85 replies to this topic

[Wolfy]

hey thanks for the quick reply.. .ya im just gonna keep on using it consistently and see what happens... ima gonna reduce the time to 10 minutes daily.

Ok, here's the wolfkeeper blue/red light cheatsheet:

Research:

- yeah, it really works, it's *not* quackery.
- the research says it works for about 2/3 of people
- 3 months gives about 75% clearance (compared to about 40-50% clearance in studies with BP)
- clearance lasts for up to 6 months!
- no evidence that it causes cancer (unlike UV treatments), it seems reasonably safe at this point (compared to going out in the sun- don't worry- compared to accutane- really don't worry!). There is some suggestion that visible blue light has a slight aging effect. If so, it's *much* slower than UV. I haven't noticed this at all. On the contrary, my skin looks much, much better without the acne. I literally look younger. If you stay out of the sun otherwise, or use suntan lotion- you'll age slower than everyone around you. Don't sweat this.
- it's not necessarily suitable for asian or mexican people with a slight in-built tan- it will work but it has been reported that it tends to darken that kind of skin very slightly.
- blue light kills 99.9% of P.Acnes after 3 days of application.
- works for mild-moderate acne
- don't let the light go in your eyes (blue light has been associated with a form of blindness- retinal myopathy- that old people get). It's critical to use the goggles.

Practical Experience:

- don't be scared- it's not a rip-off!
- it mostly prevents new spots. Spots won't heal much faster, but the red light may help slightly.
- the manufacturers recommend 15 minutes- I say 10 minutes, once a day. 15 minutes seems too long for me; YMMV though.
- don't expect much improvement in the first 6 weeks- do NOT under any circumstances give up before 8-12 weeks! I repeat do NOT give up. IMO quite a lot those 1/3 people that it didn't work for- they gave up too early.
- use it EVERY day
- the home use treatments work just as well, possibly better, than the dermo office treatments, and quite a bit cheaper- and if it doesn't work for you- you can *sell* the equipment to someone else and get most of your money back, or the manufacturers will often allow you to return it- on the other hand, if the dermo appointments don't work- tough! The home-use equipment doesn't wear out very quickly; second-hand is fine unless it's years old.
- you have to use it EVERYDAY for atleast 8 weeks to get any big improvement (skipping maybe one day a week you can get away with, but try not to.)
- blue/red light has the best history for lack of side-effects of any acne treatment. Some people get very slightly drier skin, but mostly in a good way. Moisturise it if needed and cut back till it clears up. The red light gives a temporary face lift effect if anything.
- blue/red light is easy to apply, and you don't need to wash it off. Even washing skin can cause acne...
- don't wear suntan lotion or coverup makeup whilst applying the light, it will only reflect it away.
- apply the light from different angles in each session to get good evenness
- apply the light to your fingertips too (it helps sterilise them, otherwise you self-infect)
- try not to touch your skin between sessions

Advantages:

- it seems slightly better than benzoyl peroxide
- it doesn't bleach clothing/hair
- it's relaxing to apply
- you don't need to wash area/hands to apply it multiple times per day
- only need to apply it once a day
- whilst treating area, you don't need extra moisturising
- for a few days after treatment, skin just looks better in general (the red light makes the skin grow better- it's the only obvious and nice side effect)
- no significant negative side effects
- unlike antibiotics, it seems unlikely that resistance will develop
- it doesn't overdry the skin
- if used on the underarm region it kills the relevant bacteria and makes the pits less smelly!

Disadvantages:

- it can be a bit boring
- the research says it's only slightly better than benzoyl peroxide
- light box/equipment is a bit bulky to carry around

[b24k]

wolfkeeper ... thanks for the great post. . this will help educate others that arent educated about blue and red light therapy....

[b24k]

biochembabe...so i guess you are having great results with the light? how long have u been using it consistently now? hows the zeno zapper working for you as well?

[BiochemBabe]

@ B24K

Yeah, I understand the down times cuz it seems like nothing works. Please don't give up! I really felt better when you encouraged me last time. If it weren't for our little support group, I would have quit.

I still have one to two pimples a week and they are white heads. I haven't had any really deep ones and have yet to use my Zeno since the first week (or so) when I got it.

I think I may have started using the blue light around mid-July (almost 2 months) and I stopped using the red light b/c it is annoying to hold up the whole time.

I feel that I will have to use some other therapy along with the blue light. But think about it this way, at least it's less pimples you would be having if you weren't using the light. That always makes me sit under it everyday as if I were going to win a free trip to Disney Land!

[BiochemBabe]

- it's not suitable for asian or mexican people with a slight in-built tan- it will work but it tends to darken that kind of skin slightly.

REALLY? Interesting. I guess I can't tell b/c I am in unfortunately in the sun anyways everyday for long periods of time.

[Wolfy]

REALLY? Interesting. I guess I can't tell b/c I am in unfortunately in the sun anyways everyday for long periods of time.

Perhaps I should have said 'it has been reported to'.

I get the impression it's a small effect anyway. Compared to going out in the sun probably hardly any effect.

[Wolfy]

I think I may have started using the blue light around mid-July (almost 2 months) and I stopped using the red light b/c it is annoying to hold up the whole time. 

With a bit of luck and dilligence you should be down to an average of less than one pimple a week by the end of the third month or better. It's sounding pretty good I think!

I've a feeling the red light helps too though; my gut feel is that it improves the shedding in the pore, and that would reduce the number of spots you get; the research says they work better together too.

If it's a hassle, it might work if you used the red light twice a week or something; I've noticed the effects seem to last up to 3 days.

[b24k]

biochembabe... .ya thanks for the encouragement.. im 9 weeks in now so imma fight it out till the end since ive come this far now... hopefully ill see more of an improvement...i reduced my time infront of the light to 10 minutes now so well see what happens with that. hey do you know anything about glycolic peels/? any good?

[b24k]

ya wolf if my breakouts reduce to 1 pimple a week by the third month.. i would be so happy... right now i still get about like 2 new ones every other day...so by the end of the week a couple would die but id still have new ones in different parts of the face...its a constant pain in the ass cycle...

the red light i dont even know if its doing anything. .but i wouldnt know because i just kept using it everyday with the blue lights...

[Wolfy]

ya wolf if my breakouts reduce to 1 pimple  a week by the third month.. i would be so happy...  right now i still get about like 2 new ones  every other day...so by the end of the week a couple would die but id still have new ones in different parts of the face...its a constant pain in the ass cycle...

If they're small enough and flat I just use coverup makeup to hide them (n.b. wash off before treating though). It's only if the spots are big that that doesn't work too well. I find the light treatment keeps on top of the spots well enough that that mostly works.

the red light i dont even know if its doing anything. .but i wouldnt know because i just kept using it everyday with the blue lights...

The studies say it does something, it's worth using, it gives a few percent better clearance, and faster.

[BiochemBabe]

biochembabe... .ya thanks for the encouragement.. im 9 weeks in now so imma fight it out till the end since ive come this far now... hopefully ill see more of an improvement...i reduced my time infront of the light to 10 minutes now so well see what happens with that.  hey do you know anything about glycolic peels/? any good?

errr..well..I made my own glycolic peel by stealing stuff from my school's lab. I call it "home brew". Yes, I've chemically burned my face twice...really bad..but now I know the right dilutions....kinda. I think microdermabrasion works better for me. I'm not a fan of the peels anymore. Go figure! However, I encourage that you try profressional grade stuff and see if it works for you. My skin is kind of tired of what I have put it through these last 6 months.

[gttraveling]

If i get cleartouch/clearlight at my Dermatologist's office, I can not be on anti-biotics. Therefore, I assume that these home-based light therapies are significantly different (and much less effective?) than the dermatologist's office, because you can still be on anti-biotics when undergoing treatment.

Furthermore, you can still be on topicals (like BP or tazorac/retin-a).

What are your thoughts?

[Wolfy]

If i get cleartouch/clearlight at my Dermatologist's office, I can not be on anti-biotics. Therefore, I assume that these home-based light therapies are significantly different (and much less effective?) than the dermatologist's office, because you can still be on anti-biotics when undergoing treatment.

Furthermore, you can still be on topicals (like BP or tazorac/retin-a).

What are your thoughts?

It's really the other way around. To have any chance of it working at all (because they can only really be used a couple of times a week or so at the very most), the Dermos have to crank their machines up to really high intensity. You're much more likely to get sideeffects that way.

The home based are ultimately far cheaper, and equally or more effective because you can use them everyday. So they can be better tailored to not mess up your skin, whilst killing off the bad bacteria.

The Dermo's machines effects are temporary. The home-use machines can be used for years before they finally wear out and give more reliable results, and longer lived results, and cheaper to boot.

[Wolfy]

Have you ever heard of this treatment?

Heard of it, don't know how well it works. It sounds good in theory. Let us all know how it goes in practice.

[g24]

Yesterday was my last treatment with Red Light. I've been doing 4*20 min sessions with blue light, and 4*20 min red light over a period of 1month. I have not seen much change yet, so I'm still waiting

[g24]

Bump... 1 wk past treatment, and still breaking out.. It's now one month since i started.. Does this mean that the treatment will not work at all?

[Wolfy]

Bump... 1 wk past treatment, and still breaking out.. It's now one month since i started.. Does this mean that the treatment will not work at all?

I'm sorry, I don't understand what you've been doing. You were treating in Sept, but now you've been treating for a month (3 months later), but you're 1wk past treatment.

Unless I've misunderstood, it sounds like you've been horribly inconsistent.

[g24]

Bump... 1 wk past treatment, and still breaking out.. It's now one month since i started.. Does this mean that the treatment will not work at all?

I'm sorry, I don't understand what you've been doing. You were treating in Sept, but now you've been treating for a month (3 months later), but you're 1wk past treatment.

Unless I've misunderstood, it sounds like you've been horribly inconsistent.

Read this :

Yesterday was my last treatment with Red Light. I've been doing 4*20 min sessions with blue light, and 4*20 min red light over a period of 1month. I have not seen much change yet, so I'm still waiting

As you can see, my treatment startet early November (My quote is from 4dec)

It's now one week past treatment, but still I'm breaking out...