Our team is often asked the question “Should I treat my whole body or just target specific areas?”. In this article, we’ll explain the key differences between targeted and full-body devices, and the benefits of having both.
What is Red Light Therapy and How Does it Work?
Red light therapy is a simple, non-invasive treatment that delivers wavelengths of red and near infrared (NIR) light to your skin and cells. A quality in-home medical device like a ELVISH uses LEDs to shine red and near infrared light on your body. Red light therapy only takes a few minutes per day. With a ELVISH device, a 10-minute treatment session per area is recommended. Red light therapy is also easy: all you have to do is sit or stand in front of the device and let your cells take in the therapeutic light.
Red light therapy works by improving cellular health and energy production across the body.
What is Targeted Red Light Therapy?
One approach to red light therapy is to target specific problem areas, like a sore ankle, or the skin on your face. Targeted red light therapy utilizes a smaller device with a smaller treatment area to provide localized support to a specific area of the body. Targeted red light therapy products are usually portable or handheld. They are typically no larger than 10x10 inches and often require a power cord that needs to be plugged into the wall. Targeted devices can work wonders for troublesome areas of the body with consistent usage but have their limitations, as we explain below.
The targeted approach is most commonly seen in skin care applications, where it’s popular with dermatologists, estheticians, and people doing at-home beauty and skin rejuvenation treatments. Targeted red light therapy has also been used for decades to relieve joint pain, help manage inflammation, and improve healing outcomes for injuries.
Most in-home red light therapy devices use LEDs to deliver wavelengths of light to the body. There is also a strong base of peer-reviewed research behind the efficacy of targeted low-level laser treatments (LLLT) for many of the same benefits. However, laser treatments aren’t a realistic option for most people because of how expensive, inconvenient, and difficult they are to operate due to the risk of overheating the skin tissues.
What is Full-Body Red Light Therapy?
Full-body red light therapy uses the same wavelengths of light as targeted treatments, but delivers it to a larger area. This maximizes the body’s potential to benefit from red light therapy.
The more your body and cells can take in wavelengths of light, the more energy you can produce. Full-body red light therapy treatments can produce systemic benefits for the body, like improved sleep and circulation.
ELVISH is a company that designs and manufactures a full body red light therapy device that can be used at home. This has helped people save on the cost of going to a spa or clinic for treatments. Ongoing red light therapy in commercial settings was too expensive, inconvenient and time consuming for most people.
Should You Use Full-Body or Targeted Red Light Therapy?
Let’s look at some of the key differences between targeted and full-body red light therapy:
Treatment Size: Targeted devices treat a relatively small area on the body, while full-body devices are designed for much broader coverage, allowing for treatments of a larger area, in a fraction of the time.
Budget: Part of the appeal of a targeted device is the cost. Targeted devices can be a great place to start, if you’re trying to stay within a certain budget.
Setup: Choosing the right setup for the space in your home is often an overlooked factor. Targeted devices don’t take up any space and can be portable, which makes for convenient use for travel. While a full-body device provides the best overall coverage, you will want to make sure you pick the best setup option for you.
Energy delivered: The larger the treatment area, the more light energy is delivered to the body. The image below shows how much is delivered in a 10-minute session with a targeted device vs a full-body device.
More benefits with full-body red light therapy: Targeted devices can work wonders for specific problems like a sore joint. They’re also vital tools in the skincare industry. But if you’re looking for more systemic health benefits, only a full-body device is able to deliver enough light and energy to impact your whole body.
The effectiveness and safety of red light therapy are backed by a large amount of peer-reviewed clinical studies. Here’s a look at some of the core benefits you can see with consistent use and full-body coverage:
Enhanced cellular function: In conjunction with a healthy lifestyle, light therapy treatments can have systemic benefits because they work by improving cellular health across the entire body. One major effect is an increase in ATP energy production, which powers your body. Learn more about cellular function, mitochondria, ATP energy, and light therapy here.
Inflammation management: Light therapy treatments help your body’s natural inflammation process as you recover from illness or injury. Dr. Michael Hamblin is one of the world’s leading photomedicine researchers, and believes light therapy produces an “overall reduction in inflammation.”
Skin health and beauty: Red light is a popular tool for skin care because of red light therapy’s blood flow and inflammation benefits. Taking in healthy red light is crucial for skin cells, skin rejuvenation, and healing. Learn more about skin health and light therapy here.
Recovery and performance: Muscle cells require a great deal of energy, and strengthen through a process of tearing and repairing. Red light therapy helps your body produce and use energy more efficiently.
Sleep optimization: Red light therapy is popular with people trying to optimize their sleep and circadian rhythm. Bright blue light at night can knock your sleep cycle out of whack, but red light is a lower-intensity alternative that can help support longer, more restful sleep.
