How people get it: In clinics, or with home devices such as masks and panels.
The basics
What it is
Low-level laser or LED therapy, called LLLT, has been described as a treatment option for hair loss (alopecia).
What the research has found so far
- The same review said more studies are needed to understand how well it works for other types of hair loss.
- A review of trials found that low-level laser therapy reduced pain and disability in lower leg tendon problems and plantar fasciitis (heel pain) in the short and medium term.
- That review said long-term data were not available and some uncertainty about the size of the effect remains.
Sources: PubMed abstract: Low-Level Laser and LED Therapy in Alopecia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. ↗ · PubMed abstract: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
Small trials for skin, of mixed quality.
On Red light therapy and aging, PubMed lists 103 trials in people, 112 studies that watched people over time, 38 animal and lab studies. See the counts and searches
Stage 3 because 10 large randomized trials in people for aging or skin and hair have been published.
A stage shows how far research has got, not whether it will work for you. How stages work
Side effects and risks
A review of trials in tendon and foot pain reported no adverse events.
What studies and labels describe
What studies or labels describe, not a recommendation.
A review of hair loss studies looked at treatment lasting 4 to 26 weeks. A review of tendon and foot pain trials grouped studies by doses based on World Association for Laser Therapy recommendations.
Sources: PubMed abstract: Low-Level Laser and LED Therapy in Alopecia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. ↗ · PubMed abstract: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
Roughly what it costs
The one product we list that contains Red light therapy costs $395, as read from the makers' pages. See the products
Questions to ask your doctor
- Is Red light therapy a sensible option for me, given my health and the medicines I take?
- Could Red light therapy interact with any medicine or supplement I already take?
- What side effects should I watch for, and when should I stop or call you?
- How would we tell whether it is helping, and when should we review it?
This is general information gathered from the sources listed, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before starting anything new.
Products that contain it
Read from each maker's page. The research stage is for the ingredient, not proof that a product works.
What experts say
No expert views collected yet. Each one we add names the person and links to where they said it.
Recent research
New studies that mention Red light therapy appear here after the morning update.
Trials
ClinicalTrials.gov lists 419 registered trials that mention Red light therapy, for any condition (the count in The science below). Here we show the ones about aging. See them all ↗
The science
Counted from PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov on Oct 17, 2026, using one search for Red light therapy in relation to aging. Each link opens the exact search.
- Randomized trials in people
- 64 search ↗
- Large trials (multicenter or phase 3)
- 5 search ↗
- Phase 3 trials
- 0 search ↗
- Trials in people
- 103 search ↗
- Studies that watched people over time
- 112 search ↗
- Animal and lab studies
- 38 search ↗
- Registered trials
- 419 search ↗
PubMed search used
(photobiomodulation[tiab] OR "red light"[tiab] OR "low-level light therapy"[tiab] OR "low-level laser therapy"[tiab] OR "Low-Level Light Therapy"[mh]) AND (photoaging[tiab] OR "skin aging"[tiab] OR "skin ageing"[tiab] OR photodamage[tiab] OR "Skin Aging"[mh] OR wrinkle*[tiab] OR rejuvenation[tiab])
Counts are search results, so they include some records that only mention Red light therapy. How we count