Preparations before the therapy
For a couple of weeks before the light therapy treatment, you might be required to stay away from retinols and various other skin treatment solutions that slim your skin area.
If you happen to be taking any kind of anti-inflammatory medicines, inquire to your skin specialist if you need to stop taking them. Stay away from tanning beds in addition to extended and being exposed unprotected to direct sunlight within the days right before your light therapy sessions.
Blue and red light therapy treatments have a duration of a minimum of 15 minutes and a maximum of 30 minutes for every session. Throughout the treatment, you will lie down or place your head within a specific equipment designed to keep your face unmoving.
An experienced light therapy expert, generally a health professional or skin doctor will use light pulses from a light therapy machine to various areas of the patient’s face, doing work in a spherical manner. Following a number of repetitions of the procedure, the therapy is finish.
What you should do after the therapy
Right after the phototherapy session, the remedied skin might appear to be pink or even red. There can be a few moderate skin peeling through the remedied spot.
Your skin area that is treated might be a lot more sensitive, and you also may need to omit your standard skin care routine for some day after the treatment. Some of the treatment method that you must not do during this time are topical creams containing vitamin A, scrubs and exfoliants.
Although it is recommended by dermatologists to put on sun screen every single day, you will have to be particularly aware with sunblock when your epidermis gets better.
In line with the statement of the American Academy of Dermatologists, visual light therapy is not helpful for blackheads, whiteheads, as well as nodular acne breakouts. It performs ideally for those who have moderate to average pimples.
Follow up treatments
Phototherapy hardly ever consists of just one therapy. A number of times of phototherapy, generally 2 to 3 therapies a week, during the period of 4 to 6 weeks, is generally suggested to get started on light therapy.
From then on, the consequences of the treatment might need to be taken care of by periodic follow-up therapies that occur at an interval of 3 months. These treatment options have a tendency to cost about $50 every session and are not usually included in the majority of insurance coverage policies.
Unwanted side effects of undergoing light therapy
Blue light therapy, as well as red light therapy, are usually regarded as reliable and safe, however, there are common side effects that you should be aware of. Those common side effects are listed below:
- Inflammation
- Bumps
- Peeling of skin
- Slight pain
There are also side effects that are much rare, which includes the following:
- Dried out pus or scorching at the location of therapy
- Skin burns
- dark skin discoloration due to overexposure to sun light following the treatment
- Serious discomfort at the location of therapy
If you want the side effects to having lesser chances of occurring, be sure to use only the best blue light therapy glasses and equipment. It is better to spend more and be safe than spend less but have some side effects that can be annoying at times.
The risks associated with using blue light therapy
The light utilized in phototherapy is not ultraviolet, therefore it does not have the potential risks of scarring damage and radiation. However, this does not indicate that there are absolutely no dangers to this particular type of treatment.
If the remedied spot is not taken care of correctly, there is an opportunity for infection to develop. If you see pus, scorching, or you had a fever following light therapy, get in touch with your doctor instantly. Additionally, there are individuals who must stay away from blue light therapy. Should you be currently consuming antibiotic medications, or you are very vulnerable to sun rays or very easily sunburned, blue light therapy for acne might not be for you.
Bailey Hudson is a creative content writer from Texas USA. He graduated in 2012 at the Hult University with a degree in Mass Communication. He created Bailey Doest Bark in 2015 and is currently the managing editor of the online portal.
