Step in to the light with LED Light Therapy !
by Lisa Young – Salon Director
It may all sound very high tech, but by combining LED Light therapy such as red, blue, green and yellow with your skincare treatments, this will have a powerful effect on the skin. Let me explain why LED Light Therapy does this.
We constantly experience colour in our everyday lives. Some colours make us feel lifted and others may make us feel the complete opposite. On a personal basis we are often drawn to some colours more than others.
Personally, I absolutely love black. I’m not a Gothic or a punk or even in mourning, but I just can’t get enough of black !
It’s been my favourite colour since my teens and I just love it with a splash of bright pink, red or even purple or blue. Or even on its own !! You can even add accents of leopard print or wild patterns to compliment it and I feel for me personally, black is a stable contribution to my wardrobe that allows me to mix and match and create loads of different outfits from less. My personal version of Gok Wan !
But there is a down side when you can’t see black from back in the washing basket and can’t quite find that favourite top from all the other black in there ! But hey, such is life and it makes me feel good !
So colour is a personal preference. But what makes it look really great on you is that it compliments your skin tone and the colour of your hair and brows, and there is a reason for that.
Colour is based on a spectrum of colours. You may remember the colour wheel at school that you had to paint starting with the primary colours (Red, Yellow & Blue). Then if you mix 2 primary colours, you get a secondary colour such as when you mix yellow and red to get orange. Mix more of a primary and you get a tertiary colour and so on.
Colour also creates moods such as coolness blue, green and purple or warmth red, orange and brown and there are other colours that are neutral such as yellow and lime green. This helps us to understand why some people are drawn to some colours more than others and why colour is used in a variety of settings to create mood, calmness and cleanliness. White is seen as clean and crisp and perfect for environments that demand cleanliness such as a clinic or salon.
Prisons may use calming blue and green as opposed to fiery and vibrant red or orange as this can help with controlling mood and aggression.
Colour can even be used to control how long you subconsciously stay in a particular area to avoid bottle necks and loitering such as the connecting walkways at an airport. Some colours may even be more appealing to men more than women because what they represent is femininity and masculinity. Sometimes the unspoken rules are broken and why not as you may find masculine men wearing pink (which is normally seen as a feminine colour). It says “hey I’m comfortable with my sexuality and who I am and I wear what I feel good in !”
So you can see that colour plays a very important part in our everyday life not just in our likes and dislikes but also in the way it influences our mood and everyday life.
So if colour is this powerful on our moods and the way we feel, what role can it play in skincare treatments ?
LED light therapy (Light Emitting Diode) has been around for a few years but is currently seeing a new rise in popularity with emerging new treatments.
Here’s the science bit about LED light therapy:
Research has shown that colour has a physiological effect on our skin when it activates our skin’s photoreceptors allowing the skin to absorb energy. This is because light exposed to the skin in specific visible wavelengths and frequencies stimulates intercellular communication. It does this by stimulating the mitochondria (the energy part of the skin cell), which uses oxygen to produce energy (ATP or Adenosine Triphosphate). As it does this, the cell absorbs more specific nutrients to create stronger healthier cells and the cells store the information emitted by the LED light.
A variety of light patterns are used such as constant or pulsed or even intermittent pulse and constant to stimulate this process.
Examples are:
- Red LED light therapy helps with anti-ageing as it rejuvenates the skin, stimulates collagen, increases circulation and plumps out fine lines and wrinkles. It is also fantastic for promoting lymphatic drainage.
- Blue light / Violet LED light therapy is calming and soothing, antibacterial as the light penetrates deep enough to target the bacteria that causes acne as well as reducing the size of the sebum glands.
- Green LED light therapy helps with anti-pigmentation as well as calming so is really great anti inflammation.
This means that by using LED light therapy facial treatments can be tailored to suit the individual client’s needs.
Treatments at Studio 8 Beauty that use LED Light Therapy
- CACI Microdermabrasion.
- CACI Wrinkle Revolution.
- Carlton Diamond Microdermabrasion with LED light therapy.
If you would like to know more about treatments that incorporate LED Light Therapy, or to arrange an appointment please contact the salon on 02392 380 692 or email salon@studio8beauty.co.uk.
Quote of the Day
“The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage”
Thucydides
In memory of those who sadly lost their lives in the name of freedom in the Paris attacks 13/11/2015.