Infrared Laser therapy 101: Everything You Need to Know

Photo of assorted light strips

Infrared light is such a powerful technology that it is used in many, many therapies to heal. A big form of laser therapy that we’re fans of: treating chronic pain. 

According to the National Institute of Health, pain is the most common reason for physician consultation in the United States. Approximately one out of three Americans is affected by chronic pain annually. 

How crazy is it that we’re all living with some level of chronic pain? It’s so common to reach for ibuprofen after that hard workout or to think you can just live with a few chronic aches. We’ve all been there, right? But, there’s a natural, effective way to promote healing: laser therapy. 

Laser therapy, sometimes known as cold laser therapy, low-level laser therapy, or near-infrared therapy, is growing in popularity as a low-risk, effective way to treat pain. Light therapy has been shown over the course of 40 years to reduce inflammation, induce analgesia (pain relief), and promote healing. 

Laser therapy uses the same technology that’s in our HigherDOSE infrared saunas – just at a different frequency. Here’s what you need to know about Laser therapy and how it can help your body recover from pain.

What is light therapy?

Laser therapy uses light-emitting diodes or low-level lasers to scan the body and promote healing. Light at red and near-infrared wavelengths is applied to your skin and shown to help reduce wrinkles, acne scars, and heal burns. 

Low-level laser therapy can also be used to decrease pain and inflammation, as well as prevent tissue damage. “The technique is called “cold” laser therapy because the low levels of light aren’t enough to heat your body’s tissue. The level of light is low when compared to other forms of laser therapy, such as those used to destroy tumors and coagulate tissue,” writes Healthline.

Some forms of light therapy have also shown to make a difference in seasonal affective disorder – the winter blues! The effect of light therapy mimics the feeling of stepping out into bright sunshine. Getting that extra dose of light can help lighten your mood, get better sleep, and keep you going during those cold winter months. 

Low-level laser therapy is shown to help treat: 

  • Minor injuries (incl. Knee pain, lower back pain, muscle strains)
  • Swelling and inflammation
  • Acute and chronic pain
  • Skin rejuvenation, including acne and psoriasis
  • Treat difficult-to-heal wounds
  • Have a similar effect as acupuncture

How long does laser therapy take to work?

For those doing light therapy to mitigate the effects of seasonal affective disorder, light therapy works best over time and with consistent sessions. Most experts recommend setting a therapy schedule and sticking to it! 

Cold laser therapy is similar in that its efficacy depends on the dosage, wavelength, duration, and where on the body the lasers do their work. At HigherDOSE, our saunas are full-spectrum, offering a dose of near-infrared light for your whole body targeting pain throughout the body. Get excited: we’re also going to be launching a Red Light mask that combines near-infrared light with red LED light to boost collagen production, reduce inflammation, and decrease fine lines/wrinkles. It’s going to make a HUGE difference in your wellness routine! 

The best option: HigherDOSE offers low-level laser therapy with chromotherapy, color therapy that uses the science of colors to adjust body vibrations to frequencies that promote health and harmony. Just one session can leave you feeling energized and stimulate the production of collagen in skin cells.

What are the side effects of laser therapy?

Light therapy can make you feel stronger, lift your mood, and improve your skin, but it doesn’t treat every condition. The NIH does not recommend cold laser therapy for certain conditions (such as cancer), but there are no side effects shown when the therapy is used as intended. 

Cold therapy has been around for so many decades and is proven to support pain management. If you’re trying to manage inflammation, repair an old sports injury, or just seeking to help your body relax amidst pandemic stress, a dose of laser therapy might be just the thing you need.  

Test out laser therapy at one of our NYC spas and keep an eye on our Instagram page for more about the new Red Light mask we’re hoping to release soon!

About the Author

Lauren Berlingeri is dedicated to inspiring others through fitness and naturally-healthy lifestyle practices. After launching her career as an international model, Berlingeri went on to star in her own show, “Women vs. Workout”—grossing over 15 million views and receiving a Webby Award nomination for Best Host. This experience led to extreme sports hosting for brands such as UFC, EA Sports, and IMG. Having cemented her name within the fitness industry, Berlingeri decided to expand her expertise, earning a holistic nutritionist and health coach certification at The Institute of Integrative Nutrition. Her venture into the health and wellness startup spectrum began in 2014 as one of the first creative minds at Aloha.com—doing product development, leading the brand ambas-sador program, and brand partnerships. Lauren discovered the power of Infrared technology — specifically Infrared saunas — and saw an opportunity to bring the biohacking tool to the masses. Since co-founding HigherDOSE with Katie Kaps, the wellness brand has experienced meteoric success, boiling down to a true revolutionization of the spa business. Creating all the initial Forbes, branding themselves and even acting as models in their first campaigns, the brand exploded, leading the way to at-home sauna systems that thrived during the pandemic. As a female biohacker and mother of twins, Lauren brings a fresh perspective to a space that has been dominated by male voices from its inception, making it HigherDOSE’s core mission to educate women about their bio-individuality and give them the tools they need to reach their own best selves, with content designed to educate people on how to take control of their own wellness regimens.

Lauren Berlingeri

About the Author

What do the San Francisco Marathon, Tough Mudder, and infrared technology pioneer HigherDOSE all have in common? The brilliant entrepreneurial mindset of Katie Kaps. After graduating magna cum laude from Georgetown, Katie studied at The London School of Economics, and was a Consumer/Retail investment banker at Merrill Lynch before being recruited to be the marketing and business mind behind the San Francisco Marathon. Following the SF marathon, Katie joined Tough Mudder and helped grow the business from $10 million to $150 million in revenue by the time she left. There she did strategy, new business development, and managed the international expansion team, and was proud to be named international employee of the year in 2013. Katie and Lauren started HigherDOSE with humble roots in Alchemist Kitchen and quickly scaling the business through strategic hospitality partnerships, amassing a cult-like following of celebrities and athletes. In addition to pioneering a ‘space within a space’ model with existing brick and mortar locations like Equinox and 11 Howard (creating a minimum viable product for retail), Katie turned HigherDOSE into an 8-figure startup with only 4 employees, in addition to pivoting to being a product-focused company during the pandemic at lightning speed. HigherDOSE has now expanded their offerings into topicals and ingestibles and Katie and Lauren have starred in their very own “Bio-HackHers” YouTube series, cementing her foothold as a woman leading the wellness industry to a new frontier.

Katie Kaps