Mocktail Minutes

Red Light Therapy

• Mocktail Minutes • Episode 136

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Red light therapy....is it actually useful? Is it worth it? This week we are sharing what the research says and how to find a legitimate product if you feel like it is right for you. 

If you have questions, or topics that you want to hear about, head over to our Instagrams https://www.instagram.com/bayleethedietitian/ or https://www.instagram.com/brianna.dietitian/ and send us a DM! You can also follow the podcast https://www.instagram.com/mocktailminutes/


Featured Mocktails: 

Olipop 

Just Ingredients 

Electrolyte Powder Plus 

Click play, sip back, and be empowered.

Baylee:

Hello everyone. Welcome back to this week's episode of Mocktail Minutes. This is Bailey.

Brianna:

And this is Brianna?

Baylee:

This week I am drinking. I went rogue and I made my own little mocktail, so I did the cream soda op, and then I did the lime coconut, just ingredients electrolytes together. I was kind of thinking like dirty soda type vibes. It's actually really good. I was nervous, but it's good.

Brianna:

it sounds good. I'm just doing the electrolyte powder. Plus I got like the, like very hibiscus, like black tea hibiscus. I like it'cause it's a little subtle. The other ones are a bit strong. Yeah, I've just been like, so I've been looking subtle lately.

Baylee:

Perfect. Well, we are gonna talk about red light therapy. So we mentioned this in our gift guide episode, so we wanted to dive in a little bit further just in case you are interested or if you're like, why should I be interested? So we're gonna go over all things red light therapy today.

Brianna:

Now. So there's you guys when we're talking red light therapy, we're talking like, they have like the red light masks. They have like saunas. The little face, like the omnilux I think is like the, the popular brand little like face mask. But it is researched a lot. Like if you go and you try to look up the research on it. I think red light therapy started in like the sixties. Like this has like been around a while, but it does show to help improve skin health, make it look younger, can stimulate, you know, collagen, elastin. So helping with like wrinkles, making it firmer, smoother, reducing the fine lines, improving texture,

Baylee:

That's I've really noticed with mine is that like if like my face just feels a little bit tighter when I'm using it and it does improve the texture a lot,

Brianna:

Yeah, I'm not, I'm gonna get one. Picture doesn't know that yet, but I'm get one. The other thing it does is it's supposed to help healing, so like tissue repair, scar reduction. So boost, it helps to boost circulation, it decreases inflammation and it speeds up cell regeneration so it can support wound healing, reduce scars, and just recover faster after like an injury or surgery or if like acne, like bad acne. So I don't, you don't have acne. So I was gonna ask you if you knew that, but

Baylee:

I, it does help though. When I was pregnant with Gannon, I broke out a lot and a ever since having him, I'll randomly break out. I always clear up on my period

Brianna:

Yeah, me too. Which is so weird.

Baylee:

it does, it did help that a little bit,

Brianna:

Yeah.

Baylee:

so I definitely noticed that. And I feel like, so like one of the benefits of it is the reduction of inflammation. So it really does, I think, help, just like that puffiness feeling. I only have done the mask. I haven't done like a lamp or anything. I would like to get one once we have like our gym set up downstairs. But it is good for lowering, just like chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, so it's easing some of that joint pain and muscle soreness and just like that discomfort after injuries.

Brianna:

Mm-hmm.

Baylee:

So even like arthritis, it can help relieve some of that pain.

Brianna:

Yeah, I know there's, who was I? I was watching a reel on someone I followed the other day and she was doing this like before and actually had like knee surgery and she has a scar on her knee and she was just saying like she's been trying to be really consistent with it and like her scar does look better. She's like, I'm not like endorsed by anyone. I'm just showing like what I'm doing.'cause people are asking like,'cause knee injuries are pretty intense, I feel like to recover from. It's one of the things she was doing and she like loves it. She said she feels great and it looks good. Yeah.

Baylee:

Good. Yeah, that'd be good to know. It's helpful for hair growth too. I wonder if I like put my mask on my head and like strapped on my neck.

Brianna:

Yeah. You know, that's such a good idea because I keep getting influenced by the higher dose that has the mask and the hat right now. But I'm like, you could just put it up. You

Baylee:

Yeah, I mean it might be uneven, like you have circles where the eye holes are you just

Brianna:

This is a little thinner, like right here, you know, but no one's really looking right there. As long as it, you know.

Baylee:

yeah,

Brianna:

Yeah. I don't see why it wouldn't.

Baylee:

it, yeah, it can kind of, so it basically kind of, it wakes up your hair follicles and so it's gonna improve that density and thickness. So I have like lots of fine here. I don't really have like thick hair. I just have lots of fine hair and it, I grew new bangs with Gannon. They're getting a little bit longer, but I feel like I could use some fullness.

Brianna:

yeah. I feel like this little, like I, these are forever, like I, Kate is seven now. He just turned seven and this is them. I'm like, are you gonna.

Baylee:

they just stay.

Brianna:

So, yeah, I'm like, maybe I'll do both, but I'll just start with the mask. Yeah, I wanna see it. But yeah, it, it does help. It helps with like thickness and I think it's for like moderate stages of hair thinning. So I think if you're like, have alopecia or something like that, I don't know

Baylee:

Like if you're already bald, I don't think it's gonna really work.

Brianna:

Like, it's not gonna help regrow, like create new follicles, you know? The other thing is it's safe and non-invasive, so you can use it regularly. There's no, it's, you don't have to be worried about overuse. So it red and near infrared lights. So NIR. So it's non ionizing, so it doesn't carry the same wrist as like UV light. So you're not getting the DNA damage like skin burns, anything like that. I saw, like I, I was, sometimes I go on rabbit holes down the internet and someone was like, you shouldn't do an infrared sauna because it's like giving you skin cancer. And I'm like, it's not the same.

Baylee:

different things.

Brianna:

I'm not in a tanning bed.

Baylee:

Yeah.

Brianna:

Also, you would notice if you put your little mask on and then you took it off and your face was like too shy,

Baylee:

This is burning

Brianna:

you're just tan, you know, just face. But it's safe for regular use. Studies are promising. There is a lot of research on it, but it's not magic, obviously. Like with anything you need to be consistent. It's one piece of the puzzle for whatever you're trying to use it for, but yeah.

Baylee:

And you could use it like three to five times. Week, and that's kind of like the sweet spot that's looked at with all these studies. I typically try and do it just like every other night but a couple times throughout the week because. Wanted to work to stimulate the collagen and set inflammation, and it actually improves your cellular energy. So those processes actually respond best to frequent moderate exposure, not like long sessions once a month. You kind of want to give your skin repeated exposure to it a couple times. So I mean, if you're looking for more like anti-aging type things, three to five times a week, maybe do it 10 to 15 minutes. You should see improvements like. You could become like a little bit more glowy within one to two weeks. Collagen can change within like eight weeks, and so that could be a good spot to start. If you're looking at wanting to like reduce acne or redness or irritation, you could do that a little bit more, maybe like three to seven times per week, five to 10 minutes. So mine has a red and blue light combo, and this is actually best for acne. Red and blue light convo can be used daily because they act on bacteria and inflammation, not necessarily just the collagen. So you can use that a little bit more. If you're doing like muscle recovery type things, like four to six times per week, 10 to 20 minutes panels work best because they're gonna penetrate a lot deeper.

Brianna:

Mm-hmm.

Baylee:

So that'd be different than the mask if you need like cure growth three to four times a week, 10 to 15 minutes more than this Doesn't speed things up. Like I said, your follicles are gonna respond best to consistent scheduled stimulation, so more is not always better.

Brianna:

Gonna give you more. Yeah.

Baylee:

So red light therapy actually works there. It's called like photobiomodulation, where it cells respond to a certain dose. If you overdo it, the benefits actually plateau or drop. So just like with anything'cause you, it's better.

Brianna:

Yes. And I think if you're trying to look up the research, that's what it's called. It's like PBN therapy.

Baylee:

Yeah.

Brianna:

That's what it's standing for. But you bring up a good point with the like different wavelengths or type of light. So that's something you are gonna wanna be looking at. If you're thinking of like buying a product, you wanna make sure it's giving you the proper wavelengths. So think of it as like color, different shades do different things. So like the six 30 to the six 60, is it nanometers? I was like, that's not, I don't know what Nnn, NM and as in light raise, so six 30 to six 60 nm, that's like the beauty light. So that helps like boost collagen, smooth wrinkles, even tone. The deeper one, like the panels are eight 10 to eight 50 and that's to like. Okay. Nanometer. So it does like the deep tissue, which I guess that makes sense, right? If it penetrates deeper nanometers, here we go. I'm working through it. But that is the one for like the deep tissue inflammation, healing muscle recovery. So you wanna make sure that at least your, the, the device that you're buying labels what it has. And then it's in between at six 30 to six 60 for your face and your hair, and then eight 10 to eight 50 if you're using it for like your body.

Baylee:

Mm-hmm. I think that's important to note because there is so many options on Amazon. Sure, it might be a$30 mask, but if it's not actually gonna do anything, then you're just wasting.$30. Another thing you can look at is that your irritants so this is the strength of the light, how much full light your skin actually receives. So with this, you need 30 to 60 for a mask and 60 to a hundred for like. A panel Panel and this is where you're gonna get like the real benefit from it. And this is kind of like the therapeutic zone for it. Less than this, it's kind of just like a nightlight. You could use the daily and see nothing more again, as ingrained either. It's gonna, might shorten the treatment time, but not necessarily the results.

Brianna:

Yeah.

Baylee:

when you're looking at, you want the to look at the wavelengths, you wanna look at the irritants and even like the distance measured. So that should all be listed within the product.

Brianna:

Yeah. So if your product doesn't have those things or if you're seeing like weird type of measurements on it, like, it's like 200 mw. It's like what? No, it should be the numbers that we listed. Nm. So if it doesn't have, the irritants doesn't have that and it doesn't say at what distance the power was measured, I would say probably skip it.'cause there's definitely better products out there that have that on there. Yeah.

Baylee:

So the arrogance is measured in milliwatts per square centimeter, so that's that 30 to 60 mask, 60 to hundred plus for the panel thes.

Brianna:

Perfect. Yeah. And then making sure you get a product that's appropriate for like the area that you're trying to cover. So for masks, you want it covering like your whole face, not just certain parts of your face for panels. The bigger the panel, the bigger area you're trying to treat. I would not use a panel. As like a mask, you know, I would, because they're stronger. But also making sure like, okay, if I have a mask on, and you'll see, I'm like, your whole face lights up like your iron man. You know? So it would be advised not to use the mask on for your head'cause it's not rubbing around, but you know.

Baylee:

Probably not our best idea, but

Brianna:

But it's also not the worst.

Baylee:

yes. So I mentioned the distant measured at too, so. When a red light device lists its power, the milliwatts, it should also say how far they measure it, like five centimeters or at like six inches. Because the farther you are, you are away from the device, the weaker that light becomes. So companies list a strong number, but if they only measure it an inch away, are you actually gonna sit up?

Brianna:

Yeah.

Baylee:

inch from the panel. I mean, if it's a mask probably, but maybe others list a lower number, but it's 12 inches away. So it's actually really strong. So distance tell you if maybe that's realistic or if they're kind of misleading you to make it feel like a better product.

Brianna:

Mm-hmm.

Baylee:

So distance is critical as well,'cause you're not gonna be pressed against it. So look for, if you're looking like a panel mass distance doesn't really matter the the LEDs that's sitting on your skin.

Brianna:

Yeah.

Baylee:

Putting it on your face panels, you're looking for that 60 to a hundred milliwatts at six to 12 inches. So if a panel only lifts power at zero inches, that's a red black. Nobody uses a panel touching their skin does not make sense. So six to 12 inches for that distant length too.

Brianna:

and this is why I would try to buy from a reputable company and probably skip out on like the lower, you know, cost items on Amazon.'cause red light therapy is safe, but is. If you're using the device correctly, and it's been, you know, certified. So there's like a couple of things to look for. So FDA cleared is like a minimum and don't. Be like FDA cleared and FDA approved or two different things. So F-D-F-D-A cleared just means this is safe. This should be safe. Yes. If you're wanting something that's like really effective, and I would say this is probably more like that wound, like healing tissue, like deep tissue repair, that's where you want FDA approved. Those are more like medical grade. You are gonna be more expensive, but you get what you pay for. So at minimum, is it FDA cleared? And there's a certain label that has to be on there. Is it IUC, safety tested? And then do you have eye shielding or logo glare design so that the lights aren't just going like straight into your eyes?

Baylee:

Yes,

Brianna:

It's a, it's a la it's on a laser, but you know, you know, as somebody who used to just stare at the lights in the tanning bed. That's one reason. That's one reason why I need a red light mask, but also another reason why I need to make sure I'm protecting my eyes.

Baylee:

Yeah, I did just look up The one I did, I did get it off Amazon, and this is before I, I just ordered it on a whim. I didn't actually look into anything but it, the red light, it's six six nanometers, and then it also has. I didn't know what this meant, but now I do.'cause when we do the research before the podcast, but there's a red plus infrared light setting and that goes up six 60 plus 850 nanometers to reduce your wrinkles.

Brianna:

nice. So like a little

Baylee:

So that's helpful.

Brianna:

Yeah. And the, the IEC. Safety tested that I talked about, that stands for the International Electro Technical Commission. So that's like an a certain organization that's like testing that actual like electronic product for safety. So making sure that the FDA has at least cleared it. Making sure it has that safety so we know the, you know, electronic device that you're using is helpful. We don't want like a Samsung thing. Was it Samsung? Where like all of their chargers are like catching on fire a

Baylee:

Oh yeah, I do remember that. Yeah.

Brianna:

You know, it's on your

Baylee:

We don't want that. Yeah.

Brianna:

Yeah. So those two things. And also knowing too, like. You get what you pay for. A lot of the more expensive, expensive ones are gonna last longer. So just trying to figure out like middle of the road, what do I really need? Maybe I do need to buy a less expensive option right now. Let me make sure it's like, has these safety precautions. Okay, I'll go with it. And then just knowing

Baylee:

Yeah. And if there's like some of these parts where you're looking at, you're like, oh, I can't find the distance or something, it's probably'cause it's not great. They're, they don't wanna show that. So I would look for something that has all the stats as well.

Brianna:

yeah. I'm really fired up about this. I'm gonna, I'm gonna get, but no, yeah,

Baylee:

Maybe we should get the hat. It seems like a good one.

Brianna:

no, I know because I feel like my hair's pretty thinner. You know, it's not, my hair is the same. I have fine hair. I don't have like thin hair. I have a lot of fine hair, but it looks, you know, it looks thin. I'm like. It's a bit

Baylee:

Yeah, you have to like put it a certain way. Otherwise you have like bald spots.

Brianna:

You know, like, I know for people watching the video, like they gotta do like certain things, but there's like hair there. It just doesn't,

Baylee:

just a little thinner.

Brianna:

it just a, just a little thinner, you know?

Baylee:

Maybe we'll get our caps.

Brianna:

Should we do it? Should we do like a product review? We can count that as a write off, right? Like

Baylee:

I think so. Yeah.

Brianna:

take it off my taxable income. I bought it. Review it.

Baylee:

the write

Brianna:

like, what does a dietician need a red light therapy valve for? I'm like, listen,

Baylee:

for the pod

Brianna:

collagen, that's nutrition

Baylee:

nutrition is a whole body approach, guys.

Brianna:

Exactly. So, you know, but yeah, hopefully we answered all of your questions or we like at least did the big highlights of things that you should be looking for. But you know, always feel free to like reach out and ask us if there's something we talked about and you're like, what the heck did you say?

Baylee:

Absolutely. Yes. Have a great week everyone. We'll be back next week with a brand new topic. Bye.

Contributor

Baylee

Host
Contributor

Brianna

Host