Acne vulgaris remains one of the most common dermatologic disorders. Clinicians are always searching for new therapies to utilize in their therapeutic armamentarium for this common skin concern. We have many medical therapies at our disposal and these have proven useful in many cases in controlling the disease process. However, some patients need or want other therapies, and laser and light treatments for acne vulgaris have become popular over the past several years.
Regarding LED light therapy for the skin, “There is a science to support it” says Angela Lamb, director of the Westside Mount Sinai Dermatology Practice,
“but it’s important to know its limitations.”
Exposing your skin to different forms of low-level LED light does have anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory benefits, which is why they’re commonly used for treating redness or acne. Blue light therapy in the right wavelength can be FDA-cleared.
Other blue light trials have supported the efficacy of blue light. Papageorgiou described their experiences with phototherapy comparing a mixed blue and red light system (415 and 660nm) with blue light therapy alone and white light therapy. The results showed that the combination of blue and red light decreased inflammatory acne vulgaris lesions by 76 percent versus 58 percent in the blue light alone group, which were both better than white light (25%). Meffert reported experiences with a high-energy, broad-spectrum, blue light source that combined blue light and UVA with a wavelength of 410 to 420nm and noted marked improvement in patients with pustular acne vulgaris after 10 treatments.
There are a variety of at-home light treatments out there like the Aduro mask (which is patented with medical grade quality) who uses red, orange, purple, infrared, cyan, blue,green and yellow light — but typically what you’ll see on shelves are ones harnessing blue or red light . Blue light is a shorter wavelength that destroys acne-causing bacteria on the skin’s surface, while red light penetrates deeper to help with inflammation, but Hooman Khorasani, the chief of the division of Dermatologic and Cosmetic Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, says that both blue- and red-light therapy “may reduce the size of the sebaceous glands, so you don’t produce as much oil.”
The good thing about light therapy is that experts say that there aren’t really downsides if you’re willing to give it a shot. Light treatments have been shown to be relatively safe, with minimal side effects. For acne, Khorasani notes that LED devices won’t take the place of acne fighters like retinoids; instead, they should be used in concert with a multipronged treatment plan — and never for severe acne. If you are combining them with retinoids, Lamb also suggests alternating the days you use either of them, to avoid photosensitivity.
When you combine the blue and red light using the aduro mask, you can get a pink/purple amazing color that will help remove the p-acne causing bacteria from the skin while purifying and cleansing it. Also, you will speed up the healing process and rejuvenate the skin cells increasing the cell regeneration.
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cdrh_docs/pdf9/K093963.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3013592
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