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The photon therapy theory (background info)
As we age, our cell turnover activity decreases, causing skin to look dull, blemishes and scars taking longer to heal and our faces loses is elasticity with less collagen produced over time.
NASA was the first to pioneer the use of laser and red light to heal skin in space. Red light LED (wave lengths used by NASA were 633nm red light) has been used for its an anti-aging properties due to its ability to stimulate the skin cells and provide them with energy so they increase their cellular level of activity, leading to the production of collagen, elastin and certain enzymes to support the skin. There seems to be an array of medical research out there on the internet supporting these claims.
Skin Physics LED Photon Device
Skin Physics has adopted the red light anti-aging theory and using 660nm wavelength LEDs and have brought out an at home unit that anyone can use in the comfort of their own home.
I was very excited to receive this as I have been wanting to try out photon therapy to see if it would help with my acne scarring, reduce those tell tale fine lines underneath my eyes and improve my skin texture and pigmentation.
It's been 4 weeks since I started using the LED device before writing this review.
The Skin Physics unit came in a in a well presented shiny red box showcasing the products through a clear window - it felt like a wrapped Christmas present.
This product makes makes some serious claims about anti-aging and improving your skin texture (click on any of the photos to enlarge and read them yourself.)
The kit came with a hand held photon unit, 3 trial size skincare products (separate review on these soon), a charging cradle and a multi-voltage charger with different plug adaptors so you can take along for use anywhere in the world. It also include a red pouch to store the unit and a pair of goggles to wear when using the photon device.
This unit takes around 3 hours to fully charge up and each charge will last just over an hour of use. The great thing about this photon device is that you can use it as a portable or plugged in so you're never caught out of battery during a session.
Once turned on, the LED lights are activated by sensor so the light turns off when it is not placed flat against the skin. The brightness of the light is initially distracting but is not harmful to the eyes. I find the best time to do the treatment is while watching TV as my eyes are focusing on something else in the distance and not being too distracted by the red LED lights. I ditched the goggles as I found it uncomfortable to use and did not find the light too blinding as long as I was not looking directly into it.
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| See how bright it is when on? |
The instruction manual was pretty hopeless at explaining how to use the device. The DVD fared better at explaining how to operate the unit with a demo but still left a lot to be desired in terms of giving clear easy instructions. After some research on home LED therapy devices and reading alot of information online, I decided the adopt the method similar to that advised with use for another red light LED device, the Baby Quasar (BQ).
Start off by sectioning the face into 6 zones – the left and right forehead, left and right cheeks and left and right bottom sides of face.
Prepping
I start off stimulating the cells of my skin by using the constant mode (where the light is on continuously) to shine my whole face. As the constant mode is only a 3 minute section, I do 2 cycles to prep my skin for 1 minute in each zone (total of 6 minutes). There is a 30 second timer which is handy as I move the unit around in one zone for the duration of 2 beeps.
Treating
I then switch the device to a pulse mode (where the lights flashes) and complete a full cycle (each cycle on pulse mode is 4 minutes) for each facial zone, ignoring the 30 second beeps and just concentrating on that single area for the whole cycle. All up it takes 30 minutes to complete a single session for me.
For an extra treatment on problem areas (eg. on new scar, blemish or bruise) – I would do an extra cycle on the area in constant mode.
Does it stack up to its claims?
Here's my verdict after one skin renewal cycle (4 weeks).
- Minimise the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
No real noticable difference in the 4 week time frame. The fine lines under my eyes do appear slightly softer.
- Reduce the appearance of crow’s feet and expression lines
I don't have crow's feet, no real noticeable difference to expression lines.
- Diminish the appearance of sun-damage pigmentation.
No changes to pigmentation around the eye area.
- Restore skin moisture and plumpness
Whilst it did also help to control my oil production, the photon unit seems to dry up my skin considerably, causing skin sensitivity and lots of dry flaky patches on my cheeks and sides of the nose. I am cutting back on usage as I may have potentially over stimulated my skin with the aggressive use of the LED light.
- Provide a healthier skintone
100% agree there. My skintone is more even the next morning and dark circle are lighten. I can finally fake the 9 hours sleep effects when I use this device.
- Minimise the appearance of pore size
No change here yet- my pores are as large as ever.
- Smooth the appearance of skin texture
It has firmed up my skin considerably but due to the dry patches, I wouldn't say it has smoothed it. Also I can't say that my skin firmness entirely due to this product as I was also using rose hip oil as a night treatment serum.
- Reduce the appearance of skin degradation
Again the flaky skin makes it hard for me to say that my skin has not degraded.
- Reduce the appearance of overall redness and flushing
My skin is usually calmer and less red. Only the sensitive areas caused by the dry patches are slightly red.
Other Comments
- Great for healing small blemishes and new scars - white-heads were healed in a day and the red marks disappeared from that area within the next. Not as effective on older scars.
- Sped up recovery of wounds and bruises - the bruise on my leg faded within 3-4 days rather than the week it can normally take to heal.
- Can be incorporated with skincare products during the LED session. I've used it with rose hip oil and vitamin C serum and they also work well.
- As the unit is sensor activated - it can be tricky for the light to be on when trying to focus it on areas that are not flat (eg contours ceekbones, arms, legs)- I wish the sensor wasn't so sensitive.
- The light can be glitchy - sometimes it can be hard to turn on after several cycles of use, and I have to switch to a different mode before I can get the light to turn on again
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| Skintone is more even, scars lighter. Comparison taken on cleansed and moisturised skin |
Overall Thoughts
I love it alone for the skin firming abilities when used with rose hip oil and the even skin tone it gives me. These two improvements alone for me is worth the high price of the unit. If I can get it to work without drying my skin, I'd love this product even more.
I'll continue to use this unit twice a week and do another review after more than 3 months use to see if the other skin benefit claims do eventuate.
I'd love to be able to compare this device with the Baby Quasar as that has red LEDs as well as infra-red LEDs which penetrates deeper into skin tissue to improve blood circulation and boost the body's ability to repair itself.
So are you curious about photon therapy? What you think about LED rejuvenation therapy?
Rating: 8/10 after 4 weeks use (higher if it didn't cause dryness).
RRP A$299 at selected Myer stores, Shaver shops and
Skin Physics online
