Anti-aging

It was through this study that photomodulation became known. In 2004, Messrs. Mac Daniel and Weiss conducted a scientific study on a population sample of 93 people and obtained striking results. They had just demonstrated the action of light therapy on wrinkles, pigment spots, and skin elasticity. 92% of the sample tested twice a week obtained more than satisfactory results.

Once this study was revealed to the general public,  LED treatment  took a 180-degree turn and established itself as a leading aesthetic and medical therapy. What people appreciate about it? Its effectiveness and its painless, side-effect-free nature.

Treatment of wrinkles and fine lines

Study carried out by D. Barolet and Russel at the Skin Optics Laboratory at McGill University in Montreal

Other clinical studies have been conducted in the context of aging.

• Barolet, in a double-blind study with 660 nm LED on 53 subjects, found an average improvement in fine lines of 24.6 µm, and in one case 225.5 µm, which proves that there is a great variability of results, a phenomenon already observed with other remodeling techniques.
• Russel, in a study on 31 subjects with an LED emitting at 633 and 830 nm: in 52%, there was an improvement of 25 to 50%, 81% of subjects showing an improvement in periorbital fine lines.

Study carried out by Mac Daniel and Weiss

The main study is that of Mac Daniel and Weiss in 2004:

• 93 patients are treated with 590 nm LED.
• With 8 treatments (2 per week) for 6 months, this with a clinical and photographic evaluation, an evaluation of patient and operator satisfaction and 3D photos.
• The results are as follows: in responding patients, 87% improvement in texture was obtained, 65% for erythema, 62% for pigmentary disorders, 56% for periocular fine lines.
• The degree of improvement is zero in 8%, moderate in 14%, good in 41%, excellent in 38%.*

In 10 randomized patients, there was a 50 to 90% improvement in fine lines in 3D photography.

Acne

Led by Dr. Chu, the study on  LED acne treatment  was carried out in the 2000s. While it was not the study that introduced photomodulation, it nonetheless remains a major study in demonstrating the effectiveness of this pulsed light treatment technique.

Much less invasive than laser treatment,  LED treatment  uses only blue and red LEDs to treat mild to moderate acne. It works deep down to eliminate bacteria and cleanse the skin while repairing scars left by pimples. The results of this study are simply astonishing.

Acne treatment

Study conducted by Dr. Chu

It was in the 2000s that Dr. Chu, a British professor, studied the effects of light, and more specifically blue and red lights, as a treatment for acne.

LED photomodulation is therefore a painless alternative to laser.

For the treatment of mild to moderately severe acne, LED phototherapy combines  blue light  (whose benefits in the treatment of acne were highlighted in 2004 in the publications of Professor Tzung) and  red light . Blue light acts as an antibacterial by attacking the P.Acnes bacteria, involved in acne. This blue light "is not dangerous...", continues Dr. Fouque "...With its wavelength of 405 to 420 nanometers, it will, without causing skin damage, act on the P.Acnes bacteria which colonizes the sebaceous gland."

It is combined with red light which penetrates a little deeper into the dermis to ensure better healing and have an anti-inflammatory action.

The experiment consisted of dividing 107 patients with mild or moderate acne into several groups, each corresponding to a different treatment: The first group was exposed to blue light, the second to a combination of blue and red light, the third to white light without heat radiation, while the fourth group had a specific cream applied. The distribution of the three light sources was random, and the duration of exposure to these light sources was 12 weeks, at a rate of 15 minutes per day.

At the end of the treatment,  an improvement in 76% of the cases treated was observed , i.e. a reduction of three quarters of the comedones present, particularly with the combination of the two lights (blue and red).

Since then, several studies have validated his initial research.

The doctor's opinion

R. Calderhead, Doctor of Medical Sciences

"Recently, Light Emitting Diode (LED) therapy is being thoroughly analyzed for the treatment of uninjured skin, in order to study the photo-biochemical cascades that may be involved. As cutting-edge research results, these new LED devices increase the repertoire of medical and cosmetic applications. This review discusses the increase in collagen production achieved by photomodulation by addressing the parameters necessary to achieve a maximum clinical response.

LED applications currently being studied at the Tokyo Phototherapy Laboratory focus in particular on minimally invasive skin photorejuvenation and its photobiological basis."

D. Barolet, A. Boucher - McGill University - Skin Optics Laboratory - Montreal (Canada)

[...]In the same way that plants use chlorophyll to convert sunlight into tissue support, LEDs trigger intracellular and physiological photobiochemical reactions that activate collagen production in the skin.

So we are entering this exciting era, where  LED light allows for excellent skin photorejuvenation treatments . Safer than the sun, this new light therapy helps remodel photoaged skin without pain, downtime, or side effects.

Indications for Photobiomodulation as seen by a dermatologist: Dr François Michel

Its use in medicine and aesthetics began in 2004 but in fact, it is not really a recent tool because it is derived from non-thermal infrared lasers (or soft lasers) widely used since the 80s for their anti-inflammatory and healing properties, these lasers themselves being derived from so-called infrared lamps used for the same purpose for more than 50 years.

These infrared lamps actually emit a combination of colors ranging from blue to near infrared, in the same wavelengths as those used with LEDs . In short,  this technique benefits from such hindsight that the discovery of a late side effect can be excluded .

The LED suddenly became famous following a study showing a remodeling and therefore anti-wrinkle effect that its predecessors did not have, this because the light is emitted in "pulsed" mode even if we often have the impression of a continuous light due to the speed of the "flashes" frequency. But, be careful not to confuse it with flash lamps or pulsed lights which act by heating the skin while the  LED does not heat .

This absence of heat is rather disconcerting and yet  the effectiveness is real , in three areas: the anti-inflammatory and healing effect, the remodeling effect and the capacity to increase the penetration of substances applied to the skin. The mode of action is a regulation of the cell acting on the mitochondria which are our small intracellular energy centers.

As a result, the scope of application is extremely broad, ranging from all skin inflammations (or joint inflammations, but that's another area) to  scars  or  fine lines . A beneficial effect can be added in certain pigmentary problems such as chloasmas or pregnancy masks and studies are also underway for  cellulite  and  hair regrowth , due to the improvement of vascularization.

And the possibilities are all the more extensive since  the LED can be tried on everything due to the absence of risks . Indeed, apart from the possibility of triggering an epileptic seizure when the pulse frequency is low enough to create painful light pulses, which is in fact rarely necessary, there are no identified medical risks. At the limit, some lamps have pushed the escalation of power so much that they end up heating up a little, but we are a million miles away from the risk of burning present with each shot of a "hot" laser or flash lamp. [...]

The certainties are the predominant effectiveness of red light in the anti-inflammatory and healing effect, the remodeling effect and the increase in the penetration of substances applied to the skin. The yellow wavelength allows for a more superficial effect and near infrared for a deeper effect, while the vocation of blue light is the treatment of acne. The other established fact is that the LED only gives its potential in "pulsed" mode. And finally,  the ultimate certainty is safety . In the end, alone or in combination,  the LED is a safe and effective tool .

Doctor François Michel  - VIGIPIL Collective