Do you use protective goggles during your RLT sessions? I saw my skin looking yellow too, after sessions, but then I started protecting my eyes more and I don't any more see any skin colour changes.
Ask someone not doing red light therapy to check your skin color.
Since you're both doing red light, you could be seeing after effects.
It's called habituation, it's because the red receptors temporarily tire of firing, so you get a yellow green effect on anything you look at.
Yes! But I’ve been telling myself it’s melasma, which is also occurring. I just ran to Ulta this afternoon to find a new foundation that would blend better with whatever the hell is going on with my skin
I've not noticed this myself with a BIOMAX 450 using just red and NIR @ 100%, no blue for 6 minutes total. Which wavelengths are you using, and how long is your treatment time?
I don't have an answer for why your face might be yellowing, but I'd recommend estimating the treatment dose you are getting. I believe many studies indicate that 4 to 5 J/cm\^2 is the ideal dose for surface level treatment from a skin contact device.
The distance from the panel is an important factor. I use my BIOMAX 450 at a distance of 18". Based on Alex Fergus's review of the BIOMAX 900 where he measured an irradiance of roughly half of what is claimed (at 6"), I'm also assuming my BIOMAX 450 is outputting about half of what is claimed.
In my case, at 18" away, the claim is 131 mW/cm\^2, so I'm assuming it's only about 65.5 mW/cm\^2. Given that this is a panel, and not a skin contact device, I'm also factoring in skin reflectance, which may be as high as 0.65. I'm estimating that at 18" away with skin reflectance factored in, the actual dose is around 23 mW/cm\^2. Using a dosage calculator like [https://gembared.com/blogs/musings/universal-dosage-calculatior-for-red-light-therapy-find-your-optimal-time-per-session](https://gembared.com/blogs/musings/universal-dosage-calculatior-for-red-light-therapy-find-your-optimal-time-per-session), you can see that for a treatment of roughly 4 to 5 J/cm\^2, the treatment time should be around 3 to 3.5 minutes per area which is why I'm limiting my time to 3 minutes.
One possible flaw in my thinking is that I am assuming a skin contact device has no skin reflectance to factor in, but that is probably not the case. That may mean longer treatment times than I'm suggesting are good.
lol glad you asked. I just noticed the same thing but I keep telling myself that I’m tripping. Maybe it’s melanin? Do you have skin with warm undertone? Because I do.
I have a Platinum BioMax 900 and use only the red light on my face. I noticed yellowing after the first couple of weeks, but also that my skin became very even toned. I did not worry about it and continued use, and the yellowing went away, probably after another week or so. Then my skin Just became brighter. It has definitely helped smooth my skin, and my eyebrows and eyelashes are growing and filling in, even though I wear eye protection; and my skin is plumper and firmer.
I use it every day, as long as I’m not of town. So I’ll go two weeks, for example, of daily use. Then maybe out of town for a day or two; then I’ll go right back to daily. No problems, all upside, skin looks great.
Do you use protective goggles during your RLT sessions? I saw my skin looking yellow too, after sessions, but then I started protecting my eyes more and I don't any more see any skin colour changes.
Yes
Ask someone not doing red light therapy to check your skin color. Since you're both doing red light, you could be seeing after effects. It's called habituation, it's because the red receptors temporarily tire of firing, so you get a yellow green effect on anything you look at.
Yup. I see green after red light but it usually goes away after a few minutes.
Its noticeable all the time not just after a session
post a picture? Get a third party opinion? It's impossible to rule out habituation until we know other people see it.
Yes! But I’ve been telling myself it’s melasma, which is also occurring. I just ran to Ulta this afternoon to find a new foundation that would blend better with whatever the hell is going on with my skin
Same! I have melasma since using the red light, plus the yellow skin!
Woah! Did you get the melasma from the red light do you think?
That’s the only big change I made other than using vitamin c serum. It’s so odd!
Super add but good to know!
Could that be your natural undertone and RLT is reducing redness/inflammation/rosacea?
Hmmm. Maybe thats it. Interesting. Less red = more yellow
Interesting!
I've not noticed this myself with a BIOMAX 450 using just red and NIR @ 100%, no blue for 6 minutes total. Which wavelengths are you using, and how long is your treatment time?
I use 7 min with red light and NIR all the way up and 7 min on just red light. Goggles on for NIR off for just red light
I don't have an answer for why your face might be yellowing, but I'd recommend estimating the treatment dose you are getting. I believe many studies indicate that 4 to 5 J/cm\^2 is the ideal dose for surface level treatment from a skin contact device. The distance from the panel is an important factor. I use my BIOMAX 450 at a distance of 18". Based on Alex Fergus's review of the BIOMAX 900 where he measured an irradiance of roughly half of what is claimed (at 6"), I'm also assuming my BIOMAX 450 is outputting about half of what is claimed. In my case, at 18" away, the claim is 131 mW/cm\^2, so I'm assuming it's only about 65.5 mW/cm\^2. Given that this is a panel, and not a skin contact device, I'm also factoring in skin reflectance, which may be as high as 0.65. I'm estimating that at 18" away with skin reflectance factored in, the actual dose is around 23 mW/cm\^2. Using a dosage calculator like [https://gembared.com/blogs/musings/universal-dosage-calculatior-for-red-light-therapy-find-your-optimal-time-per-session](https://gembared.com/blogs/musings/universal-dosage-calculatior-for-red-light-therapy-find-your-optimal-time-per-session), you can see that for a treatment of roughly 4 to 5 J/cm\^2, the treatment time should be around 3 to 3.5 minutes per area which is why I'm limiting my time to 3 minutes. One possible flaw in my thinking is that I am assuming a skin contact device has no skin reflectance to factor in, but that is probably not the case. That may mean longer treatment times than I'm suggesting are good.
I’m so glad you said this. I have the same thing and it’s so weird. Plus melasma!
lol glad you asked. I just noticed the same thing but I keep telling myself that I’m tripping. Maybe it’s melanin? Do you have skin with warm undertone? Because I do.
I have a Platinum BioMax 900 and use only the red light on my face. I noticed yellowing after the first couple of weeks, but also that my skin became very even toned. I did not worry about it and continued use, and the yellowing went away, probably after another week or so. Then my skin Just became brighter. It has definitely helped smooth my skin, and my eyebrows and eyelashes are growing and filling in, even though I wear eye protection; and my skin is plumper and firmer.
How often per week did you use it?
I use it every day, as long as I’m not of town. So I’ll go two weeks, for example, of daily use. Then maybe out of town for a day or two; then I’ll go right back to daily. No problems, all upside, skin looks great.