A little over a year ago, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I immediately scoured the internet to find natural ways to help increase my thyroid function and get my energy back. I stumbled across DIY red light therapy, and as a lover of science, I was fascinated by its healing effects.
Good Enough for NASA
NASA used LED red lights to grow plants in space, and after seeing how well the light worked on plants, they decided to try it on astronauts. Astronauts have a hard time growing cells, healing wounds, and preventing bone and muscle loss while in space. They found that the cells grow 150 to 200 times faster with red light therapy. I decided, if it's good enough for NASA, it's good enough for me, and I'm happy to try anything once!
What's the Cost?
You can go to a fancy spa and spend a lot of money on red light therapy, or you can get great results at home. It's super affordable, painless and easy to do. Besides helping to heal my thyroid, it has become my new beauty secret...and I'm willing to share it with you.
Red Light Therapy Benefits
Red light, once absorbed can increase circulation, cellular energy production, increase collagen production, and reduce inflammation, just to name a few benefits. You can use this to help boost collagen in your skin, minimize wrinkles, clear up rosacea, age spots, acne, heal wounds, heal stretch marks, and even repair sun damage. Red light has some serious talent!
LED vs Infrared Red Light Therapy
I like to use two different types of red light therapy bulbs--LED red light bulbs and Infrared light bulbs. I use the LED red light bulbs for cosmetic purposes because they are small, don't give off heat, and with wavelengths of 640-660 nm, they don't penetrate as deeply.
There's no need to spend hundreds of dollars on fancy equipment. I use a small, inexpensive bulb that can be found here (these are mercury free and cruelty free). I initially used it for 5 minutes per area, 2 times a day for the first 2 weeks and then 2 times a day, twice a week for maintenance. After I put on my eye protection (please wear eye protection!) I hold it directly on my skin, on the areas I want to focus on. For me, this is generally the crows feet and upper cheekbones. It's painless and I can do it while I'm watching television or laying in bed. I've been at it for about 2 months and have definitely noticed a difference in my wrinkles. Be smarter than I was, and take close up before pictures so you can see the results.
The Infrared light bulbs I use have 850 nm of strength so they penetrate deeper through your skin—down to the muscles and joints. This is the one I really look forward to using every single day. It's a heat lamp so you definitely can't put it directly on your skin (I can personally vouch for this!). I purchased it, initially, for thyroid healing (5 minutes pointed at my neck 3 times per day), but after doing research I've learned how it helps all aches and pains. I love lifting weights, thus I live in a perpetual state of some kind of muscle soreness. After a workout, I just clamp this light on a bookshelf, put on my protective eye wear, and lay under it for 10 minutes per sore body part. It definitely helps relieve my muscle soreness, and I've noticed it helps reduce the appearance of cellulite (bonus!!). I've read Infrared light can help heal leaky gut, adrenal fatigue, improve digestion and ease arthritis. I haven't tried it for these purposes yet, but I plan to. The heat is quite soothing (my cat is a huge fan—I have to wrestle him to get to lay under it first), I would recommend setting a timer so you don't fall asleep under the lamp.
Want to kick your red light therapy up a notch? Immediately after your treatment, apply a serum with a high concentration of hyaluronic acid to further plump fine lines and super hydrate dry skin.
Red light therapy is an affordable, easy beauty tool that is definitely worth a try. I'd be happy to answer any questions, feel free to leave them below in the comments.
About the Author: Jaime Patrick
Jaime is a published author, blogger ( More Than I'd Hoped For), loving wife and mama extraordinaire. She's an avid foodie that loves whipping up new recipes for her family and friends. Her signature chocolate cake is to die for (and sometimes causes food aggression from her husband). Jaime's snarky sense of humor and knack for story telling make her blog a comfortable place to be reminded to savor the joy in everyday life. Keep a Kleenex handy, she has a way of sneaking up on you and tugging on your heart strings with her writing.