Is LED Light Therapy Safe for Your Eyes?

LED light therapy is the trend in the beauty industry today. There are different spas, gyms, and clinics that offer this kind of therapy. Additionally, there are many at-home products that you can purchase.

However, what about safety? Due to being fairly new in the market, we couldn’t help but ask “Is LED light therapy safe for your eyes??”

The truth is, light therapy can damage your eyes. 

However, that doesn’t mean that you should throw out your LED light therapy mask that you’ve recently just purchased. You can still use them, but with precaution. 

In this article, we’ll examine how LED light therapy can damage your eyes. We’ll also help you figure out how to minimize the damage that your eyes might develop.

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What Is LED Light Therapy?

LED light therapy isn’t really new because it has already been used since the 1960’s. However today, it is gaining popularity because people are using it to treat various skin conditions and problems. 

Most LED light therapy machines uses lights in various wavelengths or colors. Different wavelengths are meant to target different skin conditions. 

Blue Light

Blue light therapy is mostly used by those who have acne problems. It is because it can kill the bacteria that causes the inflammation that results in acne. 

Furthermore, this type of light helps diminish the activity of the oil-producing glands found on the skin. With less oil production, acne symptoms could also be reduced. 

Red Light 

Those who have aging skin may benefit well from red light therapy as it helps boost collagen production. With an increase in collagen, fine lines and wrinkles could be reduced. 

Furthermore, collagen could also be used to help in skin healing. It also helps reduce the inflammation of the skin. 

We’ve written extensively about light therapy, and looked at several products. Here are a few starting points:

• Light Therapy Benefits
• Pulsaderm Review
• Light Therapy for Acne
• Best Home Light Therapy Device
• Beauty Angel RVT-30 Review
• Light Therapy for Rosacea
• Light Therapy for Hair Loss
• Light Therapy for Spider Veins
• Tanning and Light Therapy Together

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Is LED Light Therapy Safe for Your Eyes?

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LED light therapy machines use LED lights at various wavelengths to treat specific skin conditions. 

If you’ve already experienced going through the procedure, you will know that the lights can be very bright. This is especially true of those at clinics and spas.

At-home LED light machines may be less intense. But they can still be quite bright.

In the short term, the use of such machines appears to be safe. The FDA has cleared most of these products as safe for use. However, that does not mean that it is completely safe in the long term.

Even if the LED light machines don’t produce the UV lights that are known to damage the eyes, the lights could still be too bright.

This high-intensity light can also gradually degrade the macro sensors in the retina of the eye. 

Additionally, there are also some people who already have problems with their eyes. The different health conditions could also increase the risk of damage to the eyes. 

Further, some people might also take medication that could make their eyes more sensitive to light.

For the most part, home light therapy devices are safe and can be used as frequently as recommended. But you should always be careful exposing your eyes.

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What Can You Do To Protect Your Eyes? 

Even if you have perfect eyesight and don’t have any problems with your eyes, it is still best to use such products with caution.

Here are a few tips on how you can protect your eyes when using LED light therapy machines:

1. Blackout Goggles for LED Light Therapy

Some machines may include goggles, but many don’t. The best way to protect your eyes from the high-intensity light from an LED light therapy machine is to use blackout goggles.

Carefully select the blackout goggles  to use because not all are the same. Some may be able to block out some of the light, while others only provide partial protection. 

If you’ve got tanning bed goggles already, you can likely use those.

Regardless, don’t skip using eye protection whenever you go for LED light therapy sessions. Even if it isn’t required, it is still better to use them than to be sorry in the end because of not being careful. 

Make sure you select the right googles for the wavelength of light you are using for your LED light therapy session.

2. Limit Your Use

When you go for LED light therapy in spas and clinics, the staff will set the time on how long you’d be under the light.

You are very unlikely to be permitted to go for consecutive treatments within the same day. 

For those with at-home units, you are free to use your products any time you want, for as long as you want.

However, manufacturers will still suggest the recommended amount of time you expose yourself to the bright lights. 

Stick to those times.

Most machines will feature an auto-off or timer feature so that you don’t go beyond the recommended time setting.

They may also place warnings about the dangers of prolonging your exposure to high-intensity light. 

Follow the manufacturer’s suggested use for safety’s sake. 

Depending on what LED light therapy machine you choose, some might be suitable for everyday use. TOthers can only be used a maximum of 3 times a week. 

Regardless, lessening the frequency of use also lessens your eye’s exposure to the bright LED lights.

The less exposure, the lesser the risk of damaging your eyes. 

3. Choose a Handheld Machine

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If you’re particularly concerned with eye health, you may want to choose a handheld light therapy device like the No products found..

You move the wand-style unit to different parts of the face, rather than blast everything with a whole-face mask or panel.

Handheld wand-style devices will offer more control.

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Final Thoughts

Many are now into using LED light therapy for various skin conditions. Depending on the wavelength of light used, it can help with a variety of issues. Two of the most commonly used are blue light therapy and red light therapy. 

No matter how useful they are, these devices can be dangerous to the eyes. Prolonged and continuous exposure could damage the retina. However, they are considered safe. 

As for long-term safety, the macro receptors can degrade due to the high-intensity light the machines produce.

To help reduce the risk of damage, you shoulduse blackout goggles, limit the use of LED light therapy machines, and choose an appropriate machine for your needs.