Amber light therapy is also sometimes referred to as yellow or orange light therapy. It encompasses the range of wavelengths from 570 nm to 620 nm.
Amber light has quite a shallow skin penetration but is effective in the treatment of skin issues involving redness, such as spider veins. Though it is not typically used for tissue healing or collagen/elastin production, where it excels is in the treatment of problems such as sun damage. It is often considered to be an ideal therapy for sensitive skin, as its therapy is calming and soothing.
Amber light therapy is frequently recommended as a drug free alternative treatment for skin redness and flushing, irritation, rosacea, UV radiation damage, and reducing the appearance of the tiny blood vessels on the nose and face. It helps to flush waste from the skin, boost lymphatic flow, and increase cellular growth.
Affordable Options in Amber Light Therapy
Color Filter Gels
For light and color therapy purposes, yellow, amber and orange are often used interchangeably. However, if your application is wavelength specific, your most affordable option are color filter gels, which sell for around $9 each. Simply browse the list of Roscolene color filters at Rosco.com to find exactly the wavelengths you want, then Google your chosen filter number for the best price online. Place it in front of a full-spectrum light source and you have true, effective amber light or color therapy.
GE Dichromatic Lights (Discontinued)
The GE Dichromatic 150 watt Flood Light is available in Amber from Bulbtronics for around $25. This light will contain the whole range of amber and infrared wavelengths. Please read all about this light before you buy, to make sure it’s best for your specific application.
For amber light or color therapy applications that are non-wavelength specific, it is likely that any affordable amber light will do, such as one off-the-shelf at your local department or home improvement store.
Amber Light Therapy for Rosacea Treatment
Although red light therapy has become the most common wavelength used for the treatment of rosacea symptoms, there are many people with this skin disorder who have also found great benefit from amber wavelengths, as well.
Not too far on the spectrum from red, amber light therapy comes with some similar benefits as well as several that belong uniquely to that color. Also occasionally called yellow light therapy or orange light therapy, the actual shade of this color is generally accepted as amber within the scientific and medical communities.
Amber light therapy can be used on its own, but many rosacea sufferers find that they can find a greater range of benefits in healing their symptoms when they combine the use of this color with red light therapy.
The Research Behind Amber Light for Rosacea Treatment
Amber light is well known for its overall calming and rejuvenating benefits. Aside from its uses in easing the symptoms of rosacea, it is also often used for: soothing irritated or sensitized skin, reducing skin redness, stimulating the production of red blood cells for skin healing and revitalizing, calming swelling and inflammation, decreasing the look of visible blood vessels and even minimizing the damage caused by UV exposure.
While red light therapy is generally the choice for inflamed forms of rosacea, amber light therapy is the go-to option for redness. Combining the two can be safely done and can bring the benefits of both wavelength ranges to the user.
In fact, LED amber light therapy is safe enough that it has been used to ease the redness in the faces of patients who have undergone laser surgery for other skin conditions. In 2009, a paper was published by Dr. Tina Alster, entitled “Improvement of Postfractional Laser Erythema with Light-Emitting Diode Photomodulation”, in which she found that using LED amber light therapy immediately after laser skin resurfacing had been administered and both the severity and duration of the erythema (redness) experienced post-procedure were drastically reduced.
This was a clear demonstration of how effective this therapy can be, even on the most sensitive and reactive skin, such as following laser surgery or, indeed, among rosacea sufferers.
That said, amber light therapy is also often used for immune support due to the impact it has on the lymphatic system. As rosacea sufferers are also prone to minor infections – such as acne-like breakouts – on the surface of the skin, they can benefit from exposure to amber wavelengths to help heal from those infections and repair the damaged tissue that had been left behind so that what results is skin that is not only healthy but also improved.
Benefits of Amber Light for Rosacea Treatment
- Speeds skin healing
- Reduces erythema (redness)
- Reduces inflammation (and associated symptoms such as redness, flushing, swelling, itching, burning)
- Decreases the time required to calm a rosacea flare-up, particularly flushing
- Helps to heal skin damaged by rosacea symptoms
- Soothes irritated, inflamed, sensitized and reactive skin
- Stimulates red blood cell production for improved healing and overall skin health
- Decreases the appearance of visible blood vessels
- Heals sun damaged skin
- Painless
- 100 percent natural and non-invasive
- Drug-free with no reported long- or short-term side effects
- Safe for regular daily use for people of all skin types and ages
- Requires very little time and/or effort
- Simple to self-administer
- Easy for home use
- Does not lose effectiveness over time
- No down-time
How Does Amber Light Work for Rosacea?
It is believed that the reason amber light therapy effectively reduces the symptoms of redness (erythema) among many rosacea sufferers is that the blood vessels can reduce in size following treatment. As a result, they – and their red color –
become less visible. This action makes LED amber light therapy sessions extremely safe and appropriate for all skin types, including those that are the most sensitive and reactive.
Amber light therapy also stimulates the production of red blood cells, which play a vital role in skin healing and skin cell rejuvenation. They also help to give the look of being healthier, overall.
Visible amber light can penetrate the skin to a shallow depth. This means that the cells exposed to the light are primarily those that are visible, so that the greatest impact on the skin occurs where it can actually be seen as they absorb that energy and use it as a part of natural healing processes, clearing rosacea symptoms without causing irritation or any other unwanted side effects.
