LED light therapy appears to be gaining an enormous amount of popularity in recent years. You have probably heard about LED skin treatments in the media as a non-surgical face lift alternative. It seems like every week there is some news about new ways that LED technology is being used to treat a variety of skin conditions. From anti-aging and acne to rosacea, more people are visiting their skin care experts to take advantage of emerging LED technologies to improve a variety of skin conditions.  Eti Elison of Skin by Eti Elison, a licensed skin therapist, explained how the LED treatment works.

“Just as plants absorb and convert sunlight into cellular building blocks, skin absorbs therapeutic light and uses it as a source of energy.” The LED offers the benefits of the sunlight without the damaging UV rays. It stimulates cellular regeneration to produce collagen and elastin and also kills acne bacteria, reduces inflammation, and speeds healing. Many people might not associate the idea of having LED light application on their skin as part of the process of skin treatment but it is becoming more and more common. It’s a technology that involves multiple different LED lights emitting at different wavelengths but no UV light is involved.

Many people are seeking out the treatments for help with acne. Eti told us, “LED light therapy has been proven to be an effective treatment for acne with no negative side effects. The blue light destroys acne causing bacteria and the red light reduces redness and inflammation. Together they help to clear existing breakouts and prevent them in the future.” Another benefit of LED technology is that it has no recovery time. It is not invasive so it really does not do anything that you need to recover from. For people who work with the public or in media who often feel like they need to take time off for skin treatments, LED facials are ideal. They don’t need to take any time off and they can go right back to their normal daily routine after treatment. This is true for all skin types. Which is often not the case with other types of facial methods.

Many people are curious about how the treatment does it feel. More specifically, they wonder if it hurts or burns like some laser treatments, but this is not that type of treatment at all. Eti tells us the LED is very relaxing and soothing and a perfect addition to the spa relaxation experience. The light is applied for the stimulating effect. It is not an application like lasers or other methods that involve burning or micro damage to the skin to promote regeneration. Clients are happy to learn that the treatment is pain free. The LED facial is reported to produce improvements in fine lines, wrinkles while firming and toning the skin. The result is more youthful and radiant skin.

How can you know if LED treatments are right for you? It seems that the they are great for a wide variety of people, especially if you are allergic or sensitive to invasive treatments. Eti said “Because the LED is non-invasive and has no recovery time. It can be used on all skin types and any age client including teenagers. Unlike the lasers that are invasive, have risks and over time will thin out the skin layers, which may result in more damage to the skin. In my practice I use the LED light on all my patients as part of all my treatments including my signature facial, chemical peels, micro-needling, but I like it especially for anti-aging and acne patients because it is truly restoring the clear, youthful, healthy appearance. In general, all ages can benefit from the LED.”