The lowdown on LED - and why we all need a little extra light in our lives

Gentle and painless with zero downtime, light therapy has been used by beauty experts for years to treat everything from breakouts to rosacea and collagen breakdown. Overshadowed (pardon the pun) over the last few years by more invasive procedures, it is now firmly back in every derm’s office and beauty clinic and I am SO here for it.
When people talk about skincare technology going space age, I mean it literally in the case of LED (light emitting diode) treatments. Developed by NASA in the 80s to speed up astronauts’ tissue repair, LED light therapy recently found its way back into the current zeitgeist as an Insta-worthy skin treatment loved by all. With a huge celebrity fan base like Chrissy Teigen, Kourtney Kardashian, Jessica Alba and more, it’s clear that light is just so right for right now. It’s also becoming increasingly accessible as an at-home skin treatment thanks to beauty tech breakthroughs in the form of all-over face masks, targeted pens, goggles and other handheld devices, but more on that in a bit.

So how exactly does LED work?
Most in-salon LED devices work with a sort of traffic light system depending on your particular skin goal: different colours elicit various benefits and can be combined for extra skincare clout, and regular LED light therapy can boost collagen, reduce acne bacteria and even prevent pigmentation before it happens. To work out which you need, here is a run-down on the particular powers of each:
Red LED light is renowned for speeding up collagen synthesis and enhancing cell repair and was the original therapy utilised by NASA. Red light energy stimulates the mitochondria (the power generators) in cells so that they function optimally, boosting the production of collagen and elastin. Red light is also considered anti-inflammatory and it’s for this reason that many skincare experts and dermatologists follow up a more intensive treatment with a red light treatment to calm redness.
Orange LED light is particularly hailed for its soothing effect on rosacea and redness as well as gently revving up collagen production.
Green LED light is used to even out skin tone, and probably the rarest light to find at most skin clinics. This particular wavelength targets melanocytes, slowing down the production of melanin so that not as much pigmentation reaches the top layers of our skin.
Blue is the shade of choice for acne. Blue light has been scientifically proven to kill the P.acnes bacteria on the surface of the skin that’s most commonly responsible for breakouts.

Why are we only hearing about this now?
Used by many therapists and derms for years, why the heck did it take so long for LED skin treatments to enter mainstream? I think it’s mainly due to the lack of consumer knowledge, and much confusion. Some see a light treatment and immediately think it uses the same UV-emitting light that comes from tanning beds, which are most definitely NOT a good idea on any level. In reality they do quite the opposite, and their popularity is soaring with the opening of ‘light lounges’ at beauty destinations around the world. Not that you should stop using your pricey serums, but many skin experts believe that LED light’s powers of cellular repair could rival some of the most effective skincare ingredients you can buy, although I think the two used in combination are the way to go.

Meet the Skinsmiths LED Facial Mask
It’s got a lot easier to buy trusted LED tools for use at home over the past few years, and I’m a proud user of Skinsmiths LED Facial Mask after being gifted one by the brand. It’s insanely easy to use even for this luddite, being wireless, remote-controlled with five preset settings. The open eye protection means you can wear it as you read your emails, but I prefer to switch a guided meditation on for ten minutes and luxuriate in the down time. It also has an adjustable head strap and chin rest so is super comfortable, and the best at-home LED devices are the ones that bring the LED lights closer to the surface of the skin, so this mask gets a thumbs up for that alone.
It offers Red and Near Infra-Red LED presets to improve skin cell health, elasticity and texture and well as stimulate skin cell repair and reduce inflammation, and Blue LED to soothe the skin and clear acne causing bacteria to help prevent future breakouts.
Now used by every member of the household, I don’t know how I lived without it!

You can find the Skinsmiths LED Facial Mask here – it comes highly recommended.