Retinol and Light Therapy: Skincare Dream Team

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Blue
Skin

You’ve probably heard of retinol. It’s been in the skincare industry for years and it provides amazing results for non-invasive treatment. It helps with wrinkles, aging, hyperpigmentation, and in general can produce flawless-looking skin.

A derivative of vitamin A, Retinol helps cellular turnover, making it powerful enough to significantly improve skin texture, pigmentation, and tone. Through cellular turnover, it combats sun damage and skin loosening for its collagen properties. 

Not to mention, you only need a couple of drops. Studies have shown that the use of an over-the-counter product with 0.1% retinol (referred to as regular and prolonged use) brings significant improvement with wrinkles, collagen production, blood flow, and sunspots, with results visible after one month. 

Once applied, the retinol is absorbed, broken down, and transformed into retinoic acid. This compound affects cellular structure (stimulates cell renewal and collagen production). 

The conversion process, however, does not occur immediately upon use—it’s not magic. Several applications may be required before it’s transformed into retinoic acid. But for faster and more immediate results, you can incorporate light therapy into your skincare regime. 

Though light therapy on its own is powerful, when paired with retinol, the two are a perfect combination for flawless skin.

On its own, light therapy proves to be highly effective for treating texture, scars, acne, and overall skin rejuvenation. However, light therapy also deals with more severe skin issues such as eczema and vitiligo. So, why is it so effective?

The specific wavelengths of red light create a biochemical effect in our cells that serves to increase mitochondrial function. This improves the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) in the body.

We care about ATP because it's the source of energy for every cell in the body. Without it, we don't work at all. Without enough, we don't perform well.

The wavelengths vary between 630-880 nm and are used to treat the skin’s surface. The red therapy light penetrates the skin approximately 8-10 millimeters. Depending on which area of ​​the body the red light is used for, it can easily affect all layers of the skin, reaching the blood vessels, lymphatics, nerves, and hair follicles.

When red light therapy and retinol are paired together, they quicken cellular turnover and replacement. Initially, retinol and LED light therapy were considered inadvisable. But scientists have now discovered that retinol products paired with light therapy are advantageous—if done properly.

How to prepare for LED light therapy

When it comes to using retinol and LED light therapy, you want to make sure you do it properly. Naturally, aside from using light therapy and retinol, you should focus on eating clean, staying hydrated, getting adequate sleep, and reduce your exposure to sunlight. Now that we have that out of the way, here’s what you need to do.

  1. Cleanse your face thoroughly and pat it dry
  2. Use LED Light therapy mask for 10-15 minutes
  3. Apply your preferred retinol product
  4. Apply SPF

As mentioned before, it’s best to do this at night, not to let sunlight interfere with the efficiency of the process. 

Though there are many ways to treat our skin, ideally, you want a treatment that’s the least invasive and the most effective. Kaiyan's red light therapy devices are designed to treat a variety of skin conditions, helping you stay youthful. Our devices are MDA-certified and FDA-approved, ensuring that your treatment will be safe for your skin while providing you the best results.