How to Do Red Light Therapy at Home in 2 Steps

Over 9,500 studies show that red light therapy works. It helps with:

• Skincare (wrinkles, lines, sagging, acne, eczema, psoriasis, cellulite and dermatitis)
• Pain Relief (nerve, muscle, and joint pain, including arthritis relief)
• Brain function (traumatic brain injury (TBI), chronic traumatic encephalitis (CTE), dementia including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s)
• Soft Tissue (ligament and muscle injury healing, exercise recovery, delayed onset muscle soreness prevention and relief)
• Hair Growth (hair re-growth in certain types of baldness)

In this article, you will learn how to choose the right device type and wavelengths for your goals and how to use your red light therapy device.

Key Takeaways:

1. Get the right device type and wavelengths for your goal
   • Device types: a hat for hair growth, a panel for muscle recovery, a mask or panel for skincare, headgear for brain health, and a handheld or pad for pain relief.
   • Wavelengths: Infrared and red for everything; add blue for acne, eczema, psoriasis, and dermatitis; add green for stress relief; add yellow to soothe the skin even more.
2. Follow the instructions! The manufacturer knows your device better than anyone else. Understand the power, time and distance rules to get the right dose.

How to Do Red Light Therapy at Home (2 Steps)

If you understand a few key concepts, you will reap the massive benefits of red light therapy.

1. Get the right type of device with the correct wavelengths
2. Use it at the proper distance for the correct amount of time

1 – Choose the Right Red Light Therapy Device

TL;DR: Find the right device type for your goals here: Reasons Why At-Home Red Light Therapy Devices Are Worth the Investment.

Pick the Device Designed for Your Therapeutic Goal

A cap or helmet makes sense for hair growth but would be awkward for facial acne or wrinkles. The type of device you get should match your therapeutic goal.

Also, it doesn’t matter whether your device touches the skin for skincare or muscle recovery. You want a device that holds the lights onto the skin for skincare, pain relief, brain care, soft tissue, and hair growth.

The best device types for each goal are:

1. For acne, wrinkles, and skin conditions, use a panel or face mask
2. For pain relief, use a handheld or pad
3. For brain health, use a headset or wrap
4. For muscle and soft tissue energy and recovery, use a handheld, panel, or pad.
5. For hair growth, use a cap or helmet

Red Light Therapy Panel

A panel (a box light ranging in size from a tabletop to one over six ft. tall) shines the light on you from a distance. While some of that light gets lost to distance, panels are so powerful that they give you a healthy dose of light anyway.

Panels are the right choice for:

• muscle recovery
• soft tissue injury
• energy support
• chronic pain relief

Red Light Therapy Face Mask

A face mask is for facial skin conditions. It presses light onto the skin, giving it no place to escape. That’s how masks give you a strong dose of light despite being weaker than panels. It’s difficult to use a mask for anything but the face, but I’ve seen some wonderful pet owners put masks on their cats and dogs (on their bodies, not their faces :).

Besides using for dog or cat pain relief, a face mask is the best choice for facial:

• acne
• lines
• sagging
• eczema
• psoriasis
• rosacea
• dermatitis

Red Light Therapy Handheld

A handheld red light therapy device focuses light onto one spot, making it a good choice for acute pain relief. My veterinarian used her practice’s “cold laser” (the same thing, a different name) for her plantar fasciitis. She told me it was the only therapy that eased her pain. If the treatment area is relatively small, you can use a handheld for skin conditions.

A handheld is the choice for:

• acute pain relief
• muscle, ligament, or joint injury
• arthritis pain
• spot inflammation reduction
• brain support
• spot facial skin conditions such as acne, wrinkles, and dermatitis

Red Light Therapy Pad (Wrap or Belt)

A pad (aka a wrap or belt) is a light array embedded in neoprene or vinyl rubber. Pads wrap around the target area or lay flat on areas like the back or stomach. Some pads come with holders to turn them into facial therapy domes. When fashioned as a belt, wraps are used for fat loss and pain relief. Like face masks, they’re weaker than panels but don’t lose light to distance or reflection.

Pads are best for:

• chronic pain in the back, arms, feet, legs, and shoulders
• fat loss
• brain support

Headsets are designed for brain care. They hold lights on the target for better penetration. Vielight makes headsets for dementia, Parkinson’s, and brain injury support.

Red Light Therapy Headset

Headsets are best for:

• traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• chronic traumatic encephalitis (CTE)
• concussion
• Dementia, including Alzheimer’s
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD)
• Anxiety
• Depression

Red Light Therapy Hat

Hats are for hair growth support. People always ask me if they can use a hair growth cap for brain support. The answer is “maybe.” Even when a device is designed for brain injury or dementia, very little of its light reaches brain tissue. It’s enough to be therapeutic, but the point is that a lesser device might not transfer enough energy to help. If you have a cap for hair growth, there’s no reason not to try it for brain support. Let me know how it goes!

Hats are best for:

• hair growth

Pick the Wavelengths for Your Therapeutic Goal

Red and infrared light are universal healers. They should be included in any red light therapy device.

Blue light is antibacterial and more energetic than red and infrared light. You should use blue light for skin conditions such as dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, and acne. If your red and infrared light doesn’t have blue, it should still be useful in reducing symptoms. Blue adds power and amplifies the effects.

Green light is soothing to the skin and brain. Its wavelength is FDA-approved for migraine reduction. Your red and infrared devices will work without green, but adding this wavelength will add power to smooth skin tone and relieve stress.

Yellow light is also soothing to the skin. It can transform dullness or redness into a healthy glow. Red and infrared do much heavy lifting, but adding yellow improves the results.

Remembering that red and infrared are doing most of the work, here is how to choose red light therapy wavelengths:

Red light:

• superficial skin conditions, including wrinkles, lines, sagging, acne, eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis and rosacea
• chronic and acute pain relief
• hair growth

Infrared light:

• deeper skin conditions, including wrinkles, lines, sagging, acne, eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis and rosacea
• chronic and acute pain relief
• Brain support for dementia, Parkinson’s, and brain injury

Blue light:

• extra support for chronic skin conditions, including acne, eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, and rosacea

Green light:

• extra support for reducing redness and dullness
• potential migraine support

Yellow light:

• extra support for reducing redness and dullness

2 – How To Use Your Device (if You Lost the Instructions)

Everything you’re about to learn will help you remember how to use your device to get the best benefits. If you strictly follow the instructions that come with your device, you don’t need to understand the “why.” But read on if you have a device without instructions or want to be motivated to follow a strict regimen and routine.

The following are rules of thumb based on industry standards. Your device’s instructions are the best source for this information!

How to Use a Panel

1. Get a ruler or tape measure
2. Measure the distance from a comfortable position to the device
3. For skincare, wash and dry your face or target skin area.
4. Choose a distance that will work for your comfort level and time constraints.
   • If that distance is 6 inches, use the panel for 5 minutes
   • If it is 12 inches, use it for 10 minutes
   • If it is 18 inches, use it for 20 minutes
5. Use the device every other day.

How to Use a Face Mask

1. Wash and dry your face.
2. Strap the mask to your face.
3. Allow the timer to determine your session length (usually 5-10 minutes)
4. Use the device every other day.

How to Use a Handheld

1. For skincare, wash and dry the target skin.
2. Hold the handheld about an inch from the target.
3. “Paint” the area as if painting with a brush to avoid concentrating the light in one spot
4. Use the light for 2-3 minutes per area daily.

How to Use a Headset

1. Position the headset’s LED modules according to the device’s design. If using a Vielight Neuro, put the LEDs above the ears, on the crux of the neck, and the forehead.
2. Use the device for 20 minutes every other day.

How to Use a Hat

1. Position the hat on the scalp to cover the treatment areas.
2. Use the device for 20 minutes every other day.

How to Use a Belt/Wrap/Pad

1. For brain care, position the wrap on the forehead and back of the neck for 20 minutes every other day.
2. For fat loss or chronic pain, wear the device as a belt or wrap it around the affected area for 20 minutes daily.
3. For skincare, position the pad in a holder to shape it into a dome. Use the dome for 15 minutes every other day.

How to Choose the Device for Your Concern

Devices such as panels are useful for skin and muscle recovery. They can be used for more than one concern.

Other devices like face masks are good for one goal: treating the face. You wouldn’t use a face mask to grow hair or recover from a workout.

This section will show you how to get the right device for your concern.

Red Light Therapy for Skin Concerns

Use a panel for acne, wrinkles, sagging, eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea red light therapy. A face mask is a good choice if the skin concern is on the face.

Panels treat a larger area in about 10 minutes, and face masks treat a small area in about 5 minutes.

Panels cast light across a wide area. They come in tabletop, medium, and full sizes. The larger your panel, the more of your face and body you can treat in one session.

Face masks are focused on the face. Some come with optional neck/chest attachments to extend the treatment to those areas.

Red Light Therapy for Soft Tissue Issues

For exercise recovery and soft tissue support, use a wrap (pad or belt), panel, or handheld device.

I used a handheld to treat my arthritic knee. Handhelds are usually powerful, and treatment times are usually 2-3 minutes. However, unlike panels and wraps, they are not hands-free. I prefer a handheld for acute pain relief.

A pad or wrap (also known as a belt) presses light onto the skin so none gets lost to reflection or distance. Wrap treatments are usually 20 minutes. Wraps and belts are wearable devices, so you can walk around while using them (unless they are plugged in and not battery-powered; then you’re stuck in one place). Wraps are a good choice for chronic pain relief.

A panel is best for exercise recovery because it can reach a large area each session. Panels work well for soft tissue injury support, but handheld and wraps are faster. A panel might take a few weeks to work, but a wrap or handheld can take a few days. Panels are a good choice for chronic pain relief.

Red Light Therapy for Hair Growth

Hair growth devices come in combs, bands, caps, and helmets. I like the first three, but I’m not fond of helmets. They tend to get hot, which is counterproductive and uncomfortable.

Red Light Therapy for Brain Issues

Brain lights are usually headsets, wraps, or helmets.

Vielight is the biggest manufacturer of red light therapy for dementia, brain injury, and Parkinson’s. Their flagship device is a headset. Nushape makes a wrap with the same specifications as the Vielight Neuro Duo. The Nushape is a neoprene wrap.

I prefer the wrap to the headset because it’s easier to put on and more comfortable.

Helmets tend to get hot, which is counterproductive. I don’t know of a helmet I would recommend at this point in time, anyway.

Red Light Therapy Rules

Certain rules apply to your red light therapy regimen regardless of your goal. So we’ll review those global rules first and then break it down by whether you’re working on skin, pain relief, brain care, or soft tissue support.

Red Light Therapy is Low-Energy

Red light therapy is the low-energy transfer of light energy to the cells. It was discovered when a broken laser failed to deliver high-energy light. The low-energy light stimulated faster hair growth in test mice.

Not going too fast with light energy uses the same principle Barbara O’Neil teaches about drinking water. Guzzling water is like a rainstorm that floods and overwhelms the land. The water doesn’t absorb; it just washes away without providing its intended benefit.

This low-and-slow nature of red light therapy is one reason light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are preferred over lasers. If you use a laser, you need one stepped down multiple times from its maximum power output.

A Red Light Therapy “Dose” = Time + Distance + Power

TL;DR: If you don’t have the instructions for your device, follow the rules I outlined here: How to Calculate a Red Light Therapy Dose.

Your light will come with instructions explaining the time you should spend with the device and how far you should be from it. These directions are based on the device’s power output. The more powerful a device, the less time you need to get a light dose. The closer you are to the device, the less time you need for that dose.

If this raises a question in your mind (“I thought you said we don’t want high power!”), thank you for paying attention.

The light that provides the fastest session will have the most power within a range. That range tops at about 100 mW/cm2 (100 milliwatts per square centimeter) power density.

How do you know the power density? The vendor will tell you the “irradiance,” which is the power density at a given distance. That number is likely WRONG, so listen to me here: Use the light for the TIME instructed at the DISTANCE stated. Vendors usually get the irradiance wrong, but they usually get the time and distance right.

The bottom line is that the closer you comply with the instructions, the more likely you will get the proper light dose.

Treatment Time Is a Window

To get light therapy benefits, you need to follow a treatment timeline. Every second of light exposure adds more photons to the electron transport chains in the mitochondria. There will come a point when the iron, copper, and water cannot absorb more light energy. If you keep exposing yourself to the light past this point, you will lose your therapeutic gains. Stay within the therapeutic window. Don’t do too little or too much therapy.

Device Power is Not Wattage

The amount of time for each session is completely dependent on your device. It doesn’t depend on the device’s wattage, which is its input power. It depends on the device’s ability to shine light at the target: its irradiance (power density).

A light that is too weak cannot shower the target with photon energy, and a device that is too strong will lose light energy that reflects off the skin. Can you cook a 15-lb. turkey at 900 degrees for ten minutes? What if you cook it at 100 degrees for ten days? A device that is too powerful or too weak will not work.

The same applies to light therapy, but the circumstances are unpredictable. If you do it incorrectly, you just waste your time. You won’t get rubbery or burnt.

Energy tends to drop dramatically with distance. This is reflected in the inverse square rule, which states that intensity equals the inverse square of the distance from the source.

Conclusion

Red light therapy is a promising treatment that can help with pain relief, skin healing, and cognitive function. However, it’s crucial to understand and follow the proper guidelines for using the therapy correctly. Time, distance, and power change how much light you receive (the “dose”). Follow the instructions to get an optimal dose of light. Always buy from companies that measure their device irradiance, such as those on my preferred vendor list.