Blue Light Therapy: What Can It Do for Your Skin?

Blue light therapy is used to treat certain skin conditions in a pain-free way. This therapy uses specific wavelengths to kill acne-causing bacteria on the skin and is a non-invasive option. Although the evidence is scant, this method may aid in controlling acne, but alternative therapies could prove more efficient.

Some blue light treatments, a type of phototherapy, have received FDA approval to treat moderate acne vulgaris that's unresponsive to other therapies. It's also purported to be beneficial in reducing sun damage and non-melanoma skin cancers.

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Uses of Blue Light Therapy

Light therapy is often used to treat sun damage (Image via Pexels/Petra Bauman)

Sun damage and premalignant or malignant skin cancer growths are typically treated with blue light therapy. It can be used to remove precancerous and cancerous skin lesions, as well as prevent the spread of skin cancer (or metastasized).

When applied to skin cancer, photodynamic therapy has shown promising results. Cancer cells are killed when the photosynthesizing drug applied to the skin reacts with oxygen. In addition, it can disrupt the blood supply to cancer cells or set off an immune system response.

Besides acne, blue light therapy can be used to heal many skin conditions. It can be used to treat enlarged oil glands (sebaceous hyperplasia) and enhance the skin's texture. Acne, sun damage, and acne scars can all be helped by this therapy.

You can read about infrared sauna therapy and why you should try it.

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How Does Blue Light Therapy Work?

When done properly, there is no significant side effects of light therapy (Image via Unsplash/Chanel)

Treatment with blue light therapy is typically completed in a short period and as an outpatient procedure. Photodynamic therapy for treating cancer in high-risk areas may be an exception to the rule.

Your dermatologist or skin care expert will take you into a private, dimly lit room during your office visit. When using photosynthesizing drugs, the medication is applied topically or directly to the affected area.

For the skin to absorb these drugs, they may have to be applied to the skin and left there for anywhere from a few hours to a few days. During the entire duration of the medication's use, you should avoid direct exposure to sunlight and other sources of bright light. You must apply sunscreen liberally and spend as much time as possible indoors.

Depending on the size of the area being treated, the effectiveness of the medication used and other factors, a treatment session can last anywhere from 15-90 minutes. If only a small area needs to be addressed, such as a single cancerous mole on the skin, the affected area is bathed in blue light for about 17 minutes.

At home, people suffering from seasonal depression or year-round melancholy may have access to blue light therapy devices to help alleviate their condition.

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Is Blue Light Therapy Effective?

When used frequently and with follow-up appointments, this therapy can be an effective treatment for skin conditions.

Precancerous sun spots (actinic keratosis) require 1-4 treatments, followed by yearly maintenance; acne requires 4-6 treatments, followed by six-monthly follow-ups.

Check out the uses, benefits and side effects of red light therapy.

As the photosynthesizing drugs cause a more intense reaction, photodynamic therapy is a more effective way of treating cancerous areas, including skin cancer lesions.

Consult your doctor to make sure you're getting the right amount of light before trying light therapy for depression, though.