The MMSphere 2 Go Now at BACD: The Best LED At-Home Light Therapy
5/26/2022
BACD has offered LED light therapies in our clinic for years.
We know first-hand how effective LED can be at reducing downtime from in-office treatments, preventing breakouts, soothing rosacea and helping to build collagen. We often include free LED treatment after procedures such as Fraxel laser resurfacing and are continually amazed by the accelerated healing time these painless lights provide.
In the past, we've relied on the PolyGO hand-held device and our acne patients (especially teens) have loved how much of a reduction they see in breakouts. Now, with the plethora of light masks available, we’ve wanted to upgrade our options for at-home treatments.
But I've delayed bringing on one of these new LED devices for a few reasons:
1) The masks you may have noticed all over social media just aren't realistic for most of our lifestyles - Who has time to lay down for 30 minutes in the middle of their day? Not me!
2) The masks tend to only offer 1-2 different colors meaning they have limited treatment options.
3) While we know LED therapy is effective, very specific wavelengths are necessary and I need clinical -studies. Many of the masks on the market don't come with either.
This is why I am so excited to now offer the MMSphere 2 GO!
Developed by my esteemed colleague Dr. Ellen Marmur of Marmur Medical in NYC, this device is clinically-proven for a huge variety of skin care concerns. Dr. Marmur put a lot of thought into the MMSphere and it shows. Some of my favorite things about this particular device:
• 5 Colors of Lights = Many Uses (more about that below). I don't have time or energy for single use devices.
• Specific wavelengths. Many of the facial masks on the market today simply use colored bulbs (akin to Christmas lights) which have zero efficacy. The science Dr. Marmur based her specific wavelengths and colors on is extensive (scroll to bottom of article or full list)
• Easy to be consistent. Like most skincare, LED is only effective when used consistently. I wanted something that I knew would be easy to use every day. To start we recommend 20 minutes, 3x a week but your provider may adjust based on your specific skincare concerns.
• Busy schedule? Set up the MMSphere on your Peloton or treadmill and treat while you exercise. Or use it while you're on your computer. As long as you're 1-2 feet of the device, you'll receive a treatment for your face, neck and chest all at the same time. Dr. Marmur specifically used frosted bulbs so you don't need to use the included goggles unless you have very sensitive eyes.
• Can be used by the whole family! Teen suffering with acne? Set up the light while they knock out homework. Little one who has a hard time winding down at night? Turn on the amber light while reading @ bedtime.
• The battery is rechargeable AND replaceable which was very important to me. I don't want a device that's going to quickly end up in a landfill.
• Comes with a 30-day guarantee and (1) year warranty.
Read more about the benefits of each wavelengths below and as always, if you have any questions please reach out to my team.
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RECOMMENDED FOR: For anti-aging and relaxation.
Red light stimulates collagen production which in turn minimizes fine lines and wrinkles. It calms inflammation triggered by rosacea, acne, and any underlying stressors. This specific wavelength also has tremendous benefits for restless sleepers and insomniacs alike, and its efficacy is backed by NASA-based science.
Dial 3 Heartbeat Red - designed to relax and calm you. The pulsing heart beat is half of a normal heart rate and promotes a restful night's sleep.
Dial 4 Mellow Red - use for evening treatments or in a dark room to accommodate for low light. Designed with sensitive eyes in mind.
Dial 5 Bright Red - use for day treatments in bright well lit areas that are flooded with natural or artificial light.
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RECOMMENDED FOR: For oily and acne-prone skin.
Blue light helps decrease acne-causing bacteria on the skin. Also known to improve alertness and memory based on academic studies.
Dial 1 Mellow Blue - use in low/dim light setting to accommodate for low light. Designed with sensitive eyes in mind.
Dial 2 Bright Blue - use in well-lit areas with natural or artificial light.
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RECOMMENDED FOR: Combination skin.
This regal setting works by decreasing acne bacteria while stimulating collagen production to fight wrinkles (blue + red combined). Purple is a great time saver for those who could benefit from individual blue and red light sessions.
Dial 6 Purple - developed for multitaskers, any time of the day.
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RECOMMENDED FOR: For any skin type.
The green setting truly sets the MM Sphere apart from other LED home tools due to its rarity on a device. This rejuvenating wavelength works by directing its power to the first layer of the epidermis. This is where broken capillaries, hyperpigmentation, and uneven skin tone is born and subsequently rescued by the green setting.
Even out your complexion for 20 minutes a day, 3 times a week, as the wavelength works to block an excess amount of melanocytes from building up to the top layer of the epidermis. Universally, green is your go-to for brightening, fading melasma and sun damage, waking up the skin and preparing in the best possible way for an amazing day.
Dial 7 Mellow Green - can be used in dark lit settings to accommodate surroundings. Designed with sensitive eyes in mind.
Dial 8 Bright Green - use in bright natural and artificial light.
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RECOMMENDED FOR: For any skin type.
The amber wavelength on the MM Sphere may just be the most underrated setting. The color has the ability to increase the circulation of oxygen-rich blood to our cells, thereby boosting our skin's *~glow factor~*. Additionally, the amplification of endorphins and the surge of positive neurotransmitters strengthens the function and capabilities of the microbiome, which we all know is our skin's best friend.
On a more scientific level, these processes take place in the light receptors on our cells, which in turn stimulate the anti-aging benefits of this setting on a much larger scale. Use for mood boosting as needed and enjoy reaping the skin benefits as a bonus.
Clinical Study Links:
Blue Light Therapy:
* Blue light photodynamic therapy can treat acne by reducing bacteria in the skin. This treatment is also effective against actinic keratoses, rough patches of skin that may develop into cancer. To treat actinic keratoses, the dermatologist applies a medication to the skin and uses blue light to destroy precancerous skin lesions while leaving healthy skin unharmed." https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/conditions-services/dermatology/treatments-and-services/light-therapy
* "Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) is a gram-positive bacterium involved in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris.2 In-vitro studies have demonstrated that blue light is effective for treating P. acnes because it produces the strongest photoactivation of endogenous porphyrins through a process known as endogenous photodynamic therapy (PDT). The result is free radical formation and destruction of the P. acnes cell membrane."
* Phototherapy with Light Emitting Diodes: Treating a Broad Range of Medical and Aesthetic Conditions in Dermatology by GLYNIS ABLON, MD, FAAD (2018).: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5843358/pdf/jcad_11_2_21.pdf
* Chellappa SL, Steiner R, Blattner P, Oelhafen P, Go¨tz T, et al. (2011) Non-Visual Effects of Light on Melatonin, Alertness and Cognitive Performance: Can Blue-Enriched Light Keep Us Alert? PLoS ONE 6(1): e16429. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0016429
-Experiment involving exposure of 3 different wavelengths of blue fluorescent light, over the course of study melatonin was decreased and patients had increased alertness and cognitive performance.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3027693/
* Nam, A, et al. A efficacy and safety of 660 nm and 411 to 777 nm light-emitting deices for treating wrinkles. Dermatol Surg. 43(3):371-80, 2017.
* Nikolis, A, et al. A randomized, placebo-controlled, single-blinded, split-faced clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of KLOX-001 gel formulation with KLOX light-emitting diode light on facial rejuvenation. Clin Cosmet Invest Dermatol. 9:115-25, 2016
* Nikolis, A, et al. An extension of a multicenter, randomized, split-face clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of chromophore gel-assisted blue light phototherapy for the treatment of acne. Int J Dermatol, 57(1):94-103, 2018.
* Antonious, C, et al. A multicenter, randomized, split-face clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of chromophore gel-assistant blue light phototherapy for the treatment of acne. Int J Dermatol, 55(12):1321-8.
* Bagherani, N. Efficacy of blue light in treatment of acne. Dermatol Ther. 29(3):210, 2016.
* Gold, MH, et al. Clinical and usability study to determine the safety and efficacy of the Silk'n Blue Device for the treatment of mild to moderate inflammatory acne vulgaris. J Cosmet Laser Ther. 16(3):108-13, 2014.
* Kwon, HH, et al. The clinical and histological effect of home use, combination blue-red LED phototherapy for mild-to-moderate acne vulgaris in Korean patients: a double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Br J Dermatol. 168(5)1088-94, 2013.
* Wheeland, RG, et al. Safety and effectiveness of a new blue light device for the self-treatment of mild-to-moderate acne. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 5(5):25-31, 2012.
* Gold, MH, et al. Clinical efficacy of a home-use blue-light therapy for mild-to-moderate acne. J Cosmet Laser Ther. 13(6):308-14, 2011.
* Wheeland, RG, et al. Evaluation of self-treatment of mild-to-moderate facial acne with a blue light treatment system. J Drugs Dermatol, 10(6):596-602, 2011.
* Sadick, N. A study to determine the effect of combination blue (415 nm) and near-infrared (830 nm) light-emitting diode (LED) therapy for moderate acne vulgaris. J Cosmet Laser Ther. 11(2):125-8, 2009.
* Gold MH, et al. Self-diagnosis of mild-to-moderate acne for self-treatment with blue light therapy. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2(4):40-4, 2009.
* Glickman, G, et al. Light therapy for seasonal affective disorder with blue narrow-band light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Biological Psychiatry. 59(6): 502-7, 2006.
* Acute exposure to blue wavelength light during memory consolidation improves verbal memory performance: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5602660/
Red Light Therapy:
* "FLE reduced inflammatory lesions and associated redness in the representative acne patient. Following the resolution of inflammation there was an overall enhancement of the skin's texture. FLE enhanced collagen production from nonstressed HDF cells, decreased the inflammatory profile of HDF and HEK cells, and enhanced angiogenesis in HAE cells. FLE is capable of enhancing collagen production, modulating cutaneous inflammation, and encouraging angiogenesis." FLUORESCENT LIGHT ENERGY: The Future for Treating Inflammatory Skin Conditions? J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2019 May;12(5):E61-E68. Epub 2019 May 1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31320979
* "Psoriasis- In the United States, the incidence of psoriasis in adults has been increasing from 50.8/100,000 during the 1970s to 100.5/100,000 during the 1990s.18 Overall patient satisfaction was very high. Protoporphyrin present in psoriatic skin apparently acts as a photosensitizer. A subsequent study further demonstrated the beneficial effects of phototherapy for treating psoriasis." Phototherapy with Light Emitting Diodes: Treating a Broad Range of Medical and Aesthetic Conditions in Dermatology. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2018 Feb;11(2):21-27. Epub 2018 Feb 1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29552272
* “Participants reported improved sleep, and fewer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, if present. Participants and family reported better ability to perform social, interpersonal, and occupational functions.” Naeser, MA, et al. Significant improvements in cognitive performance post-transcranial, red/near-infrared light-emitting diode treatments in chronic, mild traumatic brain injury: open-protocol study. J Neurotrauma. 31(11):1008-17, 2014. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24568233
* “Improves muscular performance and accelerates recovery mainly when applied before exercise.” Leal-Junior, ECP, et al. Effect of phototherapy (low-level laser therapy and light-emitting diode therapy) on exercise performance and markers of exercise recovery: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Lasers in Med Sci. 30(2):925-39, 2015. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24249354
* “promotes attentional performance as an important cognitive function” Moghadam, HS, et al. Beneficial effects of transcranial light emitting diode (LED) therapy on attentional performance: an experimental design. Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal. 19(5):2074-1804, 2017. https://sites.kowsarpub.com/ircmj/articles/14985.html
* Whelan, H. T., Smits, R. L., Jr, Buchman, E. V., Whelan, N. T., Turner, S. G., Margolis, D. A., Cevenini, V., Stinson, H., Ignatius, R., Martin, T., Cwiklinski, J., Philippi, A. F., Graf, W. R., Hodgson, B., Gould, L., Kane, M., Chen, G., & Caviness, J. (2001). Effect of NASA light-emitting diode irradiation on wound healing. Journal of clinical laser medicine & surgery, 19(6), 305–314. https://doi.org/10.1089/104454701753342758
* de Souza, T. O., Mesquita, D. A., Ferrari, R. A., Dos Santos Pinto, D., Jr, Correa, L., Bussadori, S. K., Fernandes, K. P., & Martins, M. D. (2011). Phototherapy with low-level laser affects the remodeling of types I and III collagen in skeletal muscle repair. Lasers in medical science, 26(6), 803–814. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-011-0951-9
* Heiskanen, V., & Hamblin, M. R. (2018). Photobiomodulation: lasers vs. light emitting diodes?. Photochemical & photobiological sciences : Official journal of the European Photochemistry Association and the European Society for Photobiology, 17(8), 1003–1017. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8pp90049c
Purple Light Therapy:
* Since it had been demonstrated that phototherapy with combined blue and red light could achieve even greater efficacy in the treatment of acne,6 an open-label study was designed to assess the efficacy of combining 415nm blue light and 633nm red light for treating subjects with mild-to-moderate facial acne.
* Phototherapy with Light Emitting Diodes: Treating a Broad Range of Medical and Aesthetic Conditions in Dermatology by GLYNIS ABLON, MD, FAAD (2018).: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5843358/pdf/jcad_11_2_21.pdf
* Combination blue and red LED therapy appears to have excellent potential in the treatment of mild to severe acne. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16766484
* Other lights of interest include purple light, which acts as a powerful anti-acne and anti-aging agent; https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-LED-Therapy.aspx
* “Purple combines the calm stability of blue and the fierce energy of red. The color purple is often associated with royalty, nobility, luxury, power, and ambition. Purple also represents meanings of wealth, extravagance, creativity, wisdom, dignity, grandeur, devotion, peace, pride, mystery, independence, and magic. The color purple has a variety of effects on the mind and body, including uplifting spirits, calming the mind and nerves…” https://www.bourncreative.com/meaning-of-the-color-purple/
* Kwon, HH, et al. The clinical and histological effect of home use, combination blue-red LED phototherapy for mild-to-moderate acne vulgaris in Korean patients: a double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Br J Dermatol. 168(5)1088-94, 2013.
* Sadick, N. A study to determine the effect of combination blue (415 nm) and near-infrared (830 nm) light-emitting diode (LED) therapy for moderate acne vulgaris. J Cosmet Laser Ther. 11(2):125-8, 2009.
Green Light Therapy:
* Green light is effective for reducing migraines -- "Meanwhile, Mohab M. Ibrahim, MD, director of the pain management clinic at University of Arizona, is focusing the bulk of his research on green light, which has a slightly longer wavelength than blue, for chronic pain. His research has shown that when rats are exposed to green LED light through the retina, it boosts production of natural painkillers called enkephalins in the spinal cord."
* Testing the Healing Potential of Light by Lisa Marshall (Sept 2017) - https://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/news/20170913/new-uses-for-light-therapy
* "Green light is found at the center of the visible spectrum, bringing balance and calm to the skin and reducing redness. The calming effect also has anti-inflammatory properties and can even help reduce hyper-pigmentation."
* https://www.myskinbuddy.com/the-science/
* https://aahlight.com/green-light-therapy/
* https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/beauty/skincare/what-are-led-light-therapies-and-do-they-work-16104
Amber Light Therapy:
* Desan PH, Weinstein AJ, Michalak EE, Tam M.E, et al. (2007) A controlled trial of the Litebook light-emitting diode(LED) light therapy device for treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) BMC Psychiatry 2007. Doi:10.1186/147-244X/7/38
-Experiment involving LED device producing white light with combined wavelengths to treat SADs.Patientce exposed with Litebook for 30min every morning prior to 8am x 4 weeks. Participants experienced less SADs symptoms at the completion of the study. https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-244X-7-38
* Giulani A, Lorenzini L, Gallamini M, Masella A, Giardino L, et al. (2009) Low infrared laser light irradiation on cultured neural cells: effects on mitochondria and cell viability after oxidative stress
-experiment involving mouse neural cells exposed to 670nm red light.
-cells were also exposed to H2O2(oxidative stress)
-red light encourages growth of axons and lamina collagen
-early exposure to red light protected neural cells after being exposed to peroxide.
https://bmccomplementalternmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6882-9-8
* Meesters Y, Winthorst WH, Duijzer WB, Hommes V. The effects of low-intensity narrow-band blue-light treatment compared to bright white-light treatment in sub-syndromal seasonal affective disorder. BMC Psychiatry. 2016;16:27. doi:10.1186/s12888-016-0729-5.
* -48 participants, self administered white light or blue light every morning for 20 min.
* participants completed a questionnaire concerning mood, sleepiness and quality of sleep
* results provide evidence that pts treated with blue light were happier than the group treated with white light
* headaches and nausea were side effects experienced by 9% and 8% of participants in the white light and blue light group respectively.
* The differences in the effects of white light versus blue light were comparable but not highly significant https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-016-0729-5#Bib1
* Revell VL, Molina TA, Eastman CI. Human phase response curve to intermittent blue light using a commercially available device. The Journal of Physiology. 2012;590(Pt 19):4859-4868. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2012.235416.
* 54 participants exposed to Blue light @ various times 1x a day for 3 days patients were exposed to Blue light 3 different times for 30 min within 2 hrs. Control group exposed to dim light before bed every night.
* Study performed to determine the effects of Blue Light on the circadian Rhythm
* Patients were monitored and observed in a clinical setting saliva samples collected to measure melatonin at baseline and afterlight administration
* Results provide evidence that blue light encouraged dim light melatonin onset(DMLO)
* Intermittent exposure of Blue light during the day can have an effect on the circadian rhythm
* Exposure to blue light LED can have effects comparable to taking melatonin supplements https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3487041/
* Calming redness & fighting crow's feet https://medicalnewsbulletin.com/red-amber-phototherapy-skin-rejuvenation/
* "Amber light therapy helps to flush waste from the skin, boost lymphatic flow and increase cellular growth.
The skin effects are boosted when used in combination with red light therapy." https://andymillward-facialist.co.uk/skin-benefits-of-led-light-therapy/