- Oh, hey, I didn't see you there.
Welcome to my home.
I didn't think we were ever gonna get this intimate
but we are on nickname basis, you're in my house.
I guess we're kind of friends now.
Hi everyone.
Welcome back to another episode of "Skincare Nerds".
I know this looks a little bit different
to what we're used to, but obviously we can't film
in our studio right now, but today's topic on Skincare Nerds
is something I am very passionate about
and talk about all the time.
I am obsessed with LED light therapy.
If you follow me on Instagram and you've heard me rave
about LED before, or you've heard it on the podcast
and you're still wondering what it actually does,
today we're gonna cover, what's the difference between
an at home device and in-clinic treatment.
What does each light do for your skin?
Is there any clinical evidence behind LED
and I'm gonna run you through my three favorite LED tools.
What makes them different
and why I would buy each one over the other?
Also, I wanna apologize in advance for the windy day
that I cannot control outside that's creating
some really weird noises in the background.
People walking past, dogs barking, screaming children,
please forgive me for the production quality
I'm used to a studio set up.
Let's proceed.
So firstly I wanna give you some background
into how I actually discovered LED
and why I end up becoming so obsessed with it.
So about five years ago I was working in a marketing role
in a plastic surgery clinic.
And I noticed that a lot of the patients who were having
facial surgeries or breast surgeries or
abdominal surgeries were coming in after their surgeries
to have LED treatments.
the LED panel would be placed over their wounds
or their scars.
They'd sit there for 10 minutes and then go home.
And I remember saying like, does that actually do anything?
Like it's a lot like, can it really actually do anything?
The doctors or nurses explained
that it actually is proven to speed up wound healing.
At the time I was like, wow, that's so interesting.
They didn't actually try it myself
until I had a, let's call it an accident.
So if you listen to the podcast,
you might've already heard this story.
I was on holidays in Vietnam
and I slipped down a set of marble stairs.
Not only did I can con cast myself and embarrass myself,
but I also landed really freaking hard on my back.
What resulted was a massive bruise.
Now I'm gonna let Maddie put the image in here
because you just have to see it to believe it.
I'm not kidding when I say that it is literally
the worst bruise that most people have ever seen.
And I'd say that to people and then show them the photo
and they'd be like,
Oh my God, that is not what I was expecting.
But anyway, I got home from this holiday
about maybe four days after that accident happened.
And it was a hematoma.
It was like where the blood has pooled under the skin.
And it was so swollen and sore.
And I thought this is gonna be like purple for ages.
I got my LightStim out which previously
I had just used exclusively for my face.
I started using it on my butt.
Now within the first few days
I didn't really notice a difference, but I was like
I'm gonna push through no(beeps) two weeks later
This was the result.
Two weeks, I'm not lying, that is two weeks.
So if that doesn't convince you of the power of LED
I do not know what will.
All right, let's get into it.
What is LED?
What does it stand for?
What does it mean?
What does it do for the skin?
So LED stands for light emitting diode
and in the skincare world that essentially means
that you are exposing the skin to different wavelengths
of non UV light which triggers a different response
in the skin depending what wavelength of light you're using.
Most devices will feature a combination
of Light Wavelengths, including red, yellow, amber,
infrared, and they all penetrate the skin
at different levels, having a different effect on the skin.
So it really does depend on which wavelength of light
you're using and blue light is also regularly used as well.
Your wavelengths are measured in nanometers,
or you'll see it in brackets as NM.
In general, the longer the wavelength,
the deeper the penetration into the tissue.
Turns out today was not a good day to film
because this light just keeps changing.
So I apologize if in some frames it looks like I'm filming
at midnight and other frames it looks like
I'm filming in the middle of the day like right now.
The benefits of LED, the most important part, right?
That's what we all wanna know.
What does it actually do for the skin?
Is it just a gimmick?
Does it actually doing anything?
I dug into a clinical paper, which was written
by Dr. Daniel Barolet on LED in dermatology.
I had discovered that there was a number of studies
to back up the benefits of LED,
particularly it's anti-inflammatory
and wound healing benefits.
So Dr. Barolet in his paper also cites the fact that,
not only does it help with accelerating wound healing,
but it's also a great complimentary treatment
to procedures like the Lady Lasers and things like that
where it really helps to age that repair process
of the skin after that procedure.
Also fun fact, NASA actually research the effects of LED
in wound healing because they noticed
that wound healing was deficient in astronauts
in zero gravity climates, and also in Navy Seals
who were in submarines in higher atmospheric conditions.
They did some research around it
and also had really positive results from that research.
So if NASA says it's good, then they must be right.
Another widely studied benefit of LED is
if the anti-inflammatory benefits
which is exactly what I love it for.
It's exactly what I use it for so it is proven to
reduce Erythema in the skin or redness in the skin.
And it's also proven to reduce post-procedure discomfort.
Lastly, there is also some evidence to suggest
that LED encourages collagen synthesis depending
on the wavelength that's used
and can also be used in the treatment and prevention
of other conditions like photo damage, scarring
and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
So your Amber wavelengths, which will include orange
and yellow lights are often used in general rejuvenation
of the skin or the treatment
of redness concerns like Rosacea.
Your red and infrared lights are often used to
encourage collagen production and accelerate wound healing.
And then we've got your blue lights, which are often used
for acne prone skins to reduce the acne causing bacteria
on the surface of the skin.
My short answer from my own experience
with LED light therapy is that absolutely
at home devices can work as long
as you're using the right device.
The main difference between an at-home device
and an in-clinic panel is the joules
or energy emitted from the device
Who has stopped.
It's my cat looking himself.
Stop please
To put this in the most simplest terms possible.
The joules refers to the amount of energy that is delivered
into the skin over a period of time.
So that may mean in some instances
that you need to use your at-home device
for double or triple the time that you would be under
in in-clinic panel or it may just render the device
kind of ineffective.
But again, knowing the joules of a product is going to be
a little bit tricky if the brand don't disclose it.
Another differentiating factor
between in-clinic and at-home devices, is the wattage.
So again in an at-home device, that is really hard
to determine unless the brand is closes it.
So if you wanna avoid buying a dud device
there is one tip I can give you.
And that is to look for a device that is either FDA approved
and or has their own clinical evidence
to support the efficacy of their individual device.
They're not just posting general LED evidence
that could apply to their product
but they've actually done their own clinical trials
to prove what their product can do on the skin.
You could expect to pay anywhere from $250,
right up to about $700 for an at home device.
So now we're at the best part,
which is what at home LED devices do I actually recommend.
And the first one I wanna talk about
is the Trophy Skin RejuvaliteMD.
Not only is this hands-free
so you can literally use it anywhere.
I often have this on my bedside table
and I just put it over my face before I go to bed.
So not only is that a good thing,
but the brand are also really transparent
about the technology that's gone into this product.
They disclose the wattage and the joules.
So you know that this is gonna come very close
to emulating a in-clinic treatment.
So that's what I really, really love about this product.
It's only 250 bucks.
There's 120 LED bulbs in this panel here
split between yellow and red and infrared lights.
So this one does some stuff let me tell you.
Next up we have the LightStim, my trusty LightStim.
What would I have done without the LightStim
when I fell down those marble stairs?
Honestly, I do not know.
So the reason that you would probably use this
over the RejuvaliteMD is
because you can be quite targeted with it.
I personally use it to target my Rosacea
when it flares up.
So if I'm super red and hot through the cheeks,
this is what I would use to target that treatment
because the Trophy Skin just goes over your whole face.
Whereas this I can really target in and get into that spot
that I wanna treat also great.
Also great if you are experiencing breakouts
and you wanted to speed up the healing of the breakouts
and you really wanna target that in a specific area.
And then lastly, we have Foreo UFO.
Now, the reason that I've included this one
in this little comparison is because I'm constantly asked
by people whether they should buy the LightStim or the UFO.
If you want an LED device at home, buy the LightStim.
This is great for masking, awesome product love it.
Incorporates the LED technology with Thermotherapy
Cryotherapy and the T-Sonic pulsations.
You put a sheet mask on the front of it.
It's awesome.
It's a great product but are you gonna see
the same LED effects from this product
as you will from either the Trophy Skin or the LightStim?
No, I can confidently say you will not.
This is definitely still a nice device to have
if you're looking for something to up
your at-home facial game.
But in terms of the LED I think these treatments
are only about maybe a minute and 1/2
or two minutes could be wrong.
I should look that up.
And the LightStim is 30 minutes for your whole face,
it beeps after every three minutes
to move around to different zones.
And then the RejuvaliteMD is five minutes.
So those are longer treatment times.
You're just gonna get more out of them.
If you're looking for a particular LED device
I still recommend this as a general masking device
really lovely that they've put the LED technology
in there, but if you really wanna see the results
of LED, I would recommend a dedicated device for that.
So just to recap, LED is great for anyone
with inflammatory skin concerns
anyone who just wants to general rejuvenation of the skin,
it's really beautiful for that.
That's where I'd get the Trophy Skin
and also anyone with acne concerns as well
it can be really helpful for.
So I hope this answers all your questions
about LED light therapy.
If you have any other questions you can always ask them
in the comments and I'll try and get back to you
as soon as I can.
And don't forget to like this video
and subscribe to our channel so you never miss an episode
of "Skincare Nerds", and I will see you next time.
(soft music)