Ran across a stat about LED masks and melanin yesterday that stopped me cold

I was reading a study on the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology site and found out most LED light therapy studies only use skin types I and II. So all those claims about red light boosting collagen might not apply to half my clients with darker skin. Has anyone else dug into this or found better data for Fitzpatrick IV through VI?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_sandra29d ago

Wait, you're sure that study only included type I and II? I read that same JCAD article and thought it said they specifically excluded anyone above type III, but the Fitzpatrick scale itself was never designed for skin of color anyway, it was made for white skin burning in the sun. Red light penetrates deeper than blue or green regardless of melanin, so the collagen stimulation should still happen, just maybe needs more sessions for darker skin.

jessica_hall4916d ago

Nodding along with @henderson.vera because I’ve fried my own face with a mask before so that heat point hits home.

henderson.vera29d ago

Red light penetration has more to do with wavelength than melanin blocking it completely but nobody talks about the heat factor. Those LED masks trap heat against the skin and darker skin types already produce more melanin in response to heat and inflammation. So you could be triggering pigmentation issues while trying to stimulate collagen which is a whole other problem nobody studied. The JCAD data is useless for real world application because they never tested for that thermal reaction. I wish someone would run a proper trial on darker skin with temperature controls because right now we're all just guessing based on flawed science lol.