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Red light therapy can be very beneficial for hormonal acne or other skin issues. It has lots of benefits to the skin, and not really any side effects. In my experience it’s a gentle way to treat acne, improve your complexion or even help with muscle pain.

When my hormonal spots start to act out and get inflamed, I do my best to calm down my skin. One of the most effective way to do it is red light therapy.

Red light therapy for hormonal acne and skin problems

I’ve struggled with hormonal acne for years, but I stopped fighting it once I realized it wasn’t really in my hands. After that my acne and skin actually calmed down. Who knows, maybe taking away the stress of it and just accepting the situation helped. (My hormonal problems also caused hair loss, irregular and painful periods and infertility – just to name a few symptoms. Hormonal problems such as acne are not your fault.)

Currently my skin is doing pretty good. I have phases where I get more hormonal spots and break out, but I also have phases when my skin seems to glow all on its own. Note: I still talk about hormonal acne as something I “have”, when I talk about my hormonal spots. Because even though my skin is doing better, there’s constantly some level of impurities and “acne” (caused by my hormones) on my back, neck and face.

So I no longer fight my acne, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still treat my skin. I take pride in my skincare routine. It’s actually super important to me, because it’s de-stressing. And not stressing about your skin – or about anything, really –  is probably the best decision you could make.

When I started to use red light for my skin 2020, I found it really helpful. Red light therapy has improved my complexion and helped my acne by reducing inflammation. It’s also fun. Mostly because I love feeling the warmth of the machine on my skin.

Very shortly: what is red light therapy?

Red light therapy (RLT) uses red light to treat different skin issues.

Red light is thought to produce an effect in cells, which increases their functions and energy. So your cells on the skin can work more efficiently, rejuvenate themselves and repair damage!

Red light therapy benefits for skin

• Improves circulation
• Builds collagen (as you get older your skin produces less of it and you get wrinkles)
• Reduces inflammation (therefore reduces inflamed acne)
• Relieves pain

There haven’t been enough studies yet, but from what I gathered from the ones I read, red light really has benefits to the skin. And best of all – without much side effects.

Red light therapy for acne

In my opinion RLT is quite a smart way to treat acne. Especially when I think of all the other invasive things and harsh products you could add to your skin. I’ll be the first to admit I used to treat my acne so wrong, with way too harsh products.

For example this study reported significant improvements in skin complexion, skin feeling and the amount of collagen on the skin. The photos speak for themselves.

The only thing I want to note is that if you have facial telangiectasia or lots of redness, you might want to avoid those areas or protect them. I suppose it has something to do with the warming effect, which increases circulation and therefore can make redness more visible. Though I have just a bit of redness on my cheeks and haven’t noticed it getting any worse – actually the opposite, since the overall tone of my skin seems smoother.

Blue or red light for acne?

Red light, blue light and the combination of those are used to treat different skin conditions. When I read about different light studies, blue light is typically used more for acne. That is because it’s antibacterial, killing the types of bacteria that cause acne in your pores. However, since red light works on a cellular level and has anti-inflammatory properties, it can also be used for acne. On healthline’s article it was said, that if the acne is chronic, red light might be the choice for you. My acne is or was hormonal, so in a way, chronic.

Beurer IL50 Infrared Heat Lamp review

The machine I have is *Beurer IL50 Infrared Heat Lamp.

I have found it extremely helpful. The size of it is perfect for my face, neck and back – which is where I mostly use it. That is my hormonal acne area: my jawline, chest and back. I used it quite regularly in 2020, when my acne was a bit worse than now. I remember so many video calls while bathing in that red light. It calmed down the inflammation of my pimples. I also feel like overall my skin complexion improved.

Nowadays I use it whenever my acne breaks out. I use it a couple evenings in a row and I see a big improvement. Other than that, I try and remember to bathe in red light whenever I remember (so maybe once a week or every other week).

Red light hasn’t removed my acne scars, even though in time, it might make them less visible. I use *argan oil daily, and I know that helps my acne and scars to heal.

Having the machine at home has been handy also for other things, than my skin.

I suffer from bruxism and even though botox injections keep that in check, my jaw muscles can get a bit sore after a night of nightmares or a stressful week. This machine is good for muscle pain and I find it does relax my jaw muscles. For best results, I also stretch my jaw muscles by keeping a ball in my mouth or doing other stretches.

I’ve also tried it for period pains and it worked (though that requires Risto helping me point it at the right area while I’m dying in bed in pain). Warmth typically helps with period pains, but I have to say I think warm blanket is probably more convenient.

Risto also uses it for sore muscles or any pain caused by exercising. I also sometimes do that, but I’m a bit lazy when it’s not about my skin.

Have you heard of red light therapy or tried it?

Sources:
Healthline
This study