What is red light therapy? A dermatologist explains the skin care trend and its benefits.
Red light therapy, also known as LED therapy, is gaining popularity in the skin care world for its potential anti-aging benefits.
Dr. Rachel Nazarian, a board-certified dermatologist in New York, told "CBS Mornings Plus" that LED, or light emitting diodes, create a narrow wavelength that can "penetrate the deepest into the tissue, which is probably why it has all this potential to help skin."
This form of light therapy is popping up on social media, with users demonstrating hand-held devices as well as full facial masks they're incorporating into their self-care routines.
Here's what else to know about the treatment option.
Potential benefits of red light therapy
"There is no doubt that red light can be very, very beneficial to skin," Nazarian said. She said there are "a lot of studies on red light" but that additional, more standardized studies are still needed.
"What it's actually doing is stimulating the cells to create new energy. And what does our body do with energy? It cleans. So it gives you more collagen, decreases the depth of your wrinkles, can decrease the size of your pores," she said.
But she says red light therapy won't replace everything in a dermatologist's anti-aging skin care arsenal.
"This is not going to mean you don't do your Botox Cosmetic, your fillers, your lasers — that's separate, those are done in the doctor's office, but these red lights are really fantastic because you have the power to do them at home and safely for most people," she said.
Red light devices and risks to look for
Nazarian admits it can be hard to know the exact efficacy of these devices, since they're not very standardized and may vary in their strength, number of light bulbs and proximity to skin.
"It helps to look for something that says 'FDA cleared,' and that sits in the low energy red light spectrum," she said, suggesting that many users may want to avoid devices with infrared. "Infrared is something you'll see combined with red light a lot these days. Infrared can give off heat. Heat is not good for all skin types. So that's something people might want to steer away from."
The risk with infrared includes skin redness, burning and swelling, which can happen with higher energy types, Nazarian said.
And while these therapies don't use UV light, which can damage your skin and eyes, it's best to reduce eye exposure to the bright lights.
"Bright lights are not great for eyes," she said. "So look for the masks that have the little cutouts around your eyes or the ones that come with eyewear."
Generally, however, she considers these therapies safe.
"Unless you have a very specific and rare eye condition, these lights are generally safe at low energy levels for everyone of all skin types," Nazarian said.
Angelica Fusco contributed to this report.
