When you think of LED (light-emitting diode) light therapy, your mind probably goes to red light, the most popular wavelength. But, in the rainbow of colors, there are some lesser-known standouts, like green LED light therapy.
While LED light therapy is mostly associated with skincare, green light offers a unique benefit: pain management. In fact, studies show that green light exposure may reduce chronic pain and headache symptoms just as well as conventional pain relief methods, like painkillers or pharmaceuticals, but without the same risks or side effects. In addition to helping manage pain conditions, green light can also help heal wounds.
In this post, we go over all the benefits of green light therapy with clinical trials to back us up, so you can see if it’s the right treatment option for you.
Table of Contents
- How Does Green Light Therapy Work?
- The Benefits of Green Light Therapy
- Does Green Light Therapy Have Any Side Effects?
- How Often Should You Use Green Light Therapy?
- How to Use Green Light Therapy
- Try Green Light Therapy at Home with Lumivisage
How Does Green Light Therapy Work?
Green light therapy works in the same way as other therapeutic wavelengths of light — it penetrates the skin, inducing a cellular response. Specific wavelengths penetrate to different depths in your skin, so the effects they have on your cells and tissues vary. This is why the benefits of each wavelength are unique.
Green light is an especially amazing wavelength for its pain-relieving properties. Exposure to it resets the endogenous opioid system, a pain-relieving system in your body, and can increase naturally occurring molecules called enkephalins up to threefold. These molecules relieve pain and provide a sense of well-being.
Green light may even help reset your circadian rhythm and regulate melatonin, improving your sleep.
The Benefits of Green Light Therapy
From pain relief to better wound healing, green light therapy touts many amazing benefits.
Reduces Migraine Symptoms
Green light has shown a lot of promise for treating migraines and headaches. An open-label study in 2023 showed that using green light from an LED lamp during migraine attacks offered migraine relief. The participants involved used green light for two hours of treatment. Headaches improved in 55% of attacks.
Other research has shown that green light can reduce the number of headache days for migraine patients with episodic migraine or chronic migraine. This makes green light a viable, non-invasive alternative treatment option to drugs, both for helping treat the pain intensity of migraine headaches as well as reducing the number of days you might have them. Also the secondary outcome measured, including quality of life and intensity and duration of the headache attacks were greater with green light than white, and it had no side effects.
Improves Anxiety and Sleep (For Headache Sufferers)
As per the open-label study conducted in 2023, exposure to green light therapy for two hours showed that during a migraine attack, green light helped to relieve pain and all related secondary symptoms, including photophobia, anxiety, and sleep issues, all of which can improve the quality of life for headache sufferers.
Here are the results:
- Photophobia (sensitivity to light) improved in 53% of all attacks
- Anxiety improved in 34% of all attacks
- Sleep improved in 49% of all attacks
Relieves Chronic Pain (Such as Fibromyalgia)
Just like it may help people reduce pain from headaches, green light may also offer relief from other types of chronic pain, like pain from fibromyalgia, a disorder characterized by musculoskeletal pain all over the body.
A chronic pain clinic studied the effects of green light on 21 patients. Patients exposed to green LED light for one to two hours daily over 10 weeks reported a significant reduction in pain among other improvements measured by specific questionnaires. No side effects were reported.
Promotes Wound Healing and Tissue Regeneration
Research has shown that green light may have a positive effect on angiogenesis, which is the growth of blood vessels. This means green light therapy might help wound healing, since angiogenesis regulates blood and oxygen supply to wounds and helps tissue regenerate.
In a study conducted to assess photobiostimulation effects of LED on tissue repair, the results suggest that green light is effective in wound healing by increasing some proliferative cytokines, such as leptin, IL-8, and VEGF. Green light also contributed to the migration of some types of keratinocytes (HaCat keratinocytes). This migration is promoted both by red and green LEDs, suggesting that not only red but also green LEDs can be a new powerful therapeutic strategy for wound healing.
Does Green Light Therapy Have Any Side Effects?
None of the studies on the effectiveness and benefits of green light showed any side effects. Like other LED therapy colors, green light is safe to use regularly for all skin types.
You might experience unwanted effects if you don’t follow the instructions on your device. For example, you shouldn’t use LED light therapy on your skin right after shaving, and you should stop if the device gets too hot.
In addition, you shouldn’t use any LED light therapy if:
- You have a weakened immune system.
- You take drugs that cause a sensitivity to light.
- You have had cosmetic surgery or skin-related procedures in the last two months or less.
How Often Should You Use Green Light Therapy?
Your light therapy device should come with instructions for safe use. Make sure you follow them every time you use your device.
For the Lumivisage LED Face Mask, we recommend using it in two 10- to 15-minute sessions per week with at least two days between sessions.
How to Use Green Light Therapy
Here’s how to use green light therapy with your Lumivisage LED Face Mask.
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- Cleanse your skin. This removes any dirt, makeup, or other impurities that could get in the way of the light penetrating your skin.
- Attach the mask securely to your face. Make sure your device is fully charged before use.
- Using the control, select the green light therapy color. Set the timer for your treatment time.
- Sit back, relax, and let the mask work its magic!
Once your treatment is done, make sure you moisturize your skin. You should also clean the device using soap and water before putting it away, and store it in a cool, dry place.
Try Green Light Therapy at Home with Lumivisage
LED light therapy can give any skincare or beauty routine boost. Green light comes with the added benefit of pain relief — so if you’re a migraine sufferer and a beauty junkie, it might be your dream treatment.
Green light is just one of the many wavelengths you get with the Lumivisage LED Face Mask. In just two to three sessions a week, 10 to 15 minutes a day, you can achieve the beautiful skin you deserve, all from the comfort of your home.
References
Texas Medical Center (TMC). “Exposure to green light may reduce pain.” https://www.tmc.edu/news/2020/02/exposure-to-green-light-may-reduce-pain/. Date accessed: January 26, 2024.
Frontiers in Neurology. “Narrow band green light effects on headache, photophobia, sleep, and anxiety among migraine patients: an open-label study conducted online using daily headache diary.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37859647/. Date accessed: January 26, 2024.
Cephalalgia. “Evaluation of green light exposure on headache frequency and quality of life in migraine patients: A preliminary one-way cross-over clinical trial.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32903062/. Date accessed: January 26, 2024.
Pain Med. “Green Light Exposure Improves Pain and Quality of Life in Fibromyalgia Patients: A Preliminary One-Way Crossover Clinical Trial.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33155057/. Date accessed: January 26, 2024.
Scientific Reports. “The impact of wavelengths of LED light-therapy on endothelial cells.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28878330/. Date accessed: January 26, 2024.
The PMFA Journal. “The role of angiogenesis in wound healing, scarring and tissue regeneration.” https://www.thepmfajournal.com/features/post/the-role-of-angiogenesis-in-wound-healing-scarring-and-tissue-regeneration. Date accessed: January 26, 2024.
Wound Repair and Regeneration. “Green light emitting diodes accelerate wound healing: characterization of the effect and its molecular basis in vitro and in vivo.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22380691/. Date accessed: January 26, 2024.
