Red light therapy is not new, but it has recently surged in popularity. This brings us to the question you have to ask of any trending wellness technique—is it worth your time? The short answer is yes.

Key Takeaways

  • Red light therapy uses red and near-infrared light to boost cellular energy.
  • It’s a non-invasive treatment with growing popularity and real potential benefits.
  • Consistent use may support recovery, skin health, weight management, mood, sleep, and more.
  • Session frequency and wavelength intensity can be optimized for sleep, workouts, pain relief, or cognitive support.
  • Best results come from pairing therapy with hydration, good nutrition, sleep, and movement.
  • Skincare, supplements, and post-session routines can enhance and extend results.

Read on to learn how red light therapy works, what its potential benefits are, and how you can use it to boost your own wellness. 

What Is Red Light Therapy?

Put simply, red light therapy delivers red and near-infrared light to your cells, stimulating cellular energy. Unlike UV rays from the sun, this kind of light won’t burn or damage your skin when used correctly. 

Some treatments apply red light only to your face, but at the Pharmacy at Designer Drugs Labs, we offer sessions in our prism light pods, which deliver red light to your entire body. It’s a quick and non-invasive treatment that can yield a wide range of benefits. 

What Can Red Light Therapy Actually Do?

All buzzwords aside, the potential benefits of red light therapy are pretty impressive. With consistent sessions, it can result in:

  • Enhanced recovery. By supporting cellular energy production, red light therapy helps reduce inflammation, ease muscle and joint discomfort, and accelerate recovery from workouts, injuries, and daily wear and tear. 
  • Better weight management. By enhancing cellular function and circulation, red light therapy supports fat cell optimization and lymphatic drainage. 
  • Skin rejuvenation. By stimulating collagen and elastin production, red light therapy helps reduce fine lines, promotes smoother skin, and leaves you with a healthy and radiant glow. 
  • Improved mood. By calming the nervous system and increasing serotonin and dopamine, red light therapy supports a more uplifted and motivated mood. 
  • Better sleep. By balancing your circadian rhythm, red light therapy makes it easier to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up feeling refreshed.

Tailoring Red Light Therapy to You

The variables of red light therapy include wavelength intensity and the frequency of sessions. Treatment is most effective when these variables are tailored to suit your needs and goals.

For general wellness and cellular optimization, we recommend 2-3 sessions a week at low to moderate wavelength. 

For wound healing and dermatologic conditions like photoaging, alopecia, and acne, we recommend moderate to high wavelength and starting with 3-5 sessions a week for 8-12 weeks, and then 1-2 sessions a week for maintenance. Collagen remodeling is a slow process, so treatments must be performed more frequently at first to give your body the boost it needs to start the process.

To help prepare you for a good night of sleep, we recommend a session 2-3 hours before bedtime at a low to moderate wavelength. A similar session in the morning can also help with daytime alertness. 

To help with issues like osteoarthritis, tendinopathy, and low back pain, we recommend low to moderate wavelength and an initial phase of 3-5 sessions a week for up to a month, followed by 1-2 weekly sessions for maintenance. The high initial frequency is required to break the cycle of pain and inflammation. The higher wavelength helps penetrate more deeply to address issues like joint pain. 

To help with muscle fatigue and recovery, we recommend a session up to two hours before exercise or in the hour immediately after. Follow-up sessions 24 and 48 hours after exercise can help relieve severe delayed onset muscle soreness. During limited times of peak training, sessions daily or even twice daily can be beneficial. 

To help with neurological and psychiatric issues like TBI, concussion, major depressive disorder, and anxiety, we recommended low to moderate wavelength and 3-5 sessions a week for 4-6 weeks, followed by 1-2 weekly sessions for maintenance. Red light can penetrate the skull and may improve cognitive function, reduce inflammation, and stimulate neurogenesis.

Getting the Most Out of Red Light Therapy 

The following tips will help you optimize the impact of each session.

  1. Let the Light In. 

    During each session, expose as much skin to the light as possible. Avoid sunscreen and lotions, which can block those healing rays.

  2. Stay Hydrated. 

    Drinking water before and after each session supports circulation and cellular function.

  3. Combine With Healthy Habits. 

    Good sleep, nutrition, and daily movement can enhance your results.

Products to Support Red Light Therapy Immediately After a Session

The products below are ideal for use right after red light therapy, when your skin is primed to absorb nutrients.

Prevent+ Serum by Designer+ Cosmeceuticals
Creates a synergistic shield against environmental damage while enhancing your skin's natural defense system, locking in and amplifying results.

Prevent Serum by Designer+ Cosmeceuticals
Protects against environmental damage and helps stabilize new collagen fibers stimulated by RLT, while supporting hydration for optimal healing and plumpness.

Hydrate Serum by Designer+ Cosmeceuticals
Helps lock in and strengthen the new collagen, while soothing and delivering deep hydration to support your skin's natural repair process.

Hydrate Toner by Designer+ Cosmeceuticals
Helps shed dead surface cells so that red light can penetrate more deeply and evenly, stimulating more collagen production, while keeping skin hydrated and soothed.

The Evening After Or on Days Between Sessions

These products are handpicked to help you continue the benefits of red light therapy until your next time in the prism light pod.

GHK-Cu Copper Peptide Serum
Prescription medication that provides the raw materials for repair, significantly boosting collagen synthesis and enhancing skin regeneration.

Pep+ Perfect Peptide by Designer+ Cosmeceuticals
Reinforces collagen building, providing a firming effect while plumping the skin and supporting optimal healing.

Correct+ Night Cream by Designer+ Cosmeceuticals
An overnight formula that accelerates cell turnover, brightens discolorations, refines texture, and calms and strengthens skin barrier function.

Correct Night Cream by Designer+ Cosmeceuticals
Gently resurfaces skin so future RLT sessions can penetrate more deeply, while brightening the freshly stimulated collagen.

Supplements That Support and Augment Red Light Therapy

Red light therapy signals your body to heal, and these supplements help fuel that process.

For Skin Rejuvenation and Anti-Aging

GHK-Cu (10mg) by Annular
Provides the raw materials for repair, significantly boosting collagen synthesis and enhancing skin regeneration.

Stellar C by Designs for Health
Improves blood flow to deliver oxygen and nutrients to treated areas, while providing extra antioxidant protection that supports healing.

Whole Beauty Collagen by Designs for Health
Supplies the building blocks your body needs to rebuild and strengthen new collagen stimulated by RLT.

Astaxanthin (6-12mg) by Designs for Health
A powerful antioxidant that protects skin cells from photoaging and UV damage by neutralizing the temporary oxidative burst created during the healing process stimulated by RLT.

For Muscle Recovery and Cellular Energy

Methylene Blue 10mg by Annular
Delivers electrons to the mitochondria while RLT increases the efficiency of how those electrons are used, potentially enhancing cognitive function, muscle recovery, skin rejuvenation, and overall energy levels.

ATP 360 by Researched Nutritionals
Not only fuels energy production, but also helps to strengthen and grow mitochondrial membranes.

Q-Evail (100-200mg/day) by Designs for Health
Helps fuel energy production and can work with RLT to enhance mitochondrial activity, reduce oxidative stress, and support cellular energy.

Omega MonoPure 1300 EC Fish Oil by Xymogen
Essential for reducing muscle soreness after workouts and supporting the fluidity of cell membranes, which is crucial for cellular communication and repair.

Ready to Start Red Light Therapy?

The clinical experts at Designer Drugs Labs are here to help. Click here to learn more and ask any questions you may have.