‘It sounds like witchcraft’: can light therapy really give you better skin, cleaner teeth, stronger joints?

Light therapy is definitely experiencing a wave of attention. You can now buy light-emitting tools for everything from skin conditions and wrinkles to sore muscles and gum disease, the newest innovation is an oral care tool equipped with miniature red light sources, marketed by the company as “a significant discovery for domestic dental hygiene.” Globally, the industry reached $1 billion in 2024 and is forecast to expand to $1.8 billion by 2035. There are even infrared saunas available, where instead of hot coals (real or electric) heating the air, the infrared radiation heats your body itself. As claimed by enthusiasts, it’s like bathing in one of those LED-lit beauty masks, enhancing collagen production, soothing sore muscles, reducing swelling and persistent medical issues as well as supporting brain health.

The Science and Skepticism

“It sounds a bit like witchcraft,” says a Durham University professor, a scientist who has studied phototherapy extensively. Certainly, some of light’s effects on our bodies are well established. Our bodies produce vitamin D through sun exposure, essential for skeletal strength, immune function, and muscular health. Sunlight regulates our circadian rhythms, additionally, stimulating neurotransmitter and hormone production during daytime, and signaling the body to slow down for nighttime. Daylight-simulating devices frequently help individuals with seasonal depression to elevate spirits during colder months. So there’s no doubt we need light energy to function well.

Various Phototherapy Approaches

Whereas seasonal affective disorder devices typically employ blue-range light, most other light therapy devices deploy red or infrared light. During advanced medical investigations, such as Chazot’s investigations into the effects of infrared on brain cells, identifying the optimal wavelength is crucial. Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation, which runs the spectrum from the lowest-energy, longest wavelengths (radio waves) to short-wavelength gamma rays. Phototherapy, or light therapy employs mid-spectrum wavelengths, with ultraviolet representing the higher energy invisible light, then visible light (all the colours we see in a rainbow) and then infrared (which we can see with night-vision goggles).

Ultraviolet treatment has been employed by skin specialists for decades to treat chronic skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and vitiligo. It works on the immune system within cells, “and reduces inflammatory processes,” explains Dr Bernard Ho. “Substantial research supports light therapy.” UVA penetrates skin more deeply than UVB, in contrast to LEDs in commercial products (which generally deliver red, infrared or blue light) “generally affect surface layers.”

Risk Assessment and Professional Supervision

UVB radiation effects, such as burning or tanning, are recognized but medical equipment uses controlled narrow-band delivery – indicating limited wavelength spectrum – which decreases danger. “Treatment is monitored by medical staff, thus exposure is controlled,” notes the specialist. And crucially, the devices are tuned by qualified personnel, “to ensure that the wavelength that’s being delivered is fit for purpose – as opposed to commercial tanning facilities, where it’s a bit unregulated, and wavelength accuracy isn’t verified.”

Home Devices and Scientific Uncertainty

Red and blue light sources, he says, “aren’t typically employed clinically, though they might benefit some issues.” Red LEDs, it is proposed, improve circulatory function, oxygen uptake and skin cell regeneration, and stimulate collagen production – a primary objective in youth preservation. “Studies are available,” states the dermatologist. “Although it’s not strong.” Nevertheless, amid the sea of devices now available, “we don’t know whether or not the lights emitted are reflective of the research that has been done. We don’t know the duration, ideal distance from skin surface, if benefits outweigh potential risks. Numerous concerns persist.”

Targeted Uses and Expert Opinions

One of the earliest blue-light products targeted Cutibacterium acnes, a microbe associated with acne. Research support isn’t sufficient for standard medical recommendation – despite the fact that, explains the specialist, “it’s often seen in medical spas or aesthetics practices.” Individuals include it in their skincare practices, he says, though when purchasing home devices, “we recommend careful testing and security confirmation. Without proper medical classification, oversight remains ambiguous.”

Advanced Research and Cellular Mechanisms

At the same time, in advanced research areas, researchers have been testing neural cells, discovering multiple mechanisms for infrared’s cellular benefits. “Pretty much everything I did with the light at that particular wavelength was positive and protective,” he says. The numerous reported benefits have generated doubt regarding phototherapy – that claims seem exaggerated. But his research has thoroughly changed his mind in that respect.

The scientist mainly develops medications for neurological conditions, though twenty years earlier, a physician creating light-based cold sore therapy requested his biological knowledge. “He designed tools for biological testing,” he explains. “I remained doubtful. It was an unusual wavelength of about 1070 nanometres, that nobody believed did anything biological.”

What it did have going for it, though, was its efficient water penetration, meaning it could penetrate the body more deeply.

Mitochondrial Impact and Cognitive Support

Additional research indicated infrared affected cellular mitochondria. These organelles generate cellular energy, generating energy for them to function. “Mitochondria exist throughout the body, including the brain,” notes the researcher, who concentrated on cerebral applications. “Studies demonstrate enhanced cerebral circulation with light treatment, which is always very good.”

With 1070 treatment, mitochondria also produce a small amount of a molecule known as reactive oxygen species. At controlled levels these compounds, notes the scientist, “stimulates so-called chaperone proteins which look after your mitochondria, preserve cell function and eliminate damaged proteins.”

All of these mechanisms appear promising for treating a brain disease: oxidative protection, inflammation reduction, and cellular cleanup – autophagy representing cellular waste disposal.

Ongoing Study Progress and Specialist Evaluations

The last time Chazot checked the literature on using the 1070 wavelength on human dementia patients, he says, approximately 400 participants enrolled in multiple trials, incorporating his preliminary American studies