The field of light therapy is growing quickly as more and more people realize the power and benefits of treating their skin without the use of harsh chemicals, antibiotics, or creams that usually contain known carcinogens. The most attractive feature of light therapy for acne or other skin conditions is that it does not cause systemic responses in the body. This means you can use your light therapy device long term without the risk of side effects or adverse effects to your immune system.

Here are the main factors to consider when making a Blue Light Therapy purchasing decision for your acne:

1. Is the light the “right” kind of blue? This means, does the light produced by the device fall into the 405nm-420nm range that has been proven effective at killing acne by the American Journal of Clinical Dermatology. Most companies will either not give the wavelength range or tell you that it does meet this criteria without offering any proof. We provide the wavelength spectrometer reading as a graph on our website, and the test was conducted by an independent 3rd party.

2. Does the device produce high intensity light? Even if the device you purchase has the correct wavelength output, it may be ineffective on your acne if the light output is not strong enough. High intensity light is something you can feel, mainly described as a heating and tingling sensation by our customers.

3. Can you comfortably use your device for 20+ minutes at least 3 times per week? This factor is crucial but often overlooked by companies in this industry. The perfect example of this is the hand-held light therapy device. The average teenager or adult simply will not hold a device to their face or body for 20 minutes on a regular basis. This is the minimum amount of time needed to get a proper treatment, and most users will get discouraged and stop using their hand-held device after a few sessions.

That is the reason we designed the BlueMD acne lamp as a tabletop device, that can be used while sitting up, laying in bed, or relaxing on the couch. Most of our customers take a nap or just daydream for 20-30 minutes while getting their treatment. There is minimal work involved, making it easier to incorporate into your weekly routine.

Using eye protection during light therapy treatments is extremely important for your long term eye health, for many different reasons. Most device manufacturers of light therapy devices, for acne or skin rejuvenation, have realized they must eliminate harmful UV light from their products. We have had our independent facility test a number of competing devices in the light therapy field, and most of these companies are true to their word.

However, the light produced by light therapy devices can be harmful to your eyes even outside of the UV spectrum. The light is generally extremely bright and high intensity, and over time this degrades the macro sensors in the eyes. The best possible type of eye protection are blackout goggles, ones that let absolutely no light in. This can be very inconvenient, however, for the average user. The next best solution, and the one we use here at Trophy Skin, is to use FDA approved UV protection goggles. These block any and all harmful UV rays, plus provide enough dimming that the blue light is not intense enough to cause eye damage. We also highly recommend that users keep their eyes closed during treatments whenever possible.

The purpose of this blog is to explain the technology behind light therapy for aesthetic purposes. Not only can light therapy be used to treat acne, it can (and does) treat aesthetic conditions such as rosacea, peri-orbital wrinkles, sun damage, and skin laxity.

Each posting in this blog will help to explain the modality behind why light therapy works, which wavelengths are needed for each specific condition, and how to get the best device for your specific needs. We obviously sell the BlueMD blue light acne lamp through our own site and believe we have an excellent device. However, we will discuss competing devices and the merits of each one.

I hope for this blog to be an open and honest discussion of the different types of light therapy, the devices out there, and how each of you can benefit from effective, affordable treatments without having to visit high priced medical spa’s or dermatologist offices. Please post comments when you wish, or feel free to email us at trophyskin@gmail.com – Thanks!