Is light therapy really light years ahead of the conventional acne therapy?

Tired of applying those messy creams on your face or just forgot to take in a prescribed medication dosage? And even with all the money you've been spending on these extensive medical treatments, seems to be doing no good? With the advancements being made in the technological world, science has now come up with solutions to these problems, providing efficient and affordable alternatives replacing the traditional means of healing.

Who would've ever known that the ''Edison Invention'' could actually do wonders for humans rather than just paving their way in the dark? But now we are pretty sure that it certainly has a little more to it than the customary advantage affixed to it. Healing the human body with a beam of light sounds like something out of a classic Star Trek episode but this is what exactly is being implemented in countries like Czech Republic, Poland & Hungary. Using light as the core source of improving skin conditions is what is being termed as Light Therapy whereby one has to sit or work, exposed to a device called a light therapy box. The latter then gives off a calculated amount of artificial, bright light that mimics natural outdoor light.


What Research Shows


The light therapy technology has been researched by NASA, whereby light emitting diodes that were originally designed for commercial plant growth research in space, scientists have now found out a way to use them in order to help patients here on Earth! 1 Light therapy products are not just being used for treating mild skin problems, but also to fight severe problems like skin cancer. Products for this purpose are now being readily available at affordable prices; Rejuvenating lights, acne lights, skin clearance lights and tanning lights are some of the products gaining public popularity.

Professionals such as dermatologists and spas are using the technology as an anti-aging or acne solution. Studies have shown that up to 90% of people see noticeable improvement with about 55% of their skin cleared! 2

Skin Rejuvenation Using Different Phototherapy Techniques


Red light therapy is commonly associated with anti-aging; the most advanced non-invasive procedure to diminish the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, creases, furrows and crow's-feet.


Blue light therapy on the on the other hand is primarily used to fight acne. It actually helps to kill off the root cause bacterium for acne, the Propionibacterium. This bacterium is sensitive to light in a certain wavelength range, specifically from 405nm to 420 nm; the former absorbing the light and exterminating itself. Acne vanishes as a result; you look better and your skin looks clearer! Patients receive blue-light therapy in increments. Generally, eight sessions are given over a four-week period, and each session lasts about 15 minutes.


Moreover, blue light therapy is affordable and profoundly safe to use. Blue-light products today, do not contain ultraviolet (UV) light, which was a staple of former light therapy used to treat acne as UV light can damage skin and can cause serious damage to the retina in one's eyes.

Light therapy is most effective when there is a proper combination of duration, timing and light intensity:

• Duration: Gradually working up your therapy sessions, the duration typically involves daily sessions ranging from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on your light box's intensity.


• Timing: For most people, light therapy is most effective if used in the morning, after you first wake up to match the treatment with your natural biological rhythms.


• Intensity: The intensity of the light box is recorded in lux, which is a measure of the amount of light you receive at a specific distance from a light source. Light boxes for light therapy usually produce between 2,500 lux and 10,000 lux!

To sum up, in context to the aforementioned analysis, light therapy is certainly proving to be light years ahead of the traditional skin problems resolving techniques!


References


www [dot] msfc [dot] nasa [dot] gov/news/news/releases/2000/00-336.html

Tzung TY et al. ''Blue light phototherapy in the treatment of acne.'' Photodermatology,

Photoimmunology & Photomedicine. 2004 October; 20(5):266-9.

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