Red Light Therapy for Skin: Benefits, Uses & What to Know

Your skin is your body’s first line of defense against environmental stress and everyday irritants, and it helps lock in moisture. Healthy, glowing skin relies on its internal cell repair, collagen production, and its response to inflammation. Red light therapy works at that level, not on the surface, but on the cells doing the repair work underneath.¹

Here is what the research supports, what it doesn't, and, importantly, where the honest limits are.

Can Red Light Therapy Reduce Fine Lines and Wrinkles?

Skin changes with age. Fine lines become more visible, dryness increases, and its natural firmness can gradually fade. Too much sun exposure can make them happen faster. Over time, collagen starts to break down faster than your skin can rebuild, and everyday damage accumulates.

Red and near-infrared light therapy has become a popular skincare treatment because it can support the skin’s natural repair process. In a systematic review and meta-analysis of LED skin therapy, red LED treatment produced measurable improvements in wrinkle depth and skin texture across pooled human trials.² It works by boosting energy production inside skin cells and reducing stress, leaving your skin looking healthier, firmer, and more refreshed.³ However, it is important to note that the effect is gradual.

Can Red Light Therapy Improve Skin Firmness and Elasticity?

Firm, resilient skin starts below the surface, with fibroblasts, the skin cells that manufacture collagen and elastin. Red light therapy stimulates fibroblast activity. In laboratory and clinical studies, this shows up as increased collagen production, which strengthens the skin's structural scaffolding and can improve the appearance of firmness.^2,3 Visible firmness changes are a longer-term outcome, and individual results vary considerably.

Can Red Light Therapy Support Wound Healing?

Most of us take healthy wound healing for granted until it slows down. For millions of people with diabetes, obesity, advanced age, or antibiotic-resistant infections, a wound can take weeks or months to close, raising the risk of infection, recurrence, and hospitalization. 

Researchers have therefore looked hard at whether light therapy can help the body’s natural healing process.

Preclinical studies suggest red light therapy may help calm inflammation, protect healthy cells, and support new tissue growth.⁴ In clinical settings, a 2025 international expert consensus published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology concluded that photobiomodulation (red light therapy) is an effective option for wound ulcers of multiple causes, pressure ulcers, and pain from diabetic foot ulcers.⁵

It is important to note that untreated chronic wounds and diabetic foot ulcers are serious conditions and may result in amputation. Evidence supporting PBM is based on supervised medical environments as an adjunct, not a substitute. If your wound doesn't heal, consult a clinician. Do not do self-treatment.

Red Light Therapy for Scars

Scars are a natural part of healing, but they don’t always fade the way we would like. Some stay raised, firm, or more visible than expected. A scoping review of small clinical trials maps out that red and near-infrared photobiomodulation shows promise for burn, hypertrophic, and post-surgical scars. It is often most effective when used on newer scars while they are still developing.⁶

Red Light Therapy for Acne

Acne develops when pores become clogged with excess oil and dead skin cells, and when Cutibacterium acnes bacteria and inflammation take hold, leading to blackheads, whiteheads, and inflamed breakouts.

Unlike blue light, which targets acne bacteria directly by activating porphyrins inside them. Red light therapy works by dampening the inflammatory response, supporting repair, helping regulate oil production,⁷ and making breakouts look calmer and less noticeable. A study reported an 87.7% reduction in inflammatory acne after 12 weeks of consistent treatment.² Much of the acne research uses blue light, or blue and red combined, so results from those studies do not automatically apply to a red-only device.

Clinical Application of Red Light Therapy in Dermatology

Along with its cosmetic applications, red light therapy has also been studied for several dermatological skin conditions.

Psoriasis

It is a long-term skin condition that causes red, thick, scaly patches to form on the skin. It occurs when skin cells grow much faster than normal, leading to inflammation and plaque buildup. Red light therapy can help reduce inflammation, slow the overproduction of skin cells, and improve plaque thickness, scaling, and redness.

Eczema

It is a common skin condition that causes the skin to become dry, itchy, inflamed, and sensitive. Scratching can damage the skin, making it more prone to irritation and infection.⁷ Relieves itching and discomfort, strengthens the skin barrier, supports healing of damaged skin, and improves skin integrity, which may help reduce the risk of secondary skin infections.

For both Psoriasis and eczema, the evidence is preliminary. If you have either condition, work with a dermatologist.

Radiation dermatitis

Skin irritation caused by radiation therapy. The affected skin can become red, dry, sore, itchy, or tender during or after treatment.

Multiple placebo-controlled randomized trials, including the TRANSDERMIS trial in breast cancer patients, have tested PBM for this.⁸ The 2025 expert consensus lists acute radiation dermatitis among the conditions PBM effectively treats.⁵ It helps to calm irritated skin, reduce inflammation and redness, and support tissue repair and wound healing.

Note: The evidence is largely for preventing radiation dermatitis during radiotherapy, rather than soothing it afterward. It is delivered by clinicians as part of cancer care.

The Benefits beyond the Skin 

· Non-invasive  

· Non-ablative

· Portable

· Cost-effective

· Easy to use

· Can be combined with other treatments.⁹

Safety Advantages

· Does not emit UV radiation

· Not associated with UV-related damage such as sunburn, premature photoaging, or UV-induced DNA damage.⁹

Used with realistic expectations, on the right kind of concern, and alongside medical care where a diagnosed condition is involved, red light therapy is one of the best evidence-based options.

References:

1 Abe, Y. et al. Red light-promoted skin barrier recovery: Spatiotemporal evaluation by transepidermal potential. PLoS One 14, e0219198, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0219198 (2019).

2 Ngoc, L. T. N., Moon, J. Y. & Lee, Y. C. Utilization of light-emitting diodes for skin therapy: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed 39, 303-317, doi:10.1111/phpp.12841 (2023).

3 Choi, K., Kim, H., Nam, S. Y. & Heo, C. Y. Enhancement of skin rejuvenation and hair growth through novel near-infrared light emitting diode (nNIR) lighting: in vitro and in vivo study. Lasers Med Sci 39, 104, doi:10.1007/s10103-024-04044-9 (2024).

4 Schmidt, T. R. et al. Red light-emitting diode on skin healing: an in vitro and in vivo experimental study. An Bras Dermatol 100, 54-62, doi:10.1016/j.abd.2024.02.008 (2025).

5 Maghfour, J. et al. Evidence-based consensus on the clinical application of photobiomodulation. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 93, 429-443, doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2025.04.031 (2025).

6 Gaumond, S. I., Dreifus, E. M., Mittal, A. & Eber, A. E. Red and near-infrared photobiomodulation for burn, hypertrophic, and post-surgical scars: a scoping review of clinical trials. Lasers Med Sci 41, doi:10.1007/s10103-026-04875-8 (2026).

7 Hernández-Bule, M. L., Naharro-Rodríguez, J., Bacci, S. & Fernández-Guarino, M. Unlocking the Power of Light on the Skin: A Comprehensive Review on Photobiomodulation. Int J Mol Sci 25, doi:10.3390/ijms25084483 (2024).

8 Mineroff, J. et al. Photobiomodulation CME part II: Clinical applications in dermatology. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 91, 805-815, doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2023.10.074 (2024).

9 Jagdeo, J. et al. Safety of light emitting diode-red light on human skin: Two randomized controlled trials. J Biophotonics 13, e201960014, doi:10.1002/jbio.201960014 (2020).