Blue plus near-infrared light for acne: a pilot with mixed results
Earlier studies paired blue light with red. This pilot tested blue with near-infrared instead, to see whether the deeper-reaching light worked as well.
Short answer. A useful negative signal. For acne, these results do not suggest near-infrared is a substitute for red light alongside blue.
What they did
Seventeen people had twice-weekly 20-minute sessions for four weeks, alternating between 415 nm blue and 830 nm near-infrared heads. No other acne treatment was allowed. Results were compared with baseline at 1, 4 and 8 weeks after treatment.
What they found
Six people did not complete the study. Among the 11 who did, improvement ranged from none to 83%, and overall acne grades moved down. Blackheads and whiteheads rose in four people and fell by about half in the other seven. No side effects were reported.
The author concluded that this combination reduced inflamed spots less than earlier blue-plus-red studies had.
What it cannot tell you
Very small, with a high dropout rate and no control group.
In short
A useful negative signal. For acne, these results do not suggest near-infrared is a substitute for red light alongside blue.
Masks with these wavelengths
Three of the 10 masks in the comparison list a wavelength in every band used here (blue near 415 nm and near-infrared near 830 nm). They are examples, listed alphabetically, each with our specification page and the manufacturer’s own product page. They are not recommendations, and the links carry no affiliate parameters.
- CurrentBody Skin LED Face Mask Series 3415 · 532 · 590 · 633 · 830 · 1072 nm · CurrentBody product page
- Shark CryoGlow FW312415 · 630 · 830 nm · Shark product page
- Therabody TheraFace Mask Glo415 · 633 · 830 nm · Therabody product page
These masks list one of the bands, but not all:
- CurrentBody Skin LED Mask Series 2633 · 830 · 1072 nm · CurrentBody product page
- Dr. Dennis Gross DRx SpectraLite FaceWare Pro415 · 630 nm · Dr. Dennis Gross product page
- Dr. Renú SpectraLift Advanced465 · 530 · 630–660 · 850 nm · Dr. Renú product page
- Nanoleaf LED Light Therapy Face Mask460 · 520/525 · 640 · 850 nm · Nanoleaf product page
- Omnilux Contour Face633 · 830 nm · Omnilux product page
- The Light Salon Boost LED Face Mask (Boost Advanced)633 · 830 nm · The Light Salon product page
Matching a wavelength is not the same as matching the study. Dose, irradiance, session length and schedule also differ, and a mask’s reported output is not independently measured. See how dose works and home vs clinic doses.
This is a plain-English summary of the published abstract, written by LED Translated. It is not medical advice, and it does not mean any mask reproduces this study’s results. Read the original record on PubMed, and talk to a qualified clinician about your skin.