Red and Infrared Light Therapy: How does it work?
While red light therapy is certainly growing in popularity, red and infrared light are still a long way from being understood by the general public in the same way UV light is. Many people wouldn’t know the UV science you learn in Smart Tan training, but they have familiarity with it because they see and feel noticeable effects from the sun.
Meanwhile, most people probably don’t even know or think about the fact that they’re also getting red and infrared light exposure from the sun on a daily basis.
So you probably know that red light and infrared light provide skin care benefits and much more, but how does it work? And why should red and infrared light therapy be an important part of your clients’ beauty and wellness routines?
We could probably go on for years about the science and all the benefits of red and infrared light (and we probably will in future articles 😉), but here’s a starting point:
The use of red and near-infrared light for therapeutic purposes is known as photobiomodulation therapy or PBM. With PBM, red and near-infrared light penetrates deep into the human body reaching cells, tissue, blood, nerves, organs, and into the bones. Red light and near-infrared light have incredible healing effects on cells where they increase energy production, modulate inflammation, relieve pain, and help cells regenerate. Even better, there are no negative side effects from red and near-infrared light exposure.
Red light therapy, or PBM is a powerful tool that doesn’t temporarily alleviate symptoms. It stimulates the cells in your body for lasting changes by enhancing each cell’s ability to produce energy and perform at a much higher level.
As these light waves penetrate the skin and tissue, they are absorbed by the mitochondria, the energy centers of cells. The mitochondria are the life-yielding, energy yielding engines within the cells of our bodies. Our mitochondria produce cellular energy in the form of adenosine tri-phosphate or ATP.
When the mitochondria are stimulated through red light therapy, the cell produces more energy, and with more energy available it does everything better. These higher functioning cells help us heal faster, are more resistant to stress, produce more proteins like collagen and elastin, increase blood flow, increase muscle performance, reduce inflammation, and much more.
“In essence, the basic principle is this: Whatever cells you shine it on – whether muscle, skin, gland or brain – those cells will work better when the mitochondria in those cells are producing more energy,” best-selling author Ari Whitten sums it up in his book, The Ultimate Guide To Red Light Therapy: How to Use Red and Near-Infrared Light Therapy for Anti-Aging.
The SmartSun Therapy SST28 utilizes very specific wavelengths of red and near infrared light to maximize the therapeutic results of each treatment. Combining red light, at 635 nanometers ,with near-infrared light, at 850 nanometers, has been shown to be the most effective combination of therapeutic light for full-body treatment. These different wavelengths of sunlight penetrate into our bodies differently, and therefore, perform different functions.
