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Scouted has covered the benefits of using red light therapy (a.k.a. low-level light therapy) to reduce fine lines and wrinkles on the skin, but the treatment also boasts a lofty laundry list of other beauty and health benefits. In fact, there is significant research that suggests that red light therapy can be a helpful tool for a wide variety of conditions and situations, from improving anxiety and depression and combatting hair loss to helping to alleviate chronic pain. To get the lowdown on the many wellness benefits of red light therapy, Scouted spoke with Dr. Sarah de la Torre, Chief Medical Officer of Joylux.
Although red light exposure is a rising star in the wellness zeitgeist recently, it’s been thoroughly studied for decades. In the ’90s, NASA funded studies examining the benefits of exposure to red light in humans after a number of astronauts using the modality to test its effects on plant growth noticed that small scratches and blemishes began to heal rapidly while in space. “For decades, [light] has been researched by scientists who discovered that light in a narrow band of red and near-infrared can safely produce health benefits. The authors of thousands of published peer-reviewed papers believe that this band of light stimulates the mitochondria in your cells to create the energy we need,” according to Dr. de la Torre.