Facial redness: what is best, LED phototherapy or laser/IPL?

“TL;DR: LED red/infrared light phototherapy is faster-acting, safer and equally effective as IPL for mild/moderate facial redness but not for severe redness.

LED treatment offers the additional benefits of skin firming, anti-ageing and overall facial rejuvenation, as well as deep relaxation during treatment.”

FIRST PARAGRAPH

• Facial skin redness reduction with LED light therapy vs IPL/laser

• The study design

• Study results: LED treatment provides slightly less effectiveness but it is pleasant, painless, side effect free, downtime-free and faster-acting

• How does LED red/infrared phototherapy work

• Feasibility and Safety of Using Combined Light-Emitting Diodes Versus Intense Pulsed Light Technology for the Improvement of Facial Hypervascularization in Adult Patients

• Advanced, infrared / blue / red light therapy treatments in London at LipoTherapeia

• Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment in London with the experts

• The Cellulite School™: Get advanced training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening

facial skin redness reduction with LED light therapy vs IPL/laser

Superficial facial vascular lesions (facial redness, thread/spider veins) can be an aesthetic problem as well as a symptom of different skin diseases. Risk factors include Fitzpatrick skin types I, II and III, significant sun exposure, rosacea, alcohol consumption and smoking.

Facial spider veins and related facial vascular lesions are treated with laser, IPL and LED phototherapy treatments.

The first two (laser and IPL) are generally more effective but also can cause side effects, such pain, erythema/redness and less often oedema, blistering, hematoma, crusting, hyperpigmentation, scarring, keloid formation and infection.

Hypopigmentation after IPL/laser treatment, in particular, may be permanent because of the thermal destruction of melanocytes.

In contrast, LED red/infrared light therapy has been demonstrated as a safe tool with almost no side-effects and good results for safely and comfortably treating many skin conditions, including facial vascular lesions (facial hyper-vascularisation).

LED treatment is no non-ablative (does not damage skin) and non-thermal (does not heat/burn skin) and, when used alone, does not cause damage to the epidermis or dermis.

Therefore, there are no adverse events associated with its use, little to no downtime and patients accept it very well.

The study design

The study below aimed to to assess the efficacy and safety profiles of the Dermalux® Tri-Wave MD LED phototherapy device, combining 633nm (red) and 830 nm (infrared) light, compared with those of an IPL device (555-950 nm and 530-750 nm red/infrared light). for reducing the appearance of excess facial vascularisation due to superficial cutaneous vascular lesions.

The study assessed men and women aged 25-49 yo (34.5 years mean age) for the IPL group and 21-46yo (32.1 years mean age) with excessive facial vascularisation, including spider/thread veins.

The LED group received 12 weekly 20’ sessions and the IPL group received 12 monthly 30’ sessions (as LED light therapy is safe and pleasant it can be delivered more often and a course of treatments can finish in just 3 months, as opposed to a year with IPL).

Study results: LED treatment provides slightly less effectiveness but it is pleasant, painless, side effect free, downtime-free and faster-acting

All participants in the study (LED and IPL) showed an improvement in vascular hyperpigmentation:

• For hemoglobin affected area (area of the face where redness occurs) both the LED and the IPL group showed 100% marked improvement (IPL was better for more intense facial redness)

• For hemoglobin hyper-concentration (intensity of redness) the LED group showed moderate improvement in 70% of the cases and marked improvement in 20% of the cases; while the IPL group showed moderate improvement in 10% of the cases and marked improvement in 90% of the cases.

However, regarding safety and comfort there were marked differences, with the LED being painless and transient side-effect free and the IPL being particularly painful and with transient side effects lasting up to 72 hours:

• In the LED group the pain average was 0.8, whereas in the IPL Group it was 7.9. In the LED group, 70% of subjects reported no pain and 30% reported mild pain. No patient presented moderate or severe pain or redness/erythema after treatment.

• In the IPL-Group, 100% of patients reported severe pain that lasted a few minutes during and after the treatment. In the immediate post-treatment period, slight transient erythema and edema were reported in all patients of the IPL group with a mean duration of 48 h (24-72 h).

Overall, 12 weekly comfortable, pain-free, downtime-free LED sessions resulted in the same improvement as 12 monthly painful, painful, 48-hour downtime IPL sessions, in terms of redness skin coverage. On the other hand, IPL was more effective for spots with more intense redness.

This means that for more serious cases laser/IPL may be better, if one does not mind its potential hyperpigmentation / hyperpigmentation and other side effects.

For moderate or light redness, however, LED makes much more sense, especially when used as an overall anti-ageing treatment, combining redness reduction, skin firming and overall skin rejuvenation - or even as a relaxation treatment with benefits: Dermalux®Tri-Wave MD treatment is very relaxing - after the first 5-10 minutes our clients at the clinic find it extremely difficult not to let got and relax.

Personally, if I had any degree of facial redness I would prefer the LED treatment as that would also offer me anti-ageing and skin firming benefits in combination with redness reduction without any side effects or pain.

How does LED red/infrared phototherapy work

The light from the LEDs interacts directly with its target chromophore (depending on the wavelengths used) to generate photomodulation at a vascular level, reducing the diameter of these small vessels and, therefore, the reddish appearance of the skin.

Red light (633 nm) has can penetrate into the skin at up to 2mm and near-infrared light (830 nm) up to 8mm, covering the entire dermis and hypodermis.

Red light has been shown to activate fibroblast growth factor, increase pro-collagen type 1, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and decrease MMP-1, promoting faster repair and renewal.

On the other hand, near-infrared light stimulates vasodilation by inducing the release of guanylate cyclase and nitrous oxide from the endothelium, which, in turn, promotes vasodilation and growth factor production, as well as angiogenesis, reduces inflammation, soothes irritation and strengthen the skin, and has been shown to increase cell regeneration.

Several studies have shown that exposing patients to a combination of LED wavelengths is more effective than just one wavelength.

Feasibility and Safety of Using Combined Light-Emitting Diodes Versus Intense Pulsed Light Technology for the Improvement of Facial Hypervascularization in Adult Patients

• Research paper link: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/photob.2022.0079

• Abstract: Background: Superficial facial vascular lesions can be an aesthetic problem and a symptom of different skin diseases. Objective: It was to compare the efficacy and safety profiles of Dermalux®Tri-Wave MD, based on three combined light-emitting diodes (LEDs) technology and intense pulsed light (IPL) for reducing the excess of facial vascularization due to superficial cutaneous vascular lesions. Materials and methods: The study had a single-center, proof-of-concept, open-label, and prospective design. Two groups of adult patients were treated for facial hypervascularization, LED-Group with an LED device combining 633 and 830 nm and IPL-Group with an IPL (555-950 and 530-750 nm). Variables assessed were hemoglobin hyperconcentration (HH), hemoglobin-affected area (HAA) through Antera 3D®, and pain using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale. Results: Twenty subjects were included, 10 by group (50% female). LED-Group: Mean age 32.1 years (range, 21-46). IPL-Group: Mean age 34.5 years (range, 25-49). HH: LED-Group 100% had a moderate improvement; in the IPL-Group, 10% was moderate, and 90% was marked. HAA: LED-Group 10% had a slight improvement, 70% moderate, and 20% marked; in the IPL-Group, 100%, the improvement was marked. Seventy percent of LED-Group patients reported no pain, 30% mild; in the IPL-Group, 100% of patients reported severe pain. Conclusions: Treatment with combined red and near-infrared LEDs effectively reduced the excess of facial vascularization with moderate outcomes compared with IPL, but without secondary effects and no pain. This treatment could represent an effective, safe, and well-tolerated approach for facial vascular lesions.

Advanced, infrared / blue / red light therapy treatments in London at LipoTherapeia

At LipoTherapeia we are passionate about phototherapy (also known as photobiomodulation/PBM, red light therapy, infrared light therapy, blue light therapy, LED light therapy etc) and we use the most powerful equipment available today (up to 240mW/cm2), for best results and treatment of large body areas.

We use specialised therapy protocols for skin rejuvenation / anti-ageing, pigmentation / post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), moderate/severe acne, skin redness, sensitive/inflamed/irritated skin, wound healing, sports injuries / musculoskeletal pain and overall wellness / well-being.

Our LED phototherapy sessions are comfortable, deeply relaxing and super-safe and are great to enhance our radiofrequency/ultrasound treatments for skin tightening / cellulite reduction.

On our booking page you can book stand-alone phototherapy sessions or combine them with our other treatments, as an add-on.

Learn more or check prices and book an expert LED phototherapy treatment at our London clinic (49 Marylebone High Street, W1).

Have a skin tightening/cellulite treatment in London with the experts

At LipoTherapeia we have specialised 100% in skin tightening and cellulite reduction for more than two decades and 20,000+ sessions.

This is all we study and practise every day and have researched and tried hands-on all the important skin tightening equipment and their manufacturers.

As strong, deep acting radiofrequency and deep-acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation are the technologies of choice for skin tightening and cellulite reduction, we have invested in the best RF/ultrasound technologies in the world.

Furthermore, over the last two decades we have developed advanced RF and cavitation treatment protocols in order to make the most of our technologies, for maximum results, naturally and safely.

And for even better, faster results, we now combine our RF/ultrasound treatments with high-power red/infrared light LED treatment.

Our radiofrequency/ultrasound/LED treatments are comfortable, pain-free, downtime-free, injection-free, microneedling-free, 99.5%+ safe and always non-invasive.

And our focus is on honest, realistic, science-based treatment, combined with caring, professional service, with a smile.

We will be pleased to see you, assess your cellulite, skin laxity or fibrosis, listen to your story, discuss your case and offer you the best possible treatment.

Learn more or check prices and book an expert cellulite / skin tightening treatment at our London clinic (49 Marylebone High Street, W1).

The Cellulite School™: Get advanced training in cellulite reduction and skin tightening

Do you want to deeply understand radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, cellulite and skin tightening?

Attend a half-day, 1-day or 2-day or 3-day one-to-one masterclass and confidently offer your clients the safest, strongest and most effective treatment possible.

Service available via Zoom or at our central London practice.

Learn more or check prices and book training at our London clinic (49 Marylebone High Street, W1)