PHOTOTHERAPY
What is Phototherapy? (also known as Light Therapy)
Phototherapy is an emerging science that has continued to captivate scientists, doctors and skin care professionals. While the science has many names - Light Therapy, IPL, LED Treatment, blue or red light treatment, photodynamic treatment – each of these disciplines focuses on harnessing the healing power of light. Phototherapy is one of the fastest growing, but still relatively unknown, segments within the skin care industry.
Phototherapy is based on the idea of isolating specific wavelengths of light within the light spectrum for a variety of treatments and applications. Studies have been done on phototherapy’s promising results for various applications including acne, anti-aging, pain relief, mood disorders, hair regeneration and hair removal. Phototherapy has shown to be a safe and effective acne treatment that has been used in clinical settings for the past decade.
Who Invented this Technology?
NASA scientists first utilized the power of LED (light-emitting diode) photo light technology to spur plant growth on the Space Station. The lack of gravity in space keeps cells from growing naturally, resulting in slow-growing plant life, as well as loss of bone mass, atrophied muscles and wounds that do not heal properly. The near-infrared photo light emitted by LEDs increased energy produced in the mitochondria (energy compartments) of each cell. NASA researchers then discovered that these LED’s exerted similar physiological effects on human cells, just as they did on plant cells.
The promise of LED technology / phototherapy prompted researchers to begin applying LED light technology to skin ulcers, burns, and cancer. Researchers determined that longer wavelengths penetrate tissues more deeply without the potentially damaging heat that high-powered lasers produced.
NASA research spurred scientists, clinicians and doctors looking for effective skin care treatments to try it on their patients. Domestic and international studies regarding phototherapy for healing are bearing out the positive results that NASA scientists initially discovered.
