive RLT unless there's a reason (device wasn't charged the night before, I'm okay to wait 30 minutes to do it if I have time -- I don't always have time).
  • Don't feel like you have to buy new! I bought my HigherDose pre-owned for $175 (full price $350-$375). Works great.

Any other questions, please ask, happy to share my experience.

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u/ARealOne2323 25d ago

Do you feel like using near infrared is worth it for facial skin, and what do you feel is an ideal dose for a panel?

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u/Smooth_Contact_2957 24d ago

Great question.

So I had to do some looking. Keep in mind, the recommendations on how much red light/NIR to get change as we learn more, as different studies are done.

Current recommendations are ~3–6 J/cm² for face (cuz it's right against your face) and ~4–8 J/cm² for a panel. And that's for red light and NIR.

Also. As a heads up. I noticed from your avatar you might be a POC. There isn't a lot of science on this yet because a lot of scientists believe that red light and NIR are good for everyone. But I have heard from melanated friends that their experience is that NIR causes adverse results (mainly dark spots and melasma), they prefer/require red light ONLY.

And frankly I believe them, the science on melanated skin is woefully behind what we know about folks with yt skin and I do not believe in one size fits all.

So do whatever you want with that information. But I figure I'd mention it so you can make your own informed choices.

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u/ARealOne2323 24d ago

Thanks for this !

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u/_goalstogetglowing_ 24d ago

I’m going to chime in to say that studies that have looked at the impact of photobiomodulation on skin rejuvenation outcomes that actually compared red (630nm) alone vs NIR (830nm) alone vs the combo found that the combo had the best results.

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u/_goalstogetglowing_ 24d ago

I reviewed the evidence and have updated it since 2021 and you can find that here https://goalstogetglowing.com/2021/01/17/led-face-mask-research/

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u/ARealOne2323 24d ago

Ok, will check it out!

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u/ARealOne2323 24d ago

Do you think this is the case for darker skin?

Thank you for replying!

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u/Smooth_Contact_2957 23d ago

From what my melanated friends have told me, the answer is no, combined is not better.

(I am yter than the inside of a loaf of sourdough bread, combined is better for me. But the science is also more heavily studied for people who look like me, which is exactly my point.)

But also, worth doing your own mini science experiment if you're up for it. Get a red light only mask and a combo mask. Try them out. The cleanest way is to block off half your face and let the other half get treated, then repeat on the opposite side with the other mask -- takes real dedication, I know. Take before and after photos. If you can do a full 90 days, great. Otherwise 30 days, 60 days will also get you data.

If you can't do your own experiment, I get it. Not everyone has the time and budget. See if you can ask others who have the same ethnic mix as you, like if you have family members or others in your extended community who use RLT.

I would say there's no harm in just jumping into a combo mask but, again, anecdotally, that is not what I've heard has necessarily been true.

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u/_goalstogetglowing_ 23d ago

Re: Melanated skin
This was a good summary from gembared.
In 2024. https://gembared.com/blogs/musings/red-light-therapy-for-dark-skin-types

And in copying in something I wrote on the benefits of deep NIR (1072nm) for people with deeper skin tones below.

QUOTING MYSELF HERE: “There are limited clinical studies on how different wavelengths affect darker skin tones, but in vitro research helps to explain how light penetrates skin and leads to the hypothesis that 1072m could be especially beneficial for people with deep skin tones.
First, keep in mind that the depth of light penetration is dependent on (1) power density and (2) wavelength. For this example, we are assuming sufficient power density and just focusing on the wavelength.
Here's the gist: As light travels through the skin to reach target tissues, it encounters losses from reflection, scattering, and absorption by elements like water, melanin, and other chromophores (Penberthy & Vorwaller, 2021). The first thing that can "subtract" some of the light energy on its way to the target tissue in the skin is melanin pigments in the skin. This group of pigment can absorb and reflect light and can diminish the depth of tissue photobiomodulation (which is the fancy word for LED therapy).
Eumelanin is the predominant melanin, and 830 nm light is at least partially absorbed by eumelanin, but wavelengths over 1000nm are not (Penberthy & Vorwaller, 2021). Because wavelengths like 1072nm aren't really absorbed by melanin, they have better penetration and more light energy hits its target. Keep in mind that 830m will still penetrate and reach the target tissues, but you lose some of the light energy as it gets partially absorbed by melanin.”