Red Light therapy is a highly customizable way to relieve chronic skin conditions, improve skin health, and boost wound healing. If you’re new to this therapy and wondering how often you should use a red light therapy bed or hand-held device, you’ve come to the right place.
Generally, you should use red light therapy three to five times a week and each session should last from 10 to 20 minutes. While following this routine will work for most people because of how red-light therapy works, you might need to use a different routine.
That’s because no two people are the same and your body can respond to red light therapy differently. Let’s discuss how to find out the perfect red LED light therapy frequency.
Factors Affecting the Frequency of Red-Light Therapy
Generally, the following are four main factors that will affect the frequency of your red-light therapy frequency.
Your Skin’s Light Sensitivity
If your skin is sensitive to light, you’ll need to use RLT less frequently with shorter sessions. If you feel irritation, you should stop red light therapy immediately and consult a doctor.
Your Health
If you’re suffering from a chronic health condition, you’ll need to consult your doctor before using the red led light therapy. It can also affect the frequency of treatment.
Condition(s) You Plan to Treat
You’ll need to alter your red-light therapy treatments based on the conditions you want to treat. Some effects, such as improved skin tone, reduced inflammation, and muscle recovery take place quickly as soon as you start using red light therapy.
To treat such conditions, a couple of sessions a week can be sufficient. Whereas, chronic conditions take a long time to heal using led red light therapy and require more sessions.
Your Red-Light Therapy Device
Different red light therapy devices come with different power levels. So, the effectiveness of each RLT session will largely depend on the power of the device you have.
The energy output of the device depends on its beam angle, number of LEDs, energy density, and energy output.
Finding the Right Red Light Therapy Treatment Frequency
The best way to find out the right RLT frequency is to experiment using your device. While the general frequency, mentioned above, works for most people, it can prove to be slightly off for you.
Keep experimenting so that you can find the right dosage that suits you the best. In addition, if you’re planning to combine other treatments, such as low-level laser therapy, you’ll need to talk to a licensed healthcare provider to determine how often you should use RLT treatment.
Here’s a list of general guidelines that you can use to experiment and find the right time to treat different conditions using RLT.
- Joint Pain: Near-infrared and red-light therapy for 15 minutes twice a day can reduce joint pain.
- Muscle Healing: A three- to five-minute session per day before exercise or 10 to 20 minutes a day after exercise. Combining red light therapy and near-infrared light treatment can further improve the muscle recovery process.
- Hair Loss: Start with the standard routine, consisting of a 10-to-20-minute RLT session three to five times per week.
- General Skincare: An NCBI study shows that two RLT sessions a week can improve skin complexion and reduce roughness significantly.
- Chronic Skin Conditions: Red light therapy can reduce the symptoms of chronic skin conditions such as rosacea, psoriasis, and eczema. Start with the standard routine, a 10-to-20-minute RLT session three to five times a week.
Final Words
Keep in mind that red light therapy doesn’t generate the same results for every person in a certain amount of time.
While using RLT three to five times a week where each session lasts from 10 to 20 minutes works for most people, it might not suit you the best.
The best way to find the right frequency is to use and experiment with the general guidelines discussed in this article.