224 replies to this topic

[seanm25]

Can someone please give me a quick run down on how this works? Is it simply spot treatment? Is one able to do their entire face? Does it work for moderate acne (I know I could be in the 10% but just based on types of acne)? I am pretty interested in this because I have a couple hundred dollars I could spend so a quick run down would be appreciated. Thanks.

[psp827]

few things. are you looking to treat acne of the red marks?
if it is the acne, seriously look into the red/blue light. i have brown skin, and i cannot recommend it highly enough. the only bad thing is that it really can't be transported at all.

if your looking to treat the red marks, don't expect speed progress. i dont think drugs can solve them - only time will do that.

It's both I guess. I want to treat acne and have blemish free skin but not at the expense of making the existing red/brown marks worse. My derm stressed the importance of sunblock, does anyone know if the red or blue light would make the brown/red marks worse (in the same way the sun does)? or would it make it better? or would it have no effect?

[nicolemarie]

few things. are you looking to treat acne of the red marks?
if it is the acne, seriously look into the red/blue light. i have brown skin, and i cannot recommend it highly enough. the only bad thing is that it really can't be transported at all.

if your looking to treat the red marks, don't expect speed progress. i dont think drugs can solve them - only time will do that.

It's both I guess. I want to treat acne and have blemish free skin but not at the expense of making the existing red/brown marks worse. My derm stressed the importance of sunblock, does anyone know if the red or blue light would make the brown/red marks worse (in the same way the sun does)? or would it make it better? or would it have no effect?

i have acnelamp red and blue light... the RED LIGHT helps with leftover marks red and brown. IT REALLY DOES. 20 mins a day.

[nicolemarie]

Can someone please give me a quick run down on how this works? Is it simply spot treatment? Is one able to do their entire face? Does it work for moderate acne (I know I could be in the 10% but just based on types of acne)? I am pretty interested in this because I have a couple hundred dollars I could spend so a quick run down would be appreciated. Thanks.

the blue and red light will not 100% cure your acne. i have done blu-u and omnilux in clinics. blu-u is crap. omni is very, very effective but you have to keep going back and it is very expensive. i have mild moderate acne with break outs around my period, i would say my acne is hormonal. the light treatment helps keep acne at bay. what i mean by at bay is, when i am using my light regularly, 20 mins a day i notice my skin healing better and when i don't use it i tend to get breakouts. i only recommend light treatment to mild acne it will not help people with cystic acne.

[maryland_24]

I want to try blue light therapy. I pretty much try everything so one more try won't hurt. But I don't know what product should I buy. I keep researching each product and I'm torn.

this are the products:

1. ANSR (PROS: $160.00, includes blue and red light is small and portable)
(CONS: I'm not sure but I think the blue light is 430nm not sure if that works, not a lot of reviews, seems kind of small)

2. TANDA (PROS: More good reviews, the head is bigger, 414nm)
(CONS: Price, price, price, includes only blue light, some people say it have die after 6 months use)

3. OMNILUX (PROS: Good reviews, includes blue and red light, 415nm, don't have to use it everyday)
(CONS: price, didn't find a lot of reviews)

I also find this Blue MD light on Amazon it says dermatologist grade blue light therapy just one review but good only $160.

So please please, some help? advice? which one would you get? I'm willing to spend around $250 (don't tell my husband) haha.

well thanks!

[missva]

Spatabulous.com has a blue light for $29 and a red one for $39

works good for me

[BlackDahlia]

Well, I decided to treat myself. Just spent £179 on a Dr. Kern lamp; turned up next day delivery...Here's hoping! Keep your fingers crossed for me...

[a19grey]

The LED's are a waste of money BECAUSE they have been shown to work. If you look at the energy output of the lamps:

convert it to Watts/m^2 by dividing the numbers in the chart by 100...
and compare it to the energy output of the sun
<http://www.generators.smps.us/solarpower.html>

which is 1000W/m^2 on a bright noon day (closer to 500 or 300 W/m^2 for not-noon-time) and then look at how much energy from the sun in the visible spectrum strikes the earth:
balwarmingart.com/index.php?title=Image:Solar_Spectrum.png&printable=yes

You can see that, by a rough estimate, on a normal sunny day (500w/m^2) about half of the sun's energy is in the blue-red region (e.g. 250w/m^2) which is only slightly less than the 300W/m^2 quoted in by the acnelamp.org site about it's product. Note that it is far more than any of the other products on the list.

ALSO, the sun is probably better for you because it outputs the entire visible spectrum meaning that you get the light necessary for your body to produce vitamin D. AND slightly different skin tones and types will respond best to different wavelengths (colors) of the light so having a broad spread in colors is more likely to work well for everyone.

Lastly, most sunscreens block only ultraviolet light, but don't block much in the visible spectrum (because it is the ultraviolet that causes cancer) so, even going to lay out in the sun with sunscreen on should help clear up your acne. It should be clear that sunscreens don't block too much visible spectrum light because if they did people's skin would look redder when they apply sunscreen because the blue light would be absorped preferentially by the sun-tan lotion (since they are designed the absorb the highest energy light which is the ultra-violet and blue ends of the spectrum) leaving only the redder parts to reflect back to your eye.

So, if you can, save yourself some money and go out and play and get some sun. However, some people (i.e. me in sad, cold boston) can't get a lot of sun during the winter and for some of us it may be worth getting one of these lamps.

ps. I'm going to graduate school for physics next year and I work with lasers all the time, so I would LOVE an opportunity to explain any questions about why/how all this stuff works.

[BlessedMeiz]

Spatabulous.com has a blue light for $29 and a red one for $39

works good for me

Hi missva,

What improvement have you derive from using the blue and red device from Spatabulous.com?
Infact the nm is in the same and in fact for the red Led is slightly higher than my 660nm.

I'm kind of interested in getting another one.

[maryland_24]

I'm in my 2 week using just the blue light. I got one from a company call trophy skin so far very little improvement. But I'm not giving up I'm glad that I read this thread now I know that I need at least 6 weeks treatment to get real results. I'm using the light 6 days a week for 20 minutes hope I'm doing fine. I got just the blue light because of $$$ if I see real improvement I might get the Omnilux clear U just because I want something portable (we are a military family when we move sometimes spend a lot of time at hotel) the Omnilux cost is $250 that's why I'm waiting.

Well I will keep you posted on my progress. thanks!

P.S. If someone knows of a good moisturizer for flaky skin, I tried jojoba oil and it broke me out real bad. thanks

[deadliest catch]

very detailed thanks.

[missva]

Spatabulous.com has a blue light for $29 and a red one for $39

works good for me

Hi missva,

What improvement have you derive from using the blue and red device from Spatabulous.com?
Infact the nm is in the same and in fact for the red Led is slightly higher than my 660nm.

I'm kind of interested in getting another one.

BlessedMeiz, I have found the lights from spatabulous.com work good. I use them pretty much everyday. I feel comfortable with my skin now.

I just felt a bump when washing my face last night and I held the blue light right against my skin and this morning it's almost gone; if felt like one that could have gotten large and just hovered under my skin for awhile - one that people may not really notice but I would. That's pretty much how it works for me; they never become much of anything. I will be changing the batteries soon, but if I hold it pretty much right against my face the light is still powerful enough. When you first start using the light it can take about 8 weeks to really see good consistency although you do see improvement; you just have to be patient.

The red light is good for making my complexion look more flawless. It definitely looks more like I have foundation on than before. I did have a light that was in the 600nm's before and the higher wave lengths do work better.

[BlessedMeiz]

Hi Missva,

Thanks for your wonderful feedback, glad to know that it's working great!
Will be placing my order soon.

[maryland_24]

Hi I have been using a blue light for about 3 weeks not great results but still not giving up. I was looking around because I wanted to get a portable device with both the blue and red light. I keep changing my mind!! lol I was going to get the ansr or the tanda or the omnilux clear u. And then I find out about CLARO it uses both Light and Heat.

I find this comparison table:

CLARO vs others

and here is the clinical study:

clinical study

The only problem is that you can get it with prescription only but they are going to be sold OTC by summer. So I think I might wait I don't know. Just wanted to let you know what I find. Do you guys think this would work??? thanks

[zabby39103]

Hi everyone.

I just came here to say I bought a two head blue/red acnelamp from acnelamp.com based on what I read here in this thread. It's a bit expensive, but I have been getting very good results 2 months in.

I transitioned from minocycline to the acnelamp. Used to be, if i stopped taking minocycline for 2-3 days I would get a severe breakout - and sometimes i would get moderate breakouts anyway. Now what used to be a breakout (large, fluidy whiteheads), is just some small dry red bumps, that sometimes go whitehead but they're so small and dry that if you pop them you don't even notice the next day. Barely noticable! This only happens once every 2 weeks, 90% of the time I have perfect skin, which is not something I had even on a strong dose of minocycline. I have NEVER had skin this good since I was like 11 years old.

It's also nice to not have the side effects from minocycline anymore (taking antibiotics daily is not good for you!). My skin also looks much less inflamed (minocycline did not help that much with this), to the point there is no red irritated areas anywhere anymore... it also just looks brighter, healthier, and younger - I'm 27 but it looks like I have 18 year old skin right now. Amazing.

My regimin is 15 minutes daily in the morning (it also helps wake me up too I think!) after my shower, where I gently wash my face with a washcloth and a bar of cetaphil. I put on a very light amount of aloe vera gel after I'm done. If I feel a breakout coming (small swollen bumps not yet red or at the surface) I do 20 minutes in the evening in addition to the 15 minutes in the morning and I can really feel the difference by morning. They are noticeably less swollen and are smaller.

It might have been a shorter amount of time till I got a clean face since I was on minocycline before and my skin was OK but not good on that. I encourage people to use it consistently for 2 months to see what they get (or take minocycline before to calm things down... but not at the same time since minocycline gives you sensitivity to sunlight - probably a bad thing with an acnelamp).

It might be a bit expensive, but before I was using 40 bucks of antibiotics a month, plus benzoyl peroxide gel which isn't that cheap. I think on a 6 month timeline I'll get my money "back".

Re: red light / blue light cancelling each other out. Doesn't seem to be the case since it works for me... i doubt most of the major solutions would use combined red/blue light if it didn't work. I think logically different wavelengths of light can co-exist, otherwise UV light couldn't exist within the visible light spectrum and we wouldn't get sunburned (either that or it would be really really dark all the time).

Anyway I encourage any fence sitters to give it a go right now! I'm very happy. I can say acnelamp.com worked for me, but I'm sure other solutions could work too.

[freeandclear]

All I can say is, "Wow!" My daughter has STUBBORN acne. Nothing short of Acutance seemed to work. Accutane will NEVER be an option. I thoughT there was little hope as I'm sure she did, too.

Now... She is taking BC pills (started about 5 weeks ago - didn't seem to work). Until...4 days ago she started blue light therapy. What a difference. I could actually she her true skin for the first time in a lonG time. This happened seemingly overnight!

There is still a way to go, but - blue light works wonders!

What is it?

Blue/red light acne treatment is an acne treatment for mild/moderate acne where you shine bright 'blue' (actually it's violet) and red lights on your skin to prevent new acne spots. It's thought to be safe, and improves acne by ~75% for 80% of people over 3 months. Another 10% of people see some improvement. This is comparable or better to BP, and similar to other treatments like antibiotics.

The violet light kills a bacteria called P.Acnes- this is the bacteria that is killed by most acne treatment- removal of the bacteria greatly improves your skin and prevents most acne. The light activates a porphoryn in the bacteria that isn't present in human skin, and the bacteria cooks itself.

The red light is anti-inflammatory and improves healing and increases the rate of production of collagen (giving a handy gentle facelift/antiwrinkling effect that lasts as long as you keep treating). Skin tone ends up better than normal on this treatment, a nice side-effect. It also helps heal up red marks; >10% or more faster.

Does it work?

For pictures see: ; he got pretty good clearance.

also (they're a couple of people who have had only violet light treatment- blue/red light treatment gives slightly better clearance and results.)

There's been one major published study in the UK:



This involved 120 people using the light everyday, at home. Also, quite a few people have tried this form of treatment to good success. Yes, it really works.

That study used fluorescent tubes, but LEDs seem to work just as well: .
Also other studies: and

How do I get this treatment?

You need *really* almost stupidly bright blue/red lights for this to work. To get intense enough light you need to buy special lamps. Or you could go to a dermatologist, but I do not recommend that, it's nearly always much more expensive, awkward to travel to, and works less well. Plus if you buy the lamps you can use them for years, for little or no extra cost. If your acne improves you can sell them on ebay or something.

Any of these products will probably work (note: light is light, don't expect expensive ones to work any better, they won't)






Verilux happyskin acne light

The more powerful the lights are, the less time you need to spend treating, but your acne won't be any better or worse.

n.b. small handheld LED lights that only cover a small area mean you can spend ages treating; I think most people are better off with lamps that can cover a large area.

Also:


(Sci/Art Lamps- or it's cheaper to just buy the dichroic bulbs and holders: )

They sell dichroic lamps these seem to work, or at least a few people here have claimed that they did.

They also ship LED lamps. But the LEDs that have been shipped are a deep blue, at 470nm. These should not work since it is incapable of killing the acne bacteria. The colour that works is a deep violet colour at 405-420nm; 470nm is too far off. They claim that they will be shipping a violet lamp later on, but until they do, avoid this type at all costs.

How quickly does it work?

You'll see some improvement in a few days; that's mainly the red light acting. However the violet light will kill the P.Acnes almost completely in the first few days or so.

It will then take a good 12 weeks for the pores to completely unblock themselves and the skin to grow and the red marks to fade. In the meantime you will continue to get acne; but at an ever slowing rate. Most people don't notice any effect for the first 6 weeks, because normal variation in acne covers the effect. Some people don't get good clearance till the 12th week. Under no circumstances give up!

How long should I use the lights for?

You should follow the instructions. Some people find that using the lights slightly less than indicated gives better results (e.g. 10 minutes instead of 15). It seems to be a bad idea to use the lights longer than the manufacturer says, it tends to irritate the skin slightly and if anything causes more acne.

You should use the lights once a day (everyday!) You can however use the lights up to twice a day. So, if you miss a day, you can top up with two treatments, several hours apart the following day. Try to average 7 treatments a week.

Once your acne clears, as with benzoyl peroxide or antibiotics you need to keep using the lamp at least a few times a week.

Is it safe?

None of these lamps produce dangerous amounts of ultraviolet. Scientific experiments indicate that neither blue nor red light causes cancer.

There is a report that some of the lamps might cause a slight tan in asian or mexican people. The fluorescent lamps produce small amounts of UV-A (about the same amount per day as standing outside in the sun for 1 minute). If that's a concern, choose one of the non fluorescent lamps.

It is very important to keep the violet light out of your eyes. It's thought that normal blue light even in sunlight gradually damages the retina, so 100% protection against the blue light is essential. Closing your eyes is probably not sufficient. The lamps generally come with goggles, but at a pinch painting some swimming goggles or wrap them in aluminium foil would be good.

It's really expensive isn't it?

No, it's cheaper than benzoyl peroxide including the washes and moisturisers you need to use for that.

Sure, if you were to go to a dermatologist to have blue/red treatment, then yes it's often really expensive.

But if you buy your lamp, it's reasonably cheap. If you add up the cost of BP, moisturisers and cleansers over a couple of years you will find it comes to more than the cost of the lamps, particularly the cheaper lamps.

Who has used it on Acne.org?

Worked (i.e. >75% clearance):

biochembabe (Sci/art dichroic), wolfkeeper (dermalux), GTO, seamus (Sci/art dichroic), delboy, Locked In Grace, stanno(beautyskin), DeeAgony, Ronin (beautyskin), Rupert (dermalux)

At least some improvement (e.g. 50%):

don't look, timmytim, kanmi

Failed:

Posh, B24K, Le Chiffre (dermalux)

(Posh didn't follow the instructions correctly, and gave up early, but I've still counted it as a failure; B24K saw some improvement but not enough to justify further treatment).

Anything else I need to know?
You can use it with most other treatments, except Accutane. It's important that you face is clean when you use it though. It may be a useful adjunct to tetracycline antibiotics- these antibiotics are 'bacteriostatic' in other words they don't kill the bacteria they just hold it at bay; whereas this treatment kills them. So the combination is likely to be a good one.

Overtreating:

Some people with very sensitive skin seem to get a slight irritation/redness from their lights. This doesn't seem harmful, but indicates that they need to reduce the time. People that fail to reduce the time if this happens seem to get much less improvement. However even then the lights don't seem to be harmful- people have fallen asleep in front of their lamps for over an hour without anything really bad happening (i.e. no 'sunburn' or peeling,) but it's not a way to calm skin. Used sensibly blue/red light calms skin down and this seems to give less acne.

Particular products:

- I personally do not recommend buying a dermastyle pen; the beam is very narrow and the manufacturers make IMHO misleading claims as to its effectiveness (Chu's study says that it takes about 3 months to clear acne, NOT a few days- there is absolutely no evidence of any noticeable reduction in acne in his study results that quickly.) These blue/red light products largely prevent new acne in a region, and that's difficult with a pen-size treatment. It might work if you only have acne in very, very limited regions; but the vast majority of people's acne isn't like that.

- Dermalux lamps work (they're the same as Dr. Chu's study). The Beautyskin is basically the same product, and uses essentially the same kind of bulbs. You can even swap the bulbs between the units.

[maryland_24]

freeeandclear which light are you using?

[freeandclear]

freeeandclear which light are you using?

Maryland_24 - It is the Verilux (Amazon). It has been a week and about two days. And wow! I can actually see her cheeks. There is some acne around the jaw area, but her forehead is CLEAR as well. I tell you this...this is the ONLY thing that showed promise! She cannot take Accutane.

I don't remember if I mentioned this in my last post, but our insurance would have covered in office light treatments if recommended by the derm. He doesn't believe in them (or do them), but there was no harm in trying. So she went the personal home use route. What a pleasant surprise! As a matter of fact, she cancelled her latest derm appt.

Good luck to you!

[9coftw]

After struggling 3 years with mild acne Im now clear. In addition the scars seems to fade fast too.
The solution was a hand held blue/red lamp - was clear after just 3 weeks.

50$ at ebay..
15 min treatment / day. Also using dans regime once a day.

Worth a try!

[Ha2ko]

So, a rather technical question, but hey:

It seems like people are having trouble covering their whole face, and feel a need to turn after half the time to do the other side, neck, back etc. What about using a mirror? Kind of enclosing the lamp with mirrors on both sides, slightly angled towards you.. Would that work do you think?!