How Yellow LED Light Therapy Can Help Heal Your Skin

Article at a Glance: 

• Yellow (or amber) LED light therapy encompasses 570nm-620nm and has a shallow penetration level which can be effective for healing a variety of skin issues involving redness.
• When yellow light penetrates the skin, key mechanisms take place to alter biological pathways and improve the appearance of the skin.
• Yellow light is best known for skin cell rejuvenation and its soothing anti-inflammatory benefits. It also boosts lymphatic flow, which removes toxins and waste from the skin, and promotes anti-aging.
• As a stand-alone treatment, yellow light at 590nm is a safe, non-invasive treatment that can be used to help increase blood flow and make your skin look more radiant.

How does yellow light therapy work?

Yellow light therapy is also sometimes referred to as amber light therapy. It encompasses a range of wavelengths from 570nm-620nm and has a shallow penetration level which can be effective for skin issues involving redness, such as spider veins or rosacea. When yellow light penetrates the skin (between 0.5 and 2mm), it gets absorbed by keratinocytes, melanocytes, as well as Merkel and Langerhans cells, which play a critical role in maintaining the skin’s epidermis layer. Studies have shown that yellow light gets absorbed by cytochrome c oxidase, which is a key mechanism for altering biological pathways.⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾

What are the benefits of yellow light therapy?

Yellow light therapy stimulates the production of red blood cells, which play a vital role in skin healing and skin cell rejuvenation.  Because it has a shallow penetration level (compared to red and NIR light), it is ideal for treating a variety of skin conditions involving redness. It is also known to have soothing effects which help reduce the appearance of dark spots, swelling, and inflammation.

Key Benefits:

• Drug-free alternative for skin redness and flushing
• Heals skin irritation and rosacea
• Reduces fine lines and wrinkles
• Alleviates UV radiation damage
• Reduces the appearance of tiny blood vessels on the nose/face
• Boosts lymphatic flow, which helps remove toxins from the targeted area
• Increases cellular growth

Which wavelengths of yellow light are the most effective?

Yellow light at 590nm interacts with epidermal cells, which triggers mitosis and cell renewal, protects and hydrates the epidermis.  As a stand-alone treatment, this yellow wavelength can provide a powerful pick-me-up that will increase dermal blood flow and leave your skin looking healthier and radiant.

Want to take your healing even further? Many studies have illustrated that combination (or polychromatic) therapy — using a combination of LED wavelengths — can have greater efficacy than just using one wavelength, which is referred to as monotherapy.⁽³⁾⁽⁴⁾ Most of the research done around this synergistic effect has been observed while studying skin issues like photoaging and acne, but the same concept applies to other applications such as wound healing, muscle recovery, and pain relief. TrueLight® LED light therapy devices use a patent-pending combination of deep red, red, NIR, and yellow light to help heal the body from the surface of the skin all the way down to the bone. They also have steady and pulsing modes, where steady light can help reduce pain, and pulsing light can help body tissues heal more rapidly.

References

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4479368/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5988166/
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16766484/
4. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1011134407000632