How Often Should You Use Red Light Therapy Explained

How much red light therapy is too much?

Let's get straight to the point. Asking "How much red light therapy is too much" is like asking "How much exercise is too much." The answer depends on the context. For a young, healthy person, the amount and type of exercise can differ drastically from an older person with many impactful health conditions. Therefore, there is no one-size-fits-all recommendation here.

The amount of red light therapy that is considered excessive depends on:

• The device you are using
• How far away are you using the device from your skin?
• How long have you been using this device?
• How many times a day do you use this device?
• How many days a week do you use this device?
• Whether you are using just that device or other devices as well
• Whether you are exposed to sunlight in your daily life - which emits the same type of light as red light therapy as well

So, overall, it's not easy to give a recommendation here. However, many red light therapy device manufacturers have considered this issue and included dosage guidelines in their instruction manuals.

Now, there is a way to calculate the ideal dose. However, the average user probably won't use such calculations, as they only want to use one device. However, for those interested, check out the red light therapy dose calculation method below:

Can you overdo red light therapy? If so, what happens?

Absolutely, you can overdo it with red light therapy. There's a so-called "biphasic dose response" in "Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT)," or "photobiomodulation," as red light therapy is technically called.

In plain English, this statement means that some red light therapy has a stimulating or healing effect. Once you add more, you'll reach an optimal dose. And once you exceed that optimal dose, the benefits will plateau. Eventually, if you continue adding a higher dose, there will be a suppressive effect.

So more is not always better - more can lessen its effects and even cause minor side effects.

Examples of side effects if you overdo red light therapy include feeling tired due to overstimulation. Sometimes, however, you want to overdo it, as in the case of pain relief. For pain relief, you'll want to intentionally aim for an inhibitory effect.

For other goals, such as improving muscle recovery, improving brain well-being or cognition, or increasing blood circulation, you'll want the optimal dose for deeper tissues. And if you want to improve collagen or elastin synthesis in the skin, you'll want a dose that promotes

Let's now answer some specific questions about dosage:

How often should you use red light therapy on your face?

So, how often should you use red light therapy on your face? Once a day is often sufficient. I'm assuming you want skin health benefits in this case, so a dose that's optimal for superficial tissues is ideal.

In most cases, products like red light therapy panels or masks come with an instruction manual explaining how long you should treat your face. Alternate-day treatments are often very popular with red light therapy masks for the face.

How often should you use a red light therapy bed?

Generally, especially if you have access to a red light therapy bed, treating yourself five to six days a week is best. However, if you go to a clinic for treatment, this ideal treatment pattern can be very time-consuming or expensive. So, in this case, I recommend going as often as possible.

With a red light therapy bed, you can deliver a very high dose of deep tissue treatment in a short period of time. Therefore, you'll never need to treat twice a day with a red light therapy bed, as you'll be overdosing.

Is red light therapy safe?

Yes, red light therapy is very safe . However, there are some contraindications, such as cancer. The presence of brain conditions, such as epilepsy or after recovering from a stroke, also warrants a green light from a medical specialist before treatment.

So is it possible to overdo red light therapy?

You can definitely overdo it with red light therapy. More is not better, as explained above. As a general rule, follow the instructions that come with any product you purchase. The company selling red light therapy devices has often carefully calculated the ideal dose for you for different goals.

How often should you do red light therapy?

Most people experience the best results with five or six days of red light therapy per week. Some experts, like Scott Chaverri, know from experience —having tens of thousands of clients, if not more—that this pattern works best for most people.

Therefore, the ideal is to set aside one day a week for red light therapy.

Can you do red light therapy every day?

So can you use red light therapy every day? Of course, although it might be best to take one day off per week. Anecdotally, people report better results with this usage pattern.

We need more science on the topic of optimal use patterns for red light therapy, especially for full-body treatments and LEDs.

How long should you do a red light therapy session?

Many people ask, "How long should you do a red light therapy session?" Well, I'll return to my exercise analogy here once again. If you're asking, "How long should you do an exercise session?"

There's no one-size-fits-all answer here. If you're exercising extremely intensely, a 5-minute session might be enough. If you're doing slow cardio at a low heart rate, a session might last three hours.

So, there's no universally valid answer as to how long a red light therapy session should last. Session length should depend on:

• Your goal - whether you want a superficial or deep tissue treatment
• The device you are using determines the power output
• How you are using the device, for example, how far from the skin it is located

And so on.

Again, the simplest answer here is to simply follow the instructions that come with the red light therapy device. And, if you buy from a reputable seller, there should be decent instructions included with the device. Check out some great red light therapy devices in our database.

How long does red light therapy last on the face?

Again, the answer to how long to use red light therapy on your face is very similar. It all depends on the context, so the device you're using, how close to the skin you're using it, your goals, and so on.

So, for best results, follow the instructions that came with your device. And if you don't want to follow the instructions, use the calculations I provided at the beginning of this blog post.

Twice-daily red light therapy. Is that a crazy idea?

So, can you do red light therapy twice a day? Yes, you can, but it's usually not better.

In general, there's a time limit for red light therapy with almost all devices. Once you exceed the exposure, you're overdosing your body. Potential side effects, such as fatigue, begin to emerge.

So, twice-daily red light therapy isn't necessarily better and can even be harmful. If the dose is low enough, you can do treatments twice a day.

Furthermore, more studies are needed on this topic, especially regarding higher doses. But overall, the consensus in medical science is that twice-daily treatments are not necessarily better.

Alright, help me out! So, what's the ideal RLT protocol (if any)?

There's no "ideal " protocol for red light therapy. The protocol will differ depending on your goals, the device you have, and other devices you're using.

Just as there's no universally applicable "ideal exercise routine" for everyone on the planet, there's also no ideal red light therapy protocol. As a general rule, I still recommend following the device company's instructions, as most companies have carefully considered dosage protocols.

Finally, let us conclude:

Conclusion: Most people shouldn't overthink this topic.

Red light therapy dosage is the key concept in understanding how often you should use red light therapy. Whether you're using red light therapy for hair growth, fine lines, wound healing, skin conditions, or another reason, the optimal dosage determines the frequency and duration of your sessions.

More isn't better, but less isn't always better either—there's a "middle ground." Superficial tissues require a lower dose than deeper tissues, however. Follow the instructions for the device you purchased, as these are often reasonable guidelines for red light therapy dosage.