Blue Light for Breakouts: What the Evidence Says

Blue light is the wavelength sold for blemish-prone skin. Of all the LED applications, this one has the most systematic evidence behind it, and the reviewers are still careful about it.

What the systematic reviews concluded

A systematic review and meta-analysis in Annals of Family Medicine in 2019 pooled the trials of blue-light therapy for acne and found evidence of benefit, while noting that the studies were generally small and at risk of bias (Scott, 2019). A 2021 systematic review in Sensors reached a similar conclusion (Diogo, 2021). Both are worth reading in full if you are about to spend money on a device.

Home devices, specifically

Home use has been studied directly. A trial in the British Journal of Dermatology examined a home-use combination blue and red LED device and reported both clinical and histological findings (Kwon, 2013), and a 2011 trial looked at home-use blue light for mild to moderate acne (Gold, 2011). A 2022 trial compared red against blue light for mild-to-moderate acne head to head (Li, 2022).

The honest summary

Blue light appears to help mild to moderate acne. It is not a replacement for prescription treatment in moderate to severe acne, and if your skin is painful, scarring or not responding, that is a conversation with a doctor rather than a purchase. We are a shop with a treatment room, and this is the line we hold.