Although brightening creams, serums, and eye creams can work wonders when it comes to brightening the skin and preventing sun damage, you've probably heard that lathering on lots of topical treatments isn't really all that effective in lightening the skin to get rid of fine lines and wrinkles. The reason: an overactive skin's reaction to the products. This is especially true when it comes to lightening wrinkles. And, that's because lightening a skin is a complex process, and for some reason, the skin's reaction to lightening products is amplified.
For example, the thinking is that applying a chemical peel — which is a chemical exfoliant that makes the skin more flexible and lighter, but at the expense of fine lines and wrinkles — to the face is a good way to improve fine lines. But the skin's reaction to it is so severe, it also results in the skin going from being hydrated and plumped, to irritated and dehydrated, thus dulling the appearance.
The notion that lightening the skin to get rid of wrinkles would be far more effective if the skin didn't get any chemical reactions to the treatments. One of the most effective skin-healing treatments around, called red light therapy. It's one of the fastest and most effective treatments for skin rejuvenation and its main purpose is to trigger the body's own anti-aging process. The system was created by Dr. Martine Ille, who began working with M.D. Patrick Nagel in Germany more than 30 years ago.
Red light therapy
"Red light therapy is used for many dermatological indications such as: photodamage, hyper-pigmentation, and even the skin-lightening," Nagel tells Allure.
"In our clinics, we use red light therapy to treat a large number of skin problems such as: skin inflammation, eczema, dark spots, pore blemishes, ageing skin, scars, etc. Red light therapy is especially effective in patients with dry, sensitive, and acne prone skin."
The treatment works by exposing the skin to ultraviolet light, which can trigger growth of cells, or block cell proliferation, and can be used to get rid of acne, hyper pigmentation, sun damage, and even age spots.
According to WebMD, light exposure also can stimulate the lymphatic system, which can reduce inflammation, decrease the appearance of scars, and even reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Additionally, it's been found that skin exposure to UV light can boost your body's collagen production and reduce skin pigmentation. In short, it can reduce fine lines, dark spots, wrinkles, and hyper pigmentation — all of which are extremely common and common skin conditions.
There's another reason why red light therapy is so good at reducing fine lines and wrinkles: it works by activating genes in the skin's light-sensitive layer, the epidermis. WebMD explains that these genes are involved in responding to UV light, which, when activated, stimulate growth of cells. "The skin's ability to respond to UV light is affected by several genes that can be changed by red light therapy, resulting in the skin's ability to absorb and release UV light," WebMD explains. "Red light can also treat skin diseases, such as eczema and psoriasis, by stimulating the immune system and protecting the skin from infections."
Bottom Line
Red light therapy isn't the only type of light therapy, but it's certainly the most effective. There are many different types of light therapy — like exposure to blue and red light — that all have their own different effects, but there's a particular type of light therapy that is thought to be the most effective: D.light therapy. According to WebMD, "D.light is more powerful than standard red light therapy as it has the ability to generate an even spectrum of light," and it "works by making the top layer of skin cell, the epidermis, produce more melanin, which in turn reduces signs of age-related pigmentation and thus skin cancer."
Ile and Nagel's company, D.light, has clinics in Germany, Spain, France, Australia, and Canada, and the treatment has been proven to work for all skin types. Dr. Ille tells Allure that their clients who use the treatment "notice immediate results within weeks," while it can take three to six months for noticeable results to appear.
