Blue light therapy provides limited exposure to wavelengths that kill bacteria. So, we were naturally interested in seeing if it might have similar benefits when it comes to dermatological treatments.
After taking a brief look at dermatology, in the following sections, we discuss how blue light therapy may help with not only skin health, but in treating ailments that may contribute to unhealthy looking skin.
Check out the BIOMAX Series for more information about how to optimize your overall health with the most advanced blue light therapy and red light therapy panels on the market.
What is Dermatology?
Dermatology is a medical practice that specializes in the skin, hair, and nails. Dermatologists diagnose and treat conditions using a variety of approaches, including oral and topical medicines, light therapy, and surgery.
In many cases, Dermatologists are looking into new treatment methods that avoid an excessive reliance on pharmaceuticals, rather opting for natural treatments that may be just as or more effective, while avoiding undesirable side effects of medication.
Blue Light Therapy and Dermatology
In this section, we take a closer look at some of the positive dermatological benefits of administering blue light therapy.
Before we proceed with a more in-depth discussion about blue light therapy, we should note that there is a clear distinction between blue therapeutic wavelengths and excessive exposure to blue screens. Exposure to 480nm blue light wavelengths during short treatment sessions is completely different to extended blue light screen exposure. The two are often conflated, leading to misconceptions about the potential side effects of blue light therapy, which are essentially negligible.
Acne
Blue light is best known as an anti-acne treatment. Blue wavelengths are very short. They don’t absorb deep into the skin. However, they do kill acne-causing bacteria on the skin’s surface. Even brief exposure to blue light kills these bacteria, which reduces inflammation and improves acne symptoms in patients with mild to moderate acne.
Early studies on blue light treatment reveal that self-administered blue light improved acne lesions, skin condition, and reduced the number of new blemishes/lesions within one week of treatment. After the three-week study, subjects reported significant reductions in whiteheads and blackheads.
In 2013, researchers studied using a combination of red and blue light as a method for treating acne. The subjects were evaluated 12 weeks after starting a protocol of twice-daily light treatments for 4 weeks. The subjects reported a 77% improvement in inflammatory acne and a 54% improvement in noninflammatory acne.
A 2021 review confirmed older findings that blue light can be used to effectively treat acne and that the treatment is safe and free from side effects.
Chronic Skin Disorders
The anti-inflammatory properties of blue light can make it a non-invasive and safe treatment for chronic inflammatory skin disorders, including eczema and psoriasis.
Reducing inflammation can also lead to less itching and discomfort while the condition is in the flare-up or healing process.
Skin Wound Healing
Blue light may have therapeutic effects on mitochondrial function. The mitochondria are tiny organelles in the cells that produce the cell’s energy. Blue light stimulates mitochondrial function for faster cell regeneration and tissue repair.
Blue light influences key cellular functions including proliferation and differentiation, which helps with skin wound healing. In one animal study, the treatment group showed significantly smaller skin wound sizes than the control group after just 7 days of treatment.
Promising research indicates that blue light therapy may be useful in accelerating skin wound healing. By day 7 of treatment, skin wound sizes were significantly smaller than in the control group.
Since blue light doesn’t absorb into the skin past the outer layer, it may be an effective treatment for surface wounds like abrasions, burns, and superficial cuts.
Improved Skin Tone
Blue light may improve skin texture and tone by targeting and destroying bacteria on the skin as well as abnormal cells. It may help smooth out the complexion and reduce redness in patients with rosacea by promoting cell turnover.
Anti-Aging
Blue light in the high 400nm range is safe to use on skin and has anti-aging properties that include anti-inflammatory benefits.
Even though it doesn’t absorb deep into the skin, blue light reduces inflammation, which is one of the leading causes of aging. It also stimulates collagen production. Collagen is a key protein that gives skin its structure and firmness.
A recent review observed that proliferation and differentiation, cellular functions that are stimulated by blue light, promote skin rejuvenation.
Anti-Cancer (Skin Cancer)
Blue light photodynamic therapy is sometimes used to treat precancerous actinic keratoses and malignant skin tumors. In some cases, they may use blue light as well as medicines that make cancer cells extremely photosensitive.
Blue light alone has not been shown to kill malignant cells. However, researchers have found that 470nm blue light may slow the growth of melanoma cancer cells.
Photodynamic therapy is typically not accessible from home, but blue light therapy is, through affordable LED panels.
Photodynamic therapy is not the same as blue light therapy, which you can do at home using an LED device. However, improving skin health by reducing chronic inflammation could potentially help prevent skin cancer.
Nail Fungus
Blue light is well known for killing bacteria, even when used without a photosensitizing agent. However, recent research has found that it also has anti-fungal properties that effectively kill yeasts, molds, and fungi. Researchers found that even after 10 treatments, the fungi did not develop resistance to the treatment. The researchers stated that blue light can be used to treat both bacterial and fungal infections on the skin and nails.
Hair Regrowth
Hair follicles, like skin cells, contain photoreceptors that absorb light. Blue light has been found to stimulate hair follicles into a growth phase in patients with androgenetic alopecia, or male- or female-pattern baldness.
In the study shared above, twenty patients in the study received two blue light treatments every week for 10 weeks, 90% of the patients showed an increase in hair density and hair shaft width and visible improvement was noted in 80% of the patients.
At-Home Practices for Improving Skin Health
Resolving dermatological issues like acne, crepey skin, and sun-damaged skin begins internally by reducing chronic inflammation.
Most people suffer from chronic inflammation at some point in their lives. Sometimes, inflammation can result from chronic stress and it is linked to major diseases like diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune disorders, and cancer.
Since the skin is the only organ we can see, some of the effects of inflammation can be seen on the skin. For example, aging, chronic skin disorders, and slow-healing wounds are caused by or made worse by chronic inflammation.
Some ways to reduce inflammation include a healthy diet, stress management, and gentle cleansing. This helps prevent bacterial build-up on the skin, which will cause an inflammatory response as the body tries to kill the invading bacteria.
Other ways to promote skin health include washing your pillow cases regularly, avoiding sugar wherever possible, exercising regularly to stimulate the lymphatic system, and staying hydrated to flush toxins out of the skin.
Wearing sun protection is necessary even if the sun is hidden behind clouds. Ultraviolet wavelengths can penetrate clouds and excess exposure will eventually cause skin damage. Blue light in the high 400 nanometer range is safe for the skin.
For those who spend a lot of time in front of a computer, it may help to use blue-light blockers.
Dermatological Improvements with the BIOMAX Series
Check out the BIOMAX Series panels for more information about how to seek effective, affordable and convenient dermatological treatment.