Red Light Therapy for Scars

Red Light Therapy for Scars

Most people experience scarring at some point due to exposure to various substances, aging, injury, or various skin conditions. While some scars fade naturally over time, others remain visible and can be difficult to remove or reduce in severity. Red light therapy is one of the most effective ways to speed healing and avoid or reduce scarring.

Red Light Therapy Is Effective in Healing

LED and red light therapy produce benefits like helping wounds heal quicker and promoting hair growth. For this reason, it's an excellent treatment for reducing the severity of scarring or preventing them from forming after exposure or injury.

How Does Red Light Therapy Work?

Red light therapy exposes your skin to deficient near-infrared and red light levels. This process is done at low wavelengths, so there are no adverse effects or heating. The red light penetrates only deep enough to impact the mitochondria, which need strengthening during healing.

While research continues to uncover the benefits of red light therapy, promising results indicate better oxygen transportation and absorption within the cells, and more extraordinary rejuvenation, which is also excellent for slowing the aging process. Red light therapy has many other benefits and can treat many skin diseases.

These benefits include increasing collagen production, reducing inflammation, increasing blood flow and better absorption of nutrients, and producing fibroblasts.

What Other Benefits Can Red Light Therapy Provide?

If you use red light therapy consistently to treat and reduce scarring, you may find positive effects on your skin and health. These include the following:

  • You'll notice improved hair growth
  • Reduce the effects of other skin conditions, such as acne, rosacea, and irritation
  • It may help neural function to prevent memory loss while promoting cognitive function
  • Reduce the signs of aging, such as wrinkles, improving smoothness while increasing collagen production.

Red light therapy may also support tissue repair and growth, slowing myopia progression and improving tunnel carpal syndrome and overall skin complexion.

Woman with acne scarring

 

Are There Risks to Using Red Light Therapy?

You'll find red light therapy is generally safe and a much better treatment option than other light therapies, which may cause more risk. It's often used for cancer treatment due to its rejuvenating effects on cells, which can slow the progression of tumor growth. 

While red light therapy is safe, it's essential to consider which risks may occur when you begin this treatment. For example, some people may develop burns if red light is used for more than thirty minutes at one time. This wavelength of light is generally safe for your eyes, but it's best to wear protection. There is always the potential for possible adverse effects, especially if you have an eye or skin condition.

Lesions and blistering can also occur when you use red light therapy too often or for too long at a time. Inspecting your red light device is essential to ensure there is no broken or damaged wiring or corrosion.

Consistent Positive Effects of Red Light Therapy

One of the best advantages of red light therapy, when used correctly and routinely, is the benefits to your skin, hair, and health. After just a few treatments, you'll notice visible results due to the regenerative effect of red light therapy on your cells. Treating scars with red light therapy will improve your skin's texture over time, which can prevent further damage.

As scarring reduces over time, you'll also notice less skin damage, faded age spots, and better hair texture and health. This significant improvement is due to collagen production, which red light therapy stimulates. While this treatment is excellent for many people, the most profound benefits are seen in mature adults. 

Another significant improvement you may notice if you have psoriasis, fibromyalgia, and other chronic illnesses, is a reduction in pain and discomfort. While red light therapy focuses primarily on treating your skin to reduce scarring, it's common to observe many significant improvements to your health with regular, proper treatments. You'll likely notice improvements quickly, even after two or three sessions!

Treatment for Severe Scarring

Surgery and more advanced treatment may be required for severe and extensive scarring, particularly from burns or serious injuries. Following these treatments, red light therapy may be used to provide relief from discomfort and to aid in the healing process after a surgical procedure, provided it's discussed with your dermatologist or specialist. 

Scarring from aging, sun damage, acne, and other skin conditions, may be treated successfully with red light therapy and other treatments. These include over-the-counter treatments, such as creams and gels. If scarring worsens over time or needs more aggressive support, prescription medication and cosmetic procedures may be helpful for permanent and long-term improvement.

Conclusion

Red light therapy offers significant improvements in reducing the overall appearance of scarring. It's also ideal as a preventative treatment, especially if prone to acne breakouts, rosacea flare-ups, and other skin conditions that may lead to scarring.

You'll want to review all treatment options for scars, especially when you have moderate to severe effects, which may require longer-term solutions, which may include red light therapy. 

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