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In the ever-evolving world of skincare, trends are constantly emerging as people seek innovative ways to achieve healthier-looking skin. Among the top trends are Red Light Therapy and Cryotherapy, which have both gained quite a lot of attention for their unique, science-backed approaches. Red Light Therapy uses specific wavelengths of light to deliver benefits like visibly rejuvenating the skin's appearance, while Cryotherapy takes a different path, employing extreme cold to invigorate and refresh the skin.
As these therapies continue to captivate skincare enthusiasts, understanding their distinct benefits can help you make informed choices for your own skincare routine. Let's talk about both Red Light Therapy and Cryotherapy, what sets them apart, and recommendations for incorporating them into your at-home skincare routine.
What Is Red Light Therapy?
Red Light Therapy is an innovative skincare treatment that harnesses the power of specific wavelengths of light to enhance the appearance of your skin. This painless, non-invasive therapy works by penetrating the skin's surface and supporting healthy collagen production.
Because of collagen's role in keeping the skin looking healthy and firm, this helps to ultimately target visible signs of aging such as fine lines, wrinkles, uneven texture, and dullness. Depending on the device, some users see results in as soon as just a few weeks with consistent use.
Benefits of Different Types of Light Therapy
While Red Light Therapy is arguably the most well-known type of Light Therapy thanks to its ability to reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles, other wavelengths of light also offer remarkable skincare benefits (which is why you'll see multiple types of light in each of our devices*).
Let's explore the diverse advantages of each type of Light Therapy:
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Near-Infrared Light Therapy: This therapy rejuvenates the appearance of your skin, supporting its overall radiance and helping it look fresh and luminous.
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Deep Red Light Therapy: While it's known for targeting fine lines like Red Light, Deep Red Light Therapy also promotes skin rejuvenation, helping to visibly smooth the skin and promote a glowy appearance.
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Amber Light Therapy: This wavelength helps improve the look of an uneven skin tone and reduces the appearance of puffiness, giving your skin a more balanced and smooth look.
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Blue Light Therapy: By destroying acne-causing bacteria and reducing sebum production, Blue Light Therapy deters future breakouts while promoting clearer-looking skin.
What Is Cryotherapy?
Cryotherapy is a wellness treatment that uses extremely cold temperatures to stimulate and refresh the skin. The process typically involves exposing the skin to temperatures as low as -200°F (-129°C) for a few minutes. This might sound intense, but the exposure is brief and controlled to ensure safety and effectiveness.
When your skin is exposed to such cold temperatures, your body responds by constricting blood vessels, a process known as vasoconstriction. This helps reduce inflammation and swelling, which can lead to a more toned complexion. Once the cold exposure ends, your body begins to warm up, and the blood vessels expand again, a process called vasodilation. This increase in blood flow helps deliver oxygen and nutrients to the skin, promoting a refreshed and revitalized appearance.
Cryotherapy is often used in skincare to target specific areas, such as the face or neck, to improve the overall look and feel of the skin.
Beyond its skincare benefits, Cryotherapy is widely recognized for its applications in pain relief and muscle recovery, particularly among athletes. By exposing the body to extremely cold temperatures, Cryotherapy can help reduce inflammation and numb nerve endings, providing relief from pain and muscle soreness. This makes it a popular choice for athletes looking to accelerate recovery after intense workouts or injuries. The cold exposure also stimulates blood circulation, which aids in flushing out toxins and delivering oxygen-rich blood to muscles, promoting faster healing and reducing recovery time.
As a result, Cryotherapy has also become an integral part of many athletes' recovery routines, helping them maintain peak performance and minimize downtime.
Benefits of Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy offers several potential benefits that make it a popular choice for skin revitalization:
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Reducing Inflammation: The extreme cold used in Cryotherapy can help reduce inflammation, which may lead to a calmer and more even-looking complexion.
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Improving Skin Tone: By tightening the skin and reducing puffiness, Cryotherapy can contribute to a more balanced and smooth skin tone.
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Enhancing Circulation: The cold temperatures stimulate blood flow, which can help deliver essential nutrients to the skin, promoting a refreshed appearance and temporarily better circulation.
Red Light Therapy vs Cryotherapy: What To Know
The Science of How Each Works: Light vs. Cold
Red Light Therapy and Cryotherapy each offer distinct mechanisms for enhancing your skin's appearance.
Red Light Therapy uses specific wavelengths of light to penetrate the skin, targeting visible signs of skin aging and promoting a rejuvenated look by supporting healthy collagen production.
In contrast, Cryotherapy involves exposing the skin to extremely cold temperatures. This process triggers vasoconstriction, reducing inflammation and puffiness. As the skin warms up, increased blood flow delivers nutrients and oxygen, invigorating and refreshing the complexion.
While Red Light Therapy focuses on light energy to rejuvenate, Cryotherapy relies on temperature changes to invigorate the skin.
Benefits and Limitations of Each
Both therapies offer unique benefits.
Red Light Therapy is known for its ability to visibly rejuvenate skin, reduce the appearance of fine lines, and visually brighten dark circles. It's a gentle, painless, non-invasive treatment suitable for regular use, and thanks to the availability of at-home Red Light Therapy devices, it can become a regular part of your everyday skincare routine. The primary limitation is that its benefits are typically not immediately visible after your first session; instead, changes are cumulative, with users typically seeing visible changes after a few weeks of consistent use.
Cryotherapy, on the other hand, is effective at reducing inflammation and improving skin tone quickly. It can enhance circulation and promote a refreshed-looking complexion right after the session. However, the extreme cold may not be suitable for everyone, particularly those with sensitivity to cold temperatures or certain skin conditions.
Additionally, Cryotherapy requires specialized equipment and professional supervision, making it a treatment best performed in a clinical or spa setting. Due to the extreme cold temperatures involved, attempting Cryotherapy at home without proper equipment and expertise can pose safety risks.
Choosing the Right Therapy for You
Selecting the right therapy depends on your individual skincare goals and preferences.
If you're looking to combat visible signs of skin aging and achieve a luminous glow, Red Light Therapy is the ideal choice. It's perfect for those seeking a gentle, non-invasive approach to skincare, especially in terms of a treatment that can be used as part of your every day routine.
If your focus is on reducing puffiness, improving skin tone, and experiencing a quick and immediate (albeit typically temporary) invigorating effect, Cryotherapy could be more suitable. It's a great option for those who even enjoy the sensation of cold and are looking for immediate results.
The Best At-Home Red Light Therapy Devices
Incorporating Red Light Therapy into your regular at-home skincare routine has never been easier with these top at-home devices. Each product is designed to target specific skincare needs, offering a convenient and effective way to get the exact results you're looking for.
Wrinkle Retreat Face Mask & LightBoost Serum Kit
The Wrinkle Retreat Face Mask & LightBoost Serum Kit combines the power of Red Light and Deep Red Light Therapy with the nourishing benefits of the LightBoost Serum. The face mask device uses Red and Deep Red Light to target visible signs of skin aging, helping to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles while promoting a visibly rejuvenated, luminous-looking complexion.
The LightBoost Serum boosts the results of Light Therapy while also delivering skin-loving ingredients like Growth Factors, Niacinamide, and Multi Peptides.
How to Use: Start with clean and dry skin, then apply the LightBoost Serum evenly to your face. Place the Wrinkle Retreat Face Mask over your face, secure the straps, and activate the device by holding down the power button. The treatment lasts ten minutes, and the mask will automatically shut off when treatment is complete, so sit back and enjoy easy full-face Light Therapy!
Eye Recovery Pro Kit
Designed specifically for the delicate eye area, the Eye Recovery Pro Kit utilizes our most powerful combination of Light Therapies yet, with the Eye Recovery Pro mask using Red Light, Deep Red Light, Near-Infrared Light, and Amber Light to deliver a wealth of benefits to the eye area. To name just a few benefits, this mask helps to: target fine lines and wrinkles including crow's feet and 11s, visibly depuff eyes, and brighten the look of dark circles and under-eye bags.
This kit also includes our LightBoost Eye Cream, made with our LightBoost technology as well as caffeine and vegan collagen to help visibly energize the eyes while providing additional support in reducing the look of fine lines.
How to Use: Starting with clean, dry skin, gently apply the LightBoost Eye Cream around the eye area. Position the eye mask comfortably over your eyes, secure the straps, and turn on the device. Treatment lasts just 3 minutes, and the mask will automatically turn off when done.
Bye Acne Pro Kit
The Bye Acne Pro Kit combines Red and Blue Light Therapy with microderm patches to visibly soothe skin, combat acne-causing bacteria, reduce sebum production, and provide the ultimate pimple aftercare.
How to Use: The Bye Acne device is FDA-cleared and only needs 3 minutes per spot to deliver powerful, acne-fighting Light Therapy. Starting with clean, dry skin, turn on the device and hold it over the affected spot for the duration of the 3-minute treatment. It will automatically shut off when treatment is complete. Follow with the serum-infused patches to provide the ultimate protection and aftercare for your spot.
Conclusion
Red Light Therapy and Cryotherapy each offer unique approaches to enhancing your skincare routine, catering to different needs and preferences.
Red Light Therapy focuses on using specific wavelengths of Red Light to combat fine lines and wrinkles by supporting healthy collagen production. Its non-invasive nature makes it an excellent choice for those seeking a gentle yet effective treatment. Plus, it can be used at home as part of your everyday routine.
On the other hand, Cryotherapy invigorates the skin through exposure to extreme cold, reducing inflammation and improving skin tone. This method is ideal for those looking for quick results and a refreshed complexion, but does require that it's done by a professional using specialized equipment.
Both therapies can help provide valuable benefits, and understanding their differences can help you choose the right one for your skincare goals.
If you're looking to learn more about Red Light Therapy, you can check out the science of Red Light Therapy here. Or, if you're curious to see which device is the best fit for your skincare needs, take our Skin Quiz here for tailored recommendations.
*Excluding the 4-in-1 Skincare Wand, which utilizes Red Light Therapy with Therapeutic Warmth, Facial Massage, and Galvanic Current.
Sources:
Assessment of the Influence Systemic Cryotherapy Exerts on Chosen Skin Scores Pilot Study - PMC
Vasoconstriction: What Is It, Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
Vasodilation: What Causes Blood Vessels to Widen
