Having worked in a spa for over a decade offering both red light therapy facials and infrared sauna sessions, I have been asked on multiple occasions which is best, what’s the difference between the two, and is there a reason to use both. When it comes to red light therapy and infrared saunas, they use different types of electromagnetic radiation. Red light is visible and is most effective for use on the surface of the skin. Infrared light is invisible and is effective for use on the surface of the skin as well as penetration into the body.

Although infrared is classified as light energy, we don’t see it; we feel it as warmth. Because all humans produce infrared, it’s safe, natural, and easily absorbed by our tissues. During and after absorption, participants notice effects such as pain relief, increased circulation and blood flow, weight loss, detoxification, skin rejuvenation, relaxation, improved sleep and more, but those are just a few of the benefits! For millennia, people all over the world have used infrared to improve their health and assist with boosting the metabolism, reducing inflammation, lowering side effects of diabetes, reducing allergy symptoms, improving heart function, and bettering their quality of life. How does infrared do it? When it enters the body, it breaks up fats and toxins that are trapped in water molecules, it makes us sweat to let them out, and therefore an infrared session is one of the best ways you can naturally detox your body! At SOL SPA, the World’s First 24 Hour Day Spa, we offer Hot Detox Yoga sessions inside of a HOTWORX infrared sauna to really take those results to a whole new level.

Tissues that don’t receive great circulation because they have been injured can also benefit greatly as infrared heat can provide healing and skin regeneration. Infrared heat promotes the rebuilding of injured tissue by having a positive effect on the connective tissue cells necessary for repair, increasing the growth of cells, and DNA and protein synthesis necessary during tissue repair and regeneration. This increased circulation, along with an increased blood flow and oxygenation, can also provide relief for those experiencing chronic pain and other conditions. SOL SPA also offers Meditation sessions inside of the HOTWORX saunas so that our members can enjoy a more relaxing experience while taking advantage of the benefits of infrared.

Now that we know that a session in an infrared sauna provides all these benefits to the full body, why would we need to add red light therapy to the mix at all? The short answer is that we don’t. But think about this for a moment. If you've ever noticed a new wrinkle at the corner of your eye, or maybe an age spot on your cheek, you might have wondered why these signs of life and aging always seem to appear on your face, where they're highlighted for all to see. Why don't they appear first on, say, the back of your leg, where they could go undetected a little longer? There's a reason those signs normally appear first on the face. The skin on your face is different from the skin on the rest of the body, in two major ways. First, it's much thinner — up to ten times so — than the skin found on the parts of the body that are more prone to wear and tear. Secondly, the face is constantly exposed to environmental stressors, such as UV rays from the sun, wind, and pollution. The thinness of facial skin makes it sensitive, and this, combined with the onslaught of the elements, speeds the development of wrinkles and other signs of aging.

Since the sensitive skin on your face needs a little more TLC than the rest of your body, adding red light therapy, specifically on your face, makes sense. This light energy works on rejuvenating facial skin, smoothing skin tone, building collagen, reducing wrinkles, and repairing sun damage. Experts say it can also assist in fading scars and with hair growth or loss prevention.

While both therapies are beneficial the type you should choose depends on the outcome you desire. If you want to treat facial skin conditions on the surface, a red-light facial session may be effective, but if the skin condition is due to high toxicity in the body an infrared session may be required for toxin removal. An infrared session is a more holistic solution to wellness because it can provide skin rejuvenating benefits (like those of red light), but it can also help you burn calories, release toxins, ease pain and put you in a state of utter relaxation.

To wrap it up, red light and infrared therapy each result in diverse benefits and provide us with different wavelengths of electromagnetic energy. At SOL SPA, our 1,2,3 approach to the spa day allows our members to (1) enjoy an infrared Hot Detox Yoga and/or Meditation session in the HOTWORX sauna, followed by a (2) red-light facial therapy session to boost the results on that pesky facial skin while enjoying our state of the art zero gravity massage chair at the same time. Talk about 2 birds, 1 stone! And let’s not forget (3) adding that amazing glow with a customizable spray tan that takes just 5 minutes. In an hour, you’re looking and feeling your very best.

At SOL SPA, our members have 24-hour access to all 3 of these service categories, so there’s no need to choose between the results and benefits of Infrared & Red-Light Therapy!

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Written By: Paige Stuart, VP of Spa Operations