Magic Light Treatments: The Secret to Amazing Skin?
Photo: Kenji Aoki/Trunk Archive
Can simply sitting under a colored light for a few minutes actually transform your skin? LED light therapy devotees claim that it can do everything from eliminate acne, calm rosacea and eczema, prevent wrinkles, and heal scarring. And unlike lasers, LEDs promise to be completely painless. Given that most cutting edge beauty treatments seem to involve some sort of discomfort, LEDs sounded too good to be true. I headed to the Rescue Spa in Philadelphia to check it out for myself.
LEDs, or Light Emitting Diodes, work by sending healing light into the deepest layers of your skin. The healing benefits of LEDs were originally discovered by NASA when researchers found that cells exposed to LEDs grow up to 150 to 200% faster than cells not exposed to the light, ultimately speeding up skin’s natural healing process. Each light color offers a distinct benefit: Violet is antibacterial and zaps blackheads; anti-inflammatory green can heal rosacea; orange lightens skin tone; red stimulates collagen and intracellular ATP production to help reduce wrinkles, and blue soothes irritated, acne-plagued skin.
The results aren’t just skin deep: the Rescue Spa promises that LED treatments are an energizing, rejuvenating, stress-relieving experience. Why wouldn’t I sign up? The treatment is done after a traditional facial so that your esthetician—in this case, owner Danuta Mieloch—can determine which light will work best for your skin type. She chooses blue light to calm and clear my skin (it’s been acting up). I am handed a pair of protective glasses and engulfed by three hinged panels of blue light for 15 minutes. It’s not uncomfortable, but if you’re prone to claustrophobia you may not love the feeling of light-filled panels surrounding your face just 6-inches away. Really all you have to do is relax and let the warm lights work their magic for about 15 minutes.
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So does it work? Right before the treatment I noticed my skin was blotchy from extractions and microdermabrasion—the aspects of a facial that usually take a day or two to calm down. There wasn’t an extreme, “Oh My God!” difference, but my skin was noticeably calmer, with less redness. I ask LA-based dermatologist Dr. Ava Shamban, what she thinks of the cutting-edge light therapy. Miracle cure or hocus pocus? “It’s definitely not bogus,” says Dr Shamban. “It’s just not a magic wand.” Shamban often uses the red LED light to help people recover faster after procedures like chemical peels and laser treatments. “Red LEDs help with skin inflammation and ultra violet damage from the sun,” she explains. She also frequently uses blue LEDs for patients with acne noting that it kills bacteria and heals breakouts.
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To really see a difference in your skin from LEDs, Shamban says clients really need to be using the light at least once a day for a couple of weeks. However, with a visit to a dermatologist or a spa costing over $100, that is a pricey prescription. The alternative is to try handheld LED devices that, while less powerful than the versions you get at the dermatologist, are still effective. Dr. Shamban recommends the Tria home LEDs. The Tria Acne Clearing Blue Lightcosts $299 is an excellent way to tackle breakouts. Says Dr. Shamban, “Use it everyday and you will notice a difference.”
