Infrared and Skin: Friend or Foe Study Review
A new study in the Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, B: Biology 155 (2016) 78–85 titled Infrared and skin: Friend or foe has shed further "light" on the benefits of near infrared for the skin. Recently some people or studies were implying that near infrared was somehow going to harm the skin and it should be avoided. Perhaps this was a marketing ploy or perhaps it was well intentioned but any concern can and should be put to rest. Near infrared is good for the skin and for healing in general. The article explores this in depth but we are going to focus on the fascinating findings that revolve around preconditioning the skin to prevent damage by ultra violet (UV) rays.
Preconditioning is the process where the skin is exposed to certain light frequencies to trigger protective genes that protect against future UV insults. Initially this was done with UVB radiation but we know UVB is damaging in and of itself so using a damaging ray to prevent further skin damage is a bit too risky. Enter near infrared.
The authors report that "it has become apparent that visible & near infrared can also be effective if delivered to normal cells or tissue before the actual insult or trauma, in a pre-conditioning mode." They further go on to say "The process of exposing the skin to such radiation before its exposure to deleterious UVR wavelengths, closely emulates processes found in nature. This is understandable from an evolutionary standpoint since exposure to these early morning red and IR-A (near infrared) wavelengths in sunlight may ready the skin for the coming mid-day deleterious ultraviolet radiation"
What this all means is that nature has built in a protective system for us, where exposure to near infrared helps to protect us against ultraviolet damage. Fascinating. The authors then go on to report that the near infrared preconditioning also had "a SPF-15-like sun protection factor effect and a reduction in post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation were observed." This means the preconditioning with near infrared essentially worked like an SBF-15 sunscreen preventing damage and sun burns.
So what can we conclude?
The first thing is that near infrared has a natural built in positive function in skin. Preconditioning by exposure helps prevent ultraviolet damage. I did not know this and I'm pretty sure this will be new and insightful information for you.
While I haven't written about it above, the article also clearly explains that near infrared helps people with faster healing of wounds and for anti-inflammatory purposes.
Finally I think we can look at near infrared as what nature has intended for us. It is part of the grand design and perhaps has a more beneficial role than we have previously thought. Near infrared is a friend to our skin.
Lifestyle Integration
Dr Todd Lizon
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