Red light therapy in London. An LED facial, red and blue, for every skin tone.

Yes, when the red light comes from light-emitting diodes, which is what a clinic uses on the face. LED light therapy is the family; red light therapy is its red end, around 633 to 660 nm, and blue light therapy its blue end, around 415 to 420 nm. Some gyms and studios sell full-body red light beds; ours is a 25-minute facial treatment, and blue light can be added in the same session for breakout-prone skin.

At Melatone it is £35 for a 25-minute session, added to a facial, in Battersea SW11, 10 to 14 minutes' walk from Clapham Junction and an easy reach from Clapham, Wandsworth, Brixton and Putney. It is bookable online. There is no package to buy first: the rhythm is agreed at your first session. Prices verified 23 September 2026.

There is good evidence, especially for acne. According to published research on PubMed, a double-blind randomised trial of combined blue and red LED phototherapy reported inflammatory acne lesions reduced by 77 percent and non-inflammatory lesions by 54 percent, measured at 12 weeks after four weeks of twice-daily use (Kwon et al., 2013, doi:10.1111/bjd.12186). An older trial of red and near-infrared light reported changes in skin roughness and collagen density, but it used whole-body lamps rather than facial LED, so it is indicative, not proof (Wunsch and Matuschka, 2014, doi:10.1089/pho.2013.3616). The evidence is still developing and individual results vary.

For most people, yes. The light is visible or near-infrared, non-ionising and contains no ultraviolet, and it does not heat or break the skin. Side effects are uncommon and mild: brief redness or dryness, or a headache in people who are sensitive to bright light, which is one reason eye protection is worn throughout. We do not treat during pregnancy or while breastfeeding, and we wait if you take a medicine that makes skin light-sensitive or have a photosensitive condition. Suitability is checked at your appointment.

There is no evidence that it does. Skin cancer risk from light comes from ultraviolet, which damages DNA; LED light therapy uses visible red or blue light, sometimes with near-infrared, none of which is ultraviolet or ionising. It is also not a substitute for daily SPF. If you have a history of skin cancer, or a mole or lesion you are unsure about, tell us and see your GP before any cosmetic treatment.

Not as a routine treatment for skin quality or breakouts. NHS phototherapy is narrowband ultraviolet B, prescribed by a dermatologist for conditions such as psoriasis and eczema; it is ultraviolet, not LED, and it is not what a clinic LED session does. Red and blue LED in a clinic is a private, non-prescription cosmetic treatment.

It builds. A single session leaves skin calm and refreshed; the visible change comes over a course, not on the day. In the best acne trial the device was used for 2.5 minutes twice a day for four weeks, and the improvement was measured at 12 weeks (Kwon et al., 2013, doi:10.1111/bjd.12186). Our sessions are 25 minutes on the pod, so they do not need to be daily; we suggest a rhythm at your first session and review it. Individual results vary.

Yes. Unlike laser, LED light therapy does not target melanin, so it carries no risk of heat-related pigment change and is considered suitable across all Fitzpatrick skin types, including Fitzpatrick IV to VI. One caution: visible light at the blue end of the spectrum can deepen existing pigment in darker skin, so if you have melasma we use red light only or leave LED out of that area, and we finish with daily SPF 50 that covers visible light. At Melatone it is delivered by our facial and skin team.

Blue light (around 415 to 420 nm) targets the bacteria associated with breakouts and may help calm inflammatory acne. Red light (around 633 to 660 nm) is photobiomodulation, which may support skin quality, redness, recovery and collagen. The colour, or a combination of both, is chosen for your skin on the day.

Blue, usually combined with red. Blue light acts on the bacteria linked to breakouts; red light calms the look of redness around them. The best-quality trial used the two together (Kwon et al., 2013, doi:10.1111/bjd.12186). LED is an add-on to an acne routine, not a replacement for one: if your acne is persistent or leaving marks, an assessment with our GMC-registered Physician Associate comes first, and our acne scar treatment page explains what we do once the breakouts have settled.

None of them, and this matters in darker skin. LED does not lift pigment, and visible light at the blue end can deepen melasma in Fitzpatrick IV to VI (Mahmoud et al., 2010, doi:10.1038/jid.2010.95; Duteil et al., 2014, doi:10.1111/pcmr.12273). For pigmentation we start with SPF 50 that covers visible light, prescribed topicals and low-strength peels, and keep LED to red only, or out entirely, over melasma. Our pigmentation treatment in London page sets out the full ladder.

Those are medical skin conditions, and LED is not a treatment for them: your GP or a dermatologist is the right first call, and NHS phototherapy for psoriasis or eczema is ultraviolet, not LED. Red light may soften the look of redness in rosacea-prone skin, and we will assess that honestly rather than promise it. We do not treat over active eczema, perioral dermatitis or broken skin.

A good one can help breakout-prone skin: the strongest acne trial was a home-use blue and red device, used for 2.5 minutes twice a day for four weeks (Kwon et al., 2013, doi:10.1111/bjd.12186). Output and wavelengths vary a great deal between masks, so check for blue around 415 to 420 nm and red around 633 to 660 nm, and use the eye protection. Ask any mask for two numbers, its wavelengths and its irradiance in mW/cm²; our own pod states both (640 nm and 423 nm, 11 mW/cm²). Short daily use is how the home devices were studied; our 25-minute clinic sessions do not need to be daily. If you own a mask, tell us and we fit the clinic sessions around it.

Bare, clean skin goes under the light, and your serums and moisturiser go on afterwards, so nothing sits between the LED and your skin. There is no downtime: you can put makeup on and go straight back to your day. Eye protection is worn during the session, and daily broad spectrum SPF 50 afterwards, as always.

Topical retinoids such as tretinoin or retinal are not a bar, because LED contains no ultraviolet; if your skin is peeling or sore from one, we wait until it has settled. Medicines that make skin light-sensitive, including some antibiotics and some acne tablets, are a reason to pause, so tell us what you take. We do not treat during pregnancy or while breastfeeding. LED is light only, with no electrical current, radiofrequency or magnets, so a pacemaker is not in itself a reason to avoid it; we still record it on your consent form.

Yes, and it is one of the pairings we like: red light supports recovery and the look of calm after microneedling, and it adds nothing that irritates freshly treated skin. Your practitioner confirms timing on the day; after a stronger peel we may wait until the skin has settled.

LED is the gentlest of them and the only one that does nothing physical to the skin: no needles, no heat, no abrasion. Microneedling and peels work on texture and scarring, laser targets pigment in the hair or skin, radiofrequency heats the deeper layers, and microdermabrasion or hydradermabrasion exfoliates the surface. LED sits alongside them as a calm finish rather than competing with them. We use the Dr Pen M8s without radiofrequency, partly because heat carries a higher pigmentation risk in Fitzpatrick IV to VI.

Red and near-infrared light has been studied for thinning hair, but that is a scalp treatment with a different device, and we do not offer it. Our LED is a facial add-on. For hair loss and thinning edges, read our PRP hair treatment page or our traction alopecia page.

Gradual and modest. Over a course, breakout-prone skin tends to look calmer and less congested, and redness after other treatments settles sooner; nobody's skin is transformed by a single session. The trial figures on this page are the honest benchmark: inflammatory acne lesions down 77 percent at 12 weeks with combined blue and red LED. Individual results vary.

A non-invasive treatment that exposes the skin to specific wavelengths of light from light-emitting diodes for around 25 minutes. Red light supports the skin's own repair and the look of skin quality; blue light acts on the bacteria linked to breakouts. It does not heat or damage the skin and has no downtime, which is why it is an add-on rather than a treatment on its own.

LED light therapy is delivered by our facial and skin team, Catia Zaki, Clinic Manager, Hydrofacial and Laser Lead, and Vanessa Paz, Senior Hydrofacial Therapist, under the clinic's clinical governance.