Red Light Therapy for Wrinkles: Scientific Evidence

A green tea and red light combination was tested in a 2009 human observational study looking at skin rejuvenation around the corners of the eyes, conducted by researchers in Germany. Green tea soaked pads were applied to the skin for 20 minutes daily, followed by LED light at 670 nm, delivering 4 J/cm² at 72.8 mW/cm², continued daily for 63 days. Researchers reported a more youthful complexion and fewer wrinkles after just 1 month of combined treatment, compared to the roughly 10 months they associated with red light therapy alone in earlier work.

In 2007, a randomized, human, placebo-controlled trial investigated whether 1072 nm light therapy could reduce signs of aging around the eyes in 79 participants. Researchers applied the non-thermal infrared light directly to the periorbital skin once daily for 6 to 8 weeks, with each session lasting 9 minutes. Fewer volunteers that is between 37% and 46%, reported a visible improvement in under-eye bags, while a larger share, between 52% and 57%, identified improvements in fine lines and wrinkles, though both findings relied on participants' own assessments rather than objective measurement.

Infrared LED alone, red LED alone, and a combined infrared and red LED treatment were each compared against a sham light in a human, randomized, controlled study published in 2007 involving 76 patients with facial wrinkles, including 1 man and 75 women. The right side of each patient's face was treated twice weekly for 4 weeks, with the infrared head delivering 830 nm light at 55 mW/cm² and 66 J/cm², and the red head delivering 633 nm light at 105 mW/cm² and 126 J/cm², for 20 minutes per session. At the end of the study, it was found that wrinkle reduction of up to 36% and an increase in skin elasticity of up to 19% in the 3 treatment groups compared to the sham group, along with increases in collagen and elastic fibers in the treated skin. The therapy was reported as well tolerated, with no adverse effects observed during the study.

Whether adding low-level laser therapy (LLLT) to radiofrequency treatment could improve facial wrinkles was the question behind a 2017 randomized human trial comparing it against radiofrequency alone and a no-treatment control in 46 adult women. The LLLT sessions delivered 658 nm light at 240 mW/cm² and 3.82 J/cm² for 5 minutes each, with wrinkles photographed and rated by blinded evaluators at baseline, 8 weeks, and a follow-up 8 weeks later. The study reported no significant difference in wrinkle classification scores across the 3 groups, though aesthetic ratings showed modest improvement in nasolabial folds, and researchers found that LLLT did not add benefit beyond radiofrequency alone.

No additional benefit was found when red light therapy was combined with a dissolvable thread material called polydioxanone (PDO) for frown lines between the eyebrows (glabellar lines) in a randomized, human, sham-controlled trial published in 2024 involving 40 people. All participants received PDO threads along the glabellar line, while 1 group also received 630 nm red LED light at 1.35 J applied directly along the threads twice weekly for 9 sessions over 30 days. Researchers measured swelling, skin thickness, and thread breakdown using ultrasound, and the study reported that PDO threads increased skin thickness on their own, but adding red light therapy produced no extra thickening, did not speed up thread breakdown, and showed no clear benefit for reducing post-procedure swelling.