Most light therapy devices on the market also have infrared capabilities, working together with red LED light. But can infrared light be as safe and effective as LED? In fact, 50% of sunlight consists of infrared rays (divided into near and far infrared by wavelength), while ultraviolet rays, which we’ve always thought as the culprit of skin aging, only make up 1/10 of sunlight! The latest buzzword for anti-aging is protection against “infrared rays”.
So is infrared skin treatment really safe? Let’s take a step back, because I’m going to introduce the latest light therapy tech – near infrared, also known as “white LED” in Japanese aesthetic medicine.
Near infrared light can penetrate through the dermis layer down to the muscles! That means, while everyday sun exposure can accelerate skin and muscle aging, making our faces saggy and destroying collagen in the dermis, appropriate amounts of near infrared can have the opposite effect – activating “fibroblasts” in the muscles and promoting collagen production!!
Next, let’s compare the advantages of light therapy versus radio frequency, microcurrent and thermage treatments:
1. Radio frequency (RF): A non-invasive treatment that delivers RF energy to deep skin layers through a probe. The deep uniform heating tightens skin structures and subcutaneous tissue instantly without energy decay. However, most home RF devices actually operate at 0.4-1MHz frequencies, mainly acting on the epidermis.
2. Thermage: Localized heating by RF focuses on subcutaneous tissue, denaturing dermal collagen. The skin repairs itself by producing more collagen and hyaluronic acid. But energy decays from surface to deeper layers, only reaching 2.6-3mm into the dermis, not the fascia.
3. Microcurrent: Mimics the body’s natural bioelectric currents to stimulate circulation and muscle contractions, providing only mild tightening effects. It cannot significantly improve wrinkles and sagging.
4. Near infrared: Its strong biological effects can stimulate collagen regeneration and elastic fiber production in tissues beyond the reach of other light therapies. It also relieves muscle contractures.
A 60-year-old woman who sustained a right glabellar frown line and myalgia of the right corrugator supercilii muscle (CSM) and was irradiated unilaterally. (Above) Primary and upward gazing before irradiation. The area surrounded by a dotted line indicates the unilaterally irradiated area. Two rounds of NIR irradiation were performed every week. One round consisted of 35 shots of NIR irradiation at 40 /cm2. (Center) Immediately after irradiation. The most medial point of the right eyebrow appeared to be dislocated laterally. (Below) Ninety days after irradiation.(Tanaka Y, Matsuo K, Yuzuriha S. Long-lasting relaxation of corrugator supercilii muscle contraction induced by infrared irradiation. ePlasty. 2011;11:e6:42-49)
For home care, multifunctional devices with ion introduction work for basic maintenance. But for professional collagen stimulation, specialized single-function devices with high quality LED arrays are superior. Mask-type devices are convenient for hands-free automated treatment.
Light therapy takes time and patience to see results. Choose safe, certified products with proper parameters. Avoid unrealistic instant effects. This post provides valuable insights for selecting cosmetic devices!
Post time: Jul-20-2023