The importance of LED treatments

Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology is becoming an increasingly more important aspect of many medical and cosmetic treatments. In fact the varied benefits of LED treatments are very analogous to the multiple benefits of Botox® injections. Botox® injections can lead to profound benefits both in neurology and cosmetic medicine. Botox®, as everybody knows, is wonderful in its ability to decrease wrinkles and excess underarm sweating. In addition, Botox® can also markedly improve migraine headaches or the stiffness associated with cerebral palsy or after certain strokes. LED treatments also have found their way into many medical fields

LED treatments are in some ways like laser treatments and in some ways are very different. Just like different lasers emit different colors of light and thus different lasers are used for wrinkles, age spots, acne or spider veins, LED light technology also comes in many different colors. There are LED machines that emit, blue, red, yellow and near-infra-red light. Each different LED has a different effect on different cells and therefore each has potential different uses.

What makes LEDs so very different than lasers is their effect on the skin – they are without any of the heat effect seen with most lasers. Because there is no heat produced from LED machines, treatments are painless and safe for all skin types. In research done in our offices we have shown that blue and red LED treatments can be very effective in treating acne, while red and near-infrared LED treatments are helping in promoting anti-aging of the skin. These studies have now been published in well respected journals.

In addition to the cosmetic skin benefits of LED treatments, recent studies have shown that yellow LED treatment can lessen the severity of a sunburn and now red LED treatment has been shown to decreased the discomfort of radiation therapy following the treatment of breast cancer.

LED treatment currently is, and will continue to be, an important adjunct therapy to many aspects of cosmetic and medical treatment.

David J. Goldberg, MD
Skin Laser and Surgery Specialists NY/NJ
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center

Dr. Jason Pozner
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center