Driving on Red – Style

“Kommersant Style” talks about what caused the popularity of LED light and masks using it and why everyone suddenly needs it now.

A sign of recent times is masks with a bright red light: look at the social networks of stars (Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Moss, Kim Kardashian), remember the TV series “Sexual Education”, where one of the heroines literally gave their last money for such a mask. Why does she need it and where does all the fuss come from?

Red light therapy in all its countless high-tech forms is now a dominant wellness trend. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode – or literally “light emitting diode”. True to its name, red light therapy uses different wavelengths of red light to stimulate skin cells. It is believed to have been developed by NASA to help heal astronauts’ wounds: the light increases blood flow, oxygenating cells and thus speeding up recovery. How does LED work? Experts suggest perceiving light as if it were an active ingredient that acts through receptors in skin cells. Scientifically speaking, red and infrared light penetrates deeper into the body than any other wavelength, stimulating mitochondria and in turn accelerating cellular regeneration and repair. Anton Aleksandrovich Zolotarev, dermatologist, medical director of Bella Skin Clinic, explains that this is the most important wavelength for physiotherapy. “830 nm,” he says, “is infrared light, the most effective for rehabilitation, it can penetrate to a depth of 8 mm. This effect is not just on the papillary dermis, but on deeper tissues, joints, and muscles.”

LED devices are easy to use, painless and a great way to improve the tone and texture of your skin, they can be used to treat breakouts, promote healthy hair growth, stimulate collagen production and affect overall health (they are calming, mood moderating and even help improve sleep ). It turns out that LEDs are the key not only to perfect skin, but also to health.

However, technology is not limited to just red light, there are many more of these beneficial shades of beauty. Anika Sekhri, a specialist at Foreo, says that each color of LED light has its own benefits and is aimed at working with different skin needs. “So, red light has a pronounced lifting effect and stimulates the production of collagen and elastin. Green helps lighten age spots and restores a healthy glow to the skin, strengthening the vascular walls. Blue has an antibacterial effect, reducing inflammation and soothing the skin,” she says.

But, as with any rejuvenation method, not everyone shares its advantages; a number of specialists are skeptical about LED therapy. Anton Aleksandrovich Zolotarev is sure that her popularity is slightly exaggerated. “This is physiotherapy, not cosmetology or dermatology. Vivid results with infrared light have been proven specifically in rehabilitation. There are also good results with shorter wavelengths, but you need to understand that you shouldn’t expect a clear anti-aging effect even from red light. In acne therapy, the situation is the same; the use of LEDs will not replace drug or hardware therapy – this is a soft auxiliary technology that needs to be combined with more radical techniques,” he believes.

Be that as it may, the growth in the production of these particular devices for home use is experiencing a real boom, and in completely different price segments. And, as mentioned above, the hype is fueled by the active participation of stars – if Kate Moss, who looks perfect in her fifties, says that her Talika device is “small, easy to travel with, and I can definitely see an improvement in the condition of my skin”, then this forms an unconditional credit of trust. Time will tell how manufacturers will use it.

Irina Kiriyenko