Does light therapy for acne work? Experts explain the science as our beauty editor tries it

I'd heard about light therapy for acne for years before I took the plunge with my own treatment. I couldn’t decide if it seemed space-age and scary, or just a bit nonsensical. Really, how much difference can light make to one's skin? Well, to cut to the chase, I’m kicking myself for not trying it sooner.

Even the best red light therapy devices may not be the simplest thing to slip into a skincare routine, but when it comes to skincare routines for acne, it’s likely you’ve tried everything else to keep the spots at bay. Swapping your best cleanser? Endless iterations of spot treatments? Painful at home chemical peels? I’ve done them all. I had basically resigned myself to always having some form of acne, and decided to be grateful that it wasn’t worse. I was quite content to load up on the best drugstore concealers and be done with it.

Then, in a true rom com meet-cute moment for my skin, one day everything changed. At the risk of sounding smug (or tempting fate), my skin has never looked better. My Instagram DMs have been wild with questions about the improvement to my complexion and, although it's far from the cheapest fix, it is an incredibly simple answer. It's all down to light therapy.

Light therapy for acne: Our beauty editor investigates

What is light therapy?

I’ve had a few LED treatments at the end of posh facials and have always enjoyed them, but couldn’t really pinpoint any difference it made to my skin – it was hard to differentiate what the light had done as opposed to all the other steps like massage, serums and peels. The whole thing made me shrug, if I’m being completely honest.

Then I visited pro facialist to the stars, Shane Cooper, who transforms the faces of A-listers like Sienna Miller, Phoebe Dynevor and Hannah Waddingham. I knew I was in safe hands – I practically dove onto his treatment bed from the door – but it was when we started talking about light therapy for acne that everything started to click.

"Light therapy is great for boosting collagen and inducing elastin regeneration in the dermis layer of the skin," Cooper explains. "I use Dermalux LED light therapy; it’s fantastic and has different settings so you can use it for psoriasis, pigmentation, redness, as well as acne, so you can completely tailor it to each person.”

More specifically, "Blue LED light therapy is fantastic for acne-prone skin as it helps kill the bacteria within the skin and balance excess oiliness," he continues. "I always combine blue and red together to stimulate hydration within the skin. The red LED light stimulates collagen which is great for helping to heal acne scars." In other words, light therapy for acne is often very effective.

How does light therapy for acne work?

Time for the science bit. I spoke to Dr Dennis Gross, a dermatologist and dermatological surgeon who knows a lot about light therapy. “Our cells have receptors for LED exactly like they do for other active ingredients, like retinol," he explains. "Just as traditional ingredients connect to receptors and stimulate collagen production, LED is a catalyst for stimulating our skin’s own natural collagen production and reducing inflammation.”

Gross is a real advocate for the benefits of light therapy for acne. “There are no downsides to incorporating LED into your routine!" he enthuses. "An FDA-cleared LED device is safe to use at home and offers immediate and long-term benefits. With at-home LED devices, the goal is to build collagen every day which is why you should incorporate it into your daily skincare regimen.”

The various colours of LED lights each have a different use:

• Red light: Sends signals to skin cells to stimulate collagen production, while also calming inflammation.
• Blue light: A germ-killer, it connects to acne-causing bacteria and causes it to implode and vanish.
• Purple light: A combination of both, which will do all of the above.

Our beauty editor's experience of at-home LED light therapy

You don’t have to visit a salon to reap the benefits of light therapy for acne-prone skin. If anything, the biggest transformation in my skin happened when using an LED device at home, while working on a Dr Dennis Gross DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro review. By the end of the first week of use, my face looked brighter and clearer, and my acne scars had begun to fade. Two months in and it still keeps getting better.

As with most skincare products, consistency is the key to seeing results. So the occasional light therapy treatment at a salon is great, but forking out £80 a pop for regular sessions isn't viable for most people. Investing in an at-home LED mask could be the answer to the question of how to get rid of acne, especially if you commit to using it daily.

What seems like a huge financial investment to begin with (I'll readily admit that I winced at the price of mine) does start to make more sense when you break it down. Spending money on the best skincare devices makes more sense than spending hundreds on luxe face cream. Creams, serums and lotions are single-use, and expire, whereas you can use devices over and over for years. You could also split the cost with a friend or somebody you lived with and share it if that would work better for you.

Light therapy for acne: Our beauty editor's verdict

I truly believe that the best thing I have ever done for my skin was using an LED treatment mask every day. What started out as a cautious, borderline pessimistic investigation turned into a game-changing, non-negotiable part of my skincare regime. Truly, it’s the best skincare device I've tested – if not one of the best skincare products I've ever used.

I alternate between the red and blue light settings on my mask and occasionally use a combination of both when I want to change things up. My skin is bright, clear and I haven't had any acne for weeks (not even one spot!). I can't overestimate how incredible that is, as my skin hasn't been this flawless since I was a toddler.

If you're thinking about trying light therapy for acne, you won't be disappointed. Not only will it help reduce blemishes, but in my experience your skin will also look brighter, smoother and radiant. You can thank me later.