How light affects our skin and hair

Our skin is not only our largest organ, but also one of the first recipients of light impulses due to its exposed position. For this reason, it can of course be influenced by light to a particular extent - both positively and negatively.

This article is intended to provide you with information on how our skin and therefore also our hair react to light and how you can use this knowledge in a targeted way to help them with the red light therapy do something good for them or even skin and hair problems to counteract.

Light consists of a composition of different light wavelengths, e.g. red light, near infrared light (NIR), blue light, UV light, etc. (see also the article "This is the role of light in our health"). When the various light waves hit our skin, some wavelengths are able to penetrate deeper than others. While yellow, green and blue light, for example, only reach the upper layers of the skin, long-wave red and near-infrared light can also reach deeper layers.

Wavelengths (nm)	Color spectrum
150 - 380	UV
390 - 470	Violet - Dark blue
475 - 545	Blue - Green
545 - 600	Yellow - Orange
600 - 650	Red
780 - 940	Dark red - NIR
940 - 1100	NIR

Regardless of the depth of exposure, different wavelengths of light also have different effects on our organism and influence different processes in the body:

UV rays, or more precisely the UVB rays they contain, promote vitamin D production in our skin, for example, but can also cause sunburn if consumed in excess and age the skin prematurely. Anyone who has ever had a sunburn, and that is usually the vast majority, has therefore already witnessed for themselves how great the influence of light can be on our organism.

How red and near-infrared light affects our skin

Not all the effects of light are as obvious as those of sunburn. Nevertheless, the reactions of other light wavelengths on our body are usually no less significant; they are often just less well known and are therefore not directly associated with many symptoms.

To understand the impact of red and near-infrared light on our skin requires a brief excursion into cell biology; but don't worry, we'll try to keep it as short and descriptive as possible:

Ultimately, our body is a collection of countless cells that fulfill different functions depending on the cell type (e.g. bone cell, nerve cell, skin cell, etc.). The power plants of the cells, which produce and provide the energy required for all bodily functions - from breathing and thinking to lifting a barbell - are called mitochondria. Scientists have now discovered that red and near-infrared light stimulates the energy production of these mitochondria, among other things.

This is particularly interesting because a large number of recent studies indicate that our mitochondria play an important role in our general health and the health of our body. prevention of disease play.

For our skin, increased energy production in the mitochondria of our skin cells means accelerated cell division. And the faster cells can divide and thus renew themselves, the faster old and damaged cells can be replaced. In other words, the repair of damaged cell tissue is accelerated and skin ageing is slowed down as a result.

As the cause of many skin problems is ultimately to be found in the damage to the respective cells, the areas of application in which red light and NIR have a positive effect are also very diverse: they range from the treatment of acne, cellulite, pigmentation disorders, burns, psoriasis, herpes, scar and wound healing through to Treatment of UV-induced skin ageing.

Effect of red light

The extraordinary thing about all these modes of action: Red light and NIR not only appear to have a preventative effect, but can also demonstrably counteract and therefore reverse damage and signs of ageing to the skin. Does this all sound too good to be true? It's true! And yet all this can be explained quite naturally by our body's symbiosis with nature.

So what does this mean for our hair?

Our hair, whose roots reach deep into the skin, is also made up of cells. These are produced at the lower end of the hair root, attach themselves to the existing hair and push it further and further out of the skin.

The lifespan of a hair, also known as the hair cycle, is divided into 3 phases: In the first anagen phase, the actual hair growth takes place. In this phase, new cells are formed which make the hair longer and thicker. This phase can last several years. This is followed by a transitional phase, the catagen phase, in which the nutrient supply is interrupted, the hair root shortens and the hair atrophies. In the telogen phase, the old hair falls out and the hair root prepares for a new anagen phase.

In people with hair loss, the cause can affect different stages of hair growth. For example, the first anagen phase/growth phase of the hair may be shortened or the second catagen phase may start prematurely. The transition back from the telogen to the anagen phase can also be disrupted, which means that the shortened hair root does not rebuild to grow new hair.

Studies have now shown that red light/near-infrared light can delay the first anagen phase/growth phase of the hair and also increase the growth rate in this first phase. It has also been shown that red light/NIR supports the transition from the third phase back to the first phase.

The reason for these positive effects is thought to lie in various mechanisms that are promoted by red light/near-infrared light: On the one hand, the anti-inflammatory effect of red light/NIR could contribute to these effects; on the other hand, the improved energy production in the cells specifically in this part of the body could also play a role. In addition, the nutrient supply to the hair root could benefit from the increased blood circulation caused by red light/NIR, or the influence of red light/NIR on the nitrogen balance in the body could explain these effects, or even a combination of all these factors.

Red light for your skin & hair

Certain wavelengths in the red light spectrum can be used to counteract a deficit of natural red light and NIR.

So if you don't regularly get out in the sun at the times of day when red light is dominant (i.e. mainly in the morning and evening), you can give your body an extra dose of red light with a red light lamp and promote all the positive properties that numerous studies now attribute to photobiomodulation. So that even those of us who are always busy can benefit from the benevolent rays that nature intended for us.

References:

AVCI, P.; GUPTA, G.K.; CLARK, J.; WIKONKAL, N.; HAMBLIN, M.R. (2013): Low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) for treatment of hair loss. Lasers Surg Med. 2014 Feb;46(2):144-51. doi: 10.1002/lsm.22170. Epub 2013 Aug 23. PMID: 23970445; PMCID: PMC3944668.
WHITTEN, Ari (2018): The Ultimate Guide to Red Light Therapy. Archangel Ink.
WUNSCH, Alexander (2019): The power of light. Why we need light and bad light makes us sick. 1st edition. riva: Munich.
WUNSCH, Alexander; MATUSCHKA, Karsten (2014): A Controlled Trial to Determine the Efficacy of Red and Near-Infrared Light Treatment in Patient Satisfaction, Reduction of Fine Lines, Wrinkles, Skin Roughness, and Intradermal Collagen Density Increase. In: Photomedicine and Laser Surgery. Volume 32, Number 2, Heidelberg: Mary Ann Liebert. 93-100.