How to Get Facial LED Treatments at Home

LED (light-emitting diode) skin treatments, first developed by NASA in the 1970s to speed healing during space travel, are now available for at-home use with new handheld LED devices to treat acne and signs of skin aging. Like the devices used in spas and doctors' offices, these use specific wavelengths of light to treat different skin problems. Research is solidly behind the new products, which seem to work--slowly, perhaps, but very safely.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Determine the skin issues you want to address. Blue LEDs minimize acne breakouts by killing the bacteria that leads to acne. Red LEDs treat the signs of sun damage and aging by providing more energy to skin cells so they can work harder to heal themselves and produce the collagen and elastin that support healthy tissue.
2. Ask your dermatologist to recommend an at-home LED device or look for units with FDA approval. This approval is confirmation that a device does what it says it does. Just because a light shines red or blue doesn't mean it necessarily has the right wavelengths for treatment purposes.
3. Budget between $225 and $400 to pay for an at-home LED unit. Higher priced units may have multiple color heads, which is good if you have both acne and sun damage. Or they may add infrared invisible light to the red visible light to increase the depth of penetration into skin layers.
4. Shine light on your face for 24 to 30 minutes at a time. A convenient time to do this might be during an evening half-hour sit-com. Hold the light close to the skin and keep it in one spot for two to three minutes before moving to another area. Most units recommend use twice a week, but these devices really are safe enough for daily use.
5. Add other treatments to your facial routine, such as acne medications or chemical peels and anti-aging creams. The LED treatment will strengthen the effects of other treatments and products and increase your results.
6. Look for visible results in three to eight weeks, depending on how often you use your device and also your age, skin color, state of health, diet and lifestyle. Results are cumulative, so you can keep going. If you stop, you will maintain your current level of results for some time.

Tips & Warnings

• LED treatments consist of beneficial wavelengths only of natural light and are safe for any age, skin color or type. There should be no discomfort, inflammation, discoloration, downtime, thermal damage or scarring. In fact, the treatments should feel relaxing and soothing.
• The differences between in-office devices and at-home devices are basically the size of the unit and concentration of diodes. An office device can treat the whole face at once with more intense light, but hand-held devices are expected to produce similar results with a larger investment of time.
• The first FDA-approved at-home LED devices on the market include the Omnilux Clear-U and New-U, Pharos Life Tanda and Evis Marvel-Minis. New devices will be coming.
• LED therapy can also improve skin hydration, treat sunburn, lighten hyper-pigmentation and reduce cellulite and stretch marks on non-facial areas.
• Do not use an LED device if you are taking drugs known to cause photosensitivity or have open wounds in the area. Use caution or consult a physician if you are pregnant or diabetic or have skin that has been burned, grafted or previously resurfaced.