Do antibiotics and red light mix?

Did you know that red light therapy has so many great benefits for the skin? I love this treatment because it’s low intensity, has no downtime and is very effective. So what can it do?

It can reduce wrinkles by stimulating collagen activity. That impacts scars, pock/stretch marks and acne by restructuring them and generating new fresh supple collagen via increased fibroblast activity. Red light can also reduce redness and inflammation in the skin in conditions like rosacea. On top of this it can work towards renewing the skin and erasing sun damage such as sunspots and freckles.

So what is red light therapy? It goes by several names: photobiomodulation (PBM) or low-level laser light therapy (LLLT). It uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to reach into the skin at a specific wavelength in this case between 620 and 750 nm to promote healing or collagen stimulation. It targets the mitochondria in the cells, these are the power packs of the cell that create energy and keep the cells youthful and energized.

That all sounds excellent doesn’t it? As does the fact that our Dermafrac facials involve a final step that gives you a red light treatment after the first two (cleanse, infuse) stages of Dermafrac. But red light has a short term limitation I want to tell you about.

If you’re taking antibiotics, oral or topical they can make the skin hypersensitive to light, that includes sunlight and red light. That means any treatment you have can create more inflammation and damage, that’s not what we want. It’s not all bad news though it just means that after your course of medication you’ll have to wait 10-14 days to let your skin return to its natural state. So which specific antibiotics increase light sensitivity? Great ask, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) says guilty parties are ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, levofloxacin, ofloxacin, tetracycline, trimethoprim. Amoxycillin is not known to cause sun sensitivity but to be safe you can always steer clear of a treatment if using any antibiotic.

Now you may wonder are there other medications that increase sun/light sensitivity. The short answer is yes, the longer answer is coming soon!

Come in and see us at Invigorate Advanced Aesthetics in Centennial, Colorado and get started  on a Dermafrac or Red Light Therapy routine.