Infrared saunas and blue lamps: How light affects the body and skin
If a few years ago, the beauty industry reinventing devices for washing in the form of rotating and vibrating brushes, now manufacturers have switched to light gadgets: from the point effect of blue light to cure acne to illuminated masks that promise to “erase wrinkles”. We understand that scientists are talking about such methods and how far they have gone from the room physiotherapy, familiar to us from polyclinics from childhood.
What is the light
Electromagnetic waves of different lengths - this is a huge spectrum, from gamma rays and X-rays to AM, FM and long radio waves. The spectrum visible to the human eye occupies only a small area - from 380 nanometers for violet to 740 for red light. Ultraviolet waves are shorter than violet (from 100 to 380 nm), and the length of infrared is longer than that of the visible spectrum (up to 100 micrometers). All these types of light are used differently for treatment, including skin features - but some of them can cause serious harm.
Ultraviolet - evil or not
The ultraviolet spectrum is the one from which we actively protect the skin on sunny days, because it causes burns, promotes aging, increases the risk of melanoma and other types of skin cancer. Nevertheless, UV rays are used to treat psoriasis, urticaria, scleroderma (diseases in which the skin lesions become dense and hard) and even some cancers, such as lymphoblastic leukemia with skin manifestations. Sometimes, before therapy, you need to take a special medicine that accumulates in the tumor cells, and then is activated under the influence of ultraviolet rays. Of course, this is a serious intervention that can only be carried out by a doctor according to strict indications; This is the rare case when the benefits of UV light may outweigh its risks. Home devices for ultraviolet irradiation do not.
A serious lack of sunlight (for example, beyond the Arctic Circle) can lead to vitamin D deficiency. On the other hand, almost every person is considered to have its deficiency because we either do not go to the sun often enough or protect our skin from penetrating it. Rays - so this vitamin is recommended to take almost everyone (and Alaskans are advised to fly to Hawaii more often). The lack of sunlight can also cause the so-called seasonal affective disorder - depressive symptoms that occur in autumn and winter. To combat it in Scandinavia actively use light therapy; however, in this case it is not about ultraviolet, but about the light of the visible spectrum, imitating the solar.
Blue light against acne
The rays of the blue part of the spectrum have a peculiarity: they are capable of destroying bacteria, including Propionibacterium acnes, or P. acnes, which cause acne. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, blue light therapy results in skin cleansing in most patients. The studies were conducted mainly in small groups of people with mild or moderate acne and did not last long. Specialists are cautious and note that blue light can be an effective component of complex treatment, long-term results have not yet been studied (that is, it cannot be argued that lamps will help to get rid of acne once and for all), and the effectiveness of people with severe acne is not yet known.
Nevertheless, a certain efficiency was demonstrated more than once, and more and more devices for home treatment of the skin with blue light are becoming available on the market every day. These are, for example, Foreo Espada and reVive Poof gadgets for spot use, working on a larger area of Clear Rayz and LightStim or the whole Neutrogena acne treatment mask. You should not abuse light therapy with blue rays: the instructions for most devices indicate the exposure time from three to ten minutes. There is evidence that large amounts of blue light can also harm the skin, contributing to the formation of free radicals that damage its cells. Moreover, experts advise to spend less time looking at the screen of a smartphone, precisely because of the blue light it emits.
Red light against wrinkles and inflammation
Some of the above acne treatment devices emit both blue and red light - the latter is designed to reduce the inflammatory process in the skin. There are a lot of publications about the benefits of red rays in a variety of diseases, but often their content does not correspond to what was stated - it turns out that the authors meant photochemotherapy when light is used in combination with special drugs for cancer treatment, or talk about the visible spectrum as a whole, which helps to fight depression . So far, only the benefits of the red spectrum in inflammatory processes and pain are known; therefore, it is used, for example, in rheumatoid arthritis. There is evidence that red light can help with wound healing.
Theoretically, the rays of the red spectrum can stimulate the production of collagen, and thus make the skin more dense and reduce the severity of wrinkles. In a 2014 study, where only red light was applied to 58 participants, they noted an improvement in the complexion and smoothness of the skin, and when measured with special devices, it turned out that the depth of wrinkles was reduced, and the collagen in the skin became greater. Gadgets such as Quazar MD Plus, SkinInc Optimizer Voyage Tri-Light, and a mask for the area around the brand’s eyes are available for home use. Dennis Gross Skincare.
Light but not warm: infrared spectrum
Infrared radiation is most often used in saunas, for example, at sports centers - with the same thermal effect, an infrared sauna is less fire-dangerous than a normal one, it is easier to install (and, perhaps, it costs owners less). In studies, it has been noted that infrared rays help relieve chronic back pain without any unwanted effects. Without irritating the skin, the infrared rays warm the underlying tissues, and although the mechanisms of further processes are not fully understood, it is known that this treatment improves the symptoms of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
Today we are talking about embedding nanoparticles that study infrared rays into tissues and materials to create dressings and patches - they can be used for local heating of certain areas of the body. So far, from a portable device on sale, you can only find warming up massagers like this - however, a rare infrared gadget called "Minin reflector" can be found on the entresol. The “blue lamp”, familiar to almost every Soviet person, is an ordinary light bulb intended for heating the nose area with infrared radiation. She has nothing to do with blue light therapy, just in this form the light penetrates the least through closed eyelids and does not blind.
Photo: LightStim, Baby Quasar, Current Body
