‘It appears magical’: does light therapy actually deliver clearer skin, healthier teeth, and more resilient joints?

Light therapy is clearly enjoying a surge in popularity. You can now buy illuminated devices for everything from dermatological concerns and fine lines as well as aching tissues and gum disease, the newest innovation is a toothbrush equipped with small red light diodes, promoted by the creators as “a breakthrough in at-home oral care.” Internationally, the market was worth $1bn in 2024 and is projected to grow to $1.8bn by 2035. You can even go and sit in an infrared sauna, which use infrared light to warm the body directly, the infrared radiation heats your body itself. As claimed by enthusiasts, it’s like bathing in one of those LED-lit beauty masks, boosting skin collagen, easing muscle tension, relieving inflammation and persistent medical issues and potentially guarding against cognitive decline.

Understanding the Evidence

“It feels almost magical,” notes Paul Chazot, professor in neuroscience at Durham University and a convert to the value of light therapy. Naturally, some of light’s effects on our bodies are well established. Sunlight enables vitamin D production, needed for bone health, immunity, muscles and more. Natural light synchronizes our biological clocks, as well, activating brain chemicals and hormonal responses in daylight, and signaling the body to slow down for nighttime. Daylight-simulating devices are standard treatment for winter mood disorders to boost low mood in winter. Undoubtedly, light plays a vital role in human health.

Different Light Modalities

While Sad lamps tend to use a mixture of light frequencies from the blue end of the spectrum, consumer light therapy products mostly feature red and infrared emissions. In rigorous scientific studies, such as Chazot’s investigations into the effects of infrared on brain cells, identifying the optimal wavelength is crucial. Photons represent electromagnetic waves, which runs the spectrum from the lowest-energy, longest wavelengths (radio waves) to the highest-energy (gamma waves). Light-based treatment uses wavelengths around the middle of this spectrum, with ultraviolet representing the higher energy invisible light, then the visible spectrum we perceive as colors and then infrared (which we can see with night-vision goggles).

Dermatologists have utilized UV therapy for extensive periods to manage persistent skin disorders including eczema and psoriasis. It works on the immune system within cells, “and reduces inflammatory processes,” explains a dermatology expert. “Substantial research supports light therapy.” UVA goes deeper into the skin than UVB, while the LEDs in consumer devices (usually producing colored light emissions) “tend to be a bit more superficial.”

Safety Considerations and Medical Oversight

UVB radiation effects, such as burning or tanning, are recognized but medical equipment uses controlled narrow-band delivery – indicating limited wavelength spectrum – which minimises the risks. “It’s supervised by a healthcare professional, meaning intensity is regulated,” explains the dermatologist. Most importantly, the light sources are adjusted by technical experts, “to ensure that the wavelength that’s being delivered is fit for purpose – as opposed to commercial tanning facilities, where regulations may be lax, and wavelength accuracy isn’t verified.”

Consumer Devices and Evidence Gaps

Colored light diodes, he notes, “don’t have strong medical applications, though they might benefit some issues.” Red LEDs, it is proposed, help boost blood circulation, oxygen utilization and cell renewal in the skin, and stimulate collagen production – a key aspiration in anti-ageing effects. “Studies are available,” comments the expert. “But it’s not conclusive.” Regardless, given the plethora of available tools, “we don’t know whether or not the lights emitted are reflective of the research that has been done. Appropriate exposure periods aren’t established, proper positioning requirements, if benefits outweigh potential risks. Many uncertainties remain.”

Treatment Areas and Specialist Views

Early blue-light applications focused on skin microbes, bacteria linked to pimples. Scientific backing remains inadequate for regular prescription – even though, says Ho, “it’s frequently employed in beauty centers.” Some of his patients use it as part of their routine, he mentions, but if they’re buying a device for home use, “we recommend careful testing and security confirmation. Without proper medical classification, standards are somewhat unclear.”

Advanced Research and Cellular Mechanisms

Meanwhile, in innovative scientific domains, scientists have been studying cerebral tissue, identifying a number of ways in which infrared can boost cellular health. “Virtually all experiments with specific wavelengths showed beneficial and safeguarding effects,” he says. The numerous reported benefits have generated doubt regarding phototherapy – that it’s too good to be true. However, scientific investigation has altered his perspective.

Chazot mostly works on developing drug treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, however two decades past, a physician creating light-based cold sore therapy requested his biological knowledge. “He created some devices so that we could work with them with cells and with fruit flies,” he explains. “I was pretty sceptical. It was an unusual wavelength of about 1070 nanometres, which most thought had no biological effect.”

The advantage it possessed, nevertheless, was its ability to transmit through aqueous environments, meaning it could penetrate the body more deeply.

Mitochondrial Impact and Cognitive Support

Additional research indicated infrared affected cellular mitochondria. Mitochondria produce ATP for cell function, producing fuel for biological processes. “Every cell in your body has mitochondria, including the brain,” says Chazot, who prioritized neurological investigations. “It has been shown that in humans this light therapy increases blood flow into the brain, which is always very good.”

With specific frequency application, cellular power plants create limited oxidative molecules. In low doses this substance, explains the expert, “triggers guardian proteins that maintain organelle health, preserve cell function and eliminate damaged proteins.”

These processes show potential for neurological conditions: free radical neutralization, swelling control, and pro-autophagy – self-digestion mechanisms eliminating harmful elements.

Present Investigation Status and Expert Assessments

When recently reviewing 1070nm research for cognitive decline, he states, about 400 people were taking part in four studies, incorporating his preliminary American studies