For the purpose of this post, what I noticed here more-so was the treatment time: 90 seconds per day.

I think as time goes on we are going to see the treatment times for light therapy treatments decrease dramatically.  I’m thinking of blue light acne treatment, and red light for healing and anti-aging, where treatment times are commonly 15 or 20 minutes per day per area.   I think further research in those areas will show that, not only is less time required to produce a result, but that results will be better as treatment times decrease.

If you are currently using blue light therapy for things like acne treatment, try decreasing the treatment time and see how it goes.  It can’t hurt to try, and if you can save yourself some precious time, all the better.

(an exception to this would be our LightWave CS, please use as directed, the treatment time has already been adjusted to seconds per day, with good results.)

The first thing I’m going to do is add red and blue lights separately to the product line up, in addition to the LightWave CS, which I will still carry.  I’ve got prototypes for them coming in any day, and we’ll begin testing them out on ourselves, family and friends.  I have no doubt they will work, but it’s always nice to see proof before you sell something to the world.

The Blue light will be a combination of 405nm and 470nm, which will be perfect for general antibacterial use, not just acne treatment.  Both wavelengths proved effective in killing other harmful bacteria, including MRSA, and so that light will prove beneficial for a wide range of people and situations.  For example, if someone buys it initially for acne treatment, they can also use it to help naturally disinfect everyday cuts, scrapes and bites for themselves and their family.  The blue light could also be used to disinfect surfaces around the home, or possibly help to treat an existing infection of the skin.

The red light will be a combination of red 660nm and infrared 850nm.  Red light is useful in acne treatment, of course, but this light can also be used for a very wide array of things, especially to speed healing of any injury to the skin or soft tissues.  The faster you close a wound of any type, the less chance there is for a dangerous infection to set in.  This is becoming more and more important as bugs become antibiotic resistant.  A Red/IR light can also be used for pain relief and anti-aging applications.

Making these lights available separately will make the initial cost of LED blue light acne treatment more affordable for more people, which is the point.  People can add red light to their treatments when they can afford it.  Either way, whether they own one light or two, the lights will be useful for many more important things than just acne treatment.  This will significantly increase the value of the light, and make the investment worth it for the whole family.

So I am going to be busy adding the red and blue to the website this week, and I will post often this month as I make other changes to just about everything.

H1N1 Swine Flu

People want to do everything they can to protect themselves against the H1N1 swine flu this season, and some have asked me if light therapy can be of any help.  Here are a few ways I came up with:

Since we are approaching fall and losing the potency of the sun, our vitamin D3 levels begin to drop.  As far as flu prevention – get your vitamin D level tested now, and do what you can to get and keep your 25(OH)D level between 50-70  ng/mL all year.   All the information about Vitamin D3 and H1N1 flu is found at the Vitamin D Council’s website here:
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/h1n1-flu-and-vitamin-d.shtml

Air purifiers are available with UVC  light which should kill the H1N1 swine flu virus (and any other bug) as it passes through.  UV ’sanitizing wands’ are also available for general disinfection of hard and soft surfaces at home and on the go.

In case you get the flu, see your doctor immediately, of course.  In addition to his recommendations:

Sci\ART Global has always recommended amber light for colds and flu, shone on the bare chest and back for about 10 minutes each side per day, or twice per day.

Green light is recommended to boost immunity, since the Thymus gland is in that chakra zone.  The lungs also extend into this chakra zone and might likely benefit from the application of green light as well.

In the winter, GE Dichromatic lights are really nice for light & color therapy, because they also throw heat, which is wonderful when you’re sick.   The bulbs do get hot, though, and they stay hot for some time after turning them off, so be careful when using them around children.   LEDs are also available in amber and green.  LEDs are safer and consume less energy, but are missing the soothing heat of the GE dichromatic incandescent.

If you know of other ways that light can help prevent or speed recovery from the the flu this season, please  leave your comments below for the benefit of all.  Thanks!

• Wavelength – what it means, why it matters.
• Intensity – don’t be fooled by the numbers.
• Hand-held or table top?
• It’s all about the service.  Warranties, risk-free trials, who’s there to help?
• Money, the bottom line.  What does it really cost in the long run?
• What’s the best light for YOUR acne?  Mild, moderate, severe, back, chest, body, other.
• UV or no UV?
• The “FDA Approved” line.

If you have an idea of what other topics should be included in a buyer’s guide to acne lights, please let me know by leaving a comment below.

Also, please let me know which topic you’d like to see first.

Thanks in advance for your input.  I will use your feedback now and as the parts are published to create an understandable, trustworthy guide through the growing BS of the acne light market.

1. Blue light is effective against the acne bacteria p. acnes, not all acne is caused by that specific bacteria.

2. Some things that look like acne are not acne at all, for example, a yeast infection can look like acne.  Shining blue light on that could actually make the condition worse, because the blue light may be killing some of the bacteria that is trying to keep the yeast under control.

3. Light therapy works on a cellular level.  You’ve heard the expression, “You are what you eat.”  Everything you put into your body effects your body chemistry, and therefore your individual reaction to light.   At the LLLT Symposium last weekend (Aug 7&8, 2009) it was brought out that the presence of NSAID medication (Advil, Alieve and others) decreased the effectiveness of light in one study.  Effects of different medications was given as a reason why light therapy may be effective for some and not for others.

Even though acne light therapy does not work for everyone for various, valid reasons, it is effective for most people and is certainly worth a try.    Most acne light companies offer a 12 week trial period and offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Table-top type acne lights are more affordable than their hand-held counterparts, however they lack the portability many people need today.

Like the hand-held chart, this is a “real-life” type of chart, designed to reveal things that are going to matter to you over time, such as warranty, cost of replacement bulbs, and return policy details.

The chart also assumes each product will be effective when used as directed and they should be, for about 86% of people.

This chart compares the following hand-held acne lights: LightStim, Tanda, Evis MD, Baby Quasar & LightWave CS. This is a real-life type comparison, so you can see the things that really matter, such as how you are going to spend – not just your money, but your time – along with how long your investment is protected (warranty) and if you get your money back if it doesn’t work for you (return policy).

The  chart assumes every product will be effective when used as directed and, in fact, they all should be. Whatever the product, acne light therapy is effective for about 86% of people.

You can see that LightStim and LightWave are a single unit, where the others are red and blue separately. If you are looking to treat acne alone, an acne light that combines red and blue light would be most convenient for you. If you would like to use red light for other things too, such as to build collagen, then you might like having the red and blue lights separately.

If there is an aspect of the acne lights that you are interested in which is not included on this chart, let us know and we’ll add it.  Also, if you find anything about this chart to be inaccurate, please send us a quick email so we can fix it.

By the way, LightWave CS is our light, and so here’s a coupon should you decide to buy it.

Coupon Code: LTOHHCT – Save an additional $20 off current sale price.

Most of the parts on this thing were pretty dry, however, some of the scientists had a sense of humor.

This was my favorite line of the weekend:

“The only way a (low level) laser is going to hurt somebody is if they drop it on their foot.”

I’m sorry I didn’t get the speaker’s name to credit that to.   There was a chuckle through the audience, indicating agreement on the part of all.

It was mentioned over and over, there are zero adverse side effects to low level light therapy, be it low level laser or LED light therapy.

It was said that light only effects cells “under stress” and has no effect on healthy cells.

The last part of the weekend was specifically devoted to “Human Safety Evaluation of Light-based Devices for Home Use” and he was talking about things like the resistors inside the devices getting hot, so that if you took the thing apart and touched one of them, you might burn your fingers.  If there were any reported negative side effects of LED or low level laser light therapy, we’d have heard about them then.  There are none.

Paralyzed Healdsburg teen regains some feeling

It’s a long read, but the point is a completely paralyzed kid has regained some movement in his fingers and arm after simple light therapy.

It was for real, and now, a week later, Ripa can move all four fingers and his thumb. If someone bends his right elbow to a 90-degree angle, he can move it back and forth a bit.

Medically, it means some motor nerves have managed to reconnect across the injured part of his spinal cord.

… It came after five days of an alternative and experimental treatment called photonic light therapy, which is supposed to stimulate the repair of injured tissue.

Over the weekend I saw very graphic slides of rat nerves (I never knew actual nerves were so big) being regenerated by red/infrared light.   The light was able to penetrate through fur, skin, fat, muscle and whatever else was between it and the spinal column.  They both crushed and severed the spinal cords of rats, and were able to achieve total or partial nerve regeneration with the aid of the light.  Even the researchers were throwing the word “miracle” around now and then.

I was thrilled to see the above article, and I can’t wait to see the outcome of his case.  It is encouraging that light therapy for nerve regeneration is already being tested in major hospitals, because that means it is much closer than I thought to being “approved” for general use, and people can start to benefit from the miracle of light.

“Photonic Light Therapy” is not as super technical as it sounds.  A photon is simply a particle of light, the source of the light does not matter much.  The researchers I listened to were using either red and/or infrared light in either low lever lasers or LEDs.

Truth is I’ve been in the light therapy business for 10 years with my mom (Kathryn Kalisz, Sci\ART Global), who’s been researching color for 30 years.
Truth is I’ve been listening to acne suffers on the phone for 7 years.
Truth is I’ve been trying to find a way to solve their problems for that long.
Truth is I’m into all kinds of light therapy, not just acne light therapy.
I’ve been paying attention to advancements in the entire field of light therapy, and not just acne treatment.  Because of that I’ve been able to recognize which wavelengths might be the most beneficial and effective for acne treatment, and I put the best of everything I knew into this light of my own.  Based on that same knowledge, experience, and appreciation for the natural power of light, we started the testing with seconds and not minutes.  It worked in seconds, exactly as expected.

Now I give you a light that works for most people, not just for “mild-moderate inflammatory acne” but mild-severe inflammatory acne, as well as deeper, cystic acne, over time.   I give you a light that you can hold in your hand, sit on the table or clamp to just about anything to conveniently treat acne on your face, back, chest, or anywhere else it might be impolite to mention.  I give you a light that is made to last a long, long time, and I back it for life.  I give you a light you can travel with and not worry about because – who stays in one place anymore, and who needs one more worry?

I understand you are skeptical.  It sounds “too good to be true.” But really, isn’t it the way it should be?

Try the light.  Whether it works for you or not, please post your experiences here for the benefit of your community.

As always, I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.

Louanna Wilson
Light Therapy Options