Answering your questions about Dermalux Flex

Can you really rejuvenate your skin, at home, with nothing more than light? That’s the headline-hitting claims of the Dermalux Flex, but how does it actually work, how much does it cost, and who is it suitable/not suitable for? Alice spoke to Louise Taylor, one of the co-founders of Aesthetic Technology, which originally made the Dermalux in the UK, to answer all these questions and more.

Firstly, a quick refresher: what is the Dermalux Flex MD?

The Dermalux Flex is the most powerful LED device available for use at home. In fact, it is a type of LED light technology that can be used in clinics too. The promises sound great: using its combination of collagen-boosting red light, acne bacteria-tackling blue light and healing near-infrared light, it aims to improve your overall skin quality, including reducing the appearance of wrinkles, redness and breakouts.

For anyone a little cynical, Alice has seen the results from it firsthand, after first testing it during the first UK Covid-19 lockdown. You can read her full Dermalux Flux review here, which she reports it having “made a massive, measurable improvement in my skin.”

For some of you, that might be enough to click ‘add to basket’, and we have our 20% off discount right now (so there’s no better time): Dermalux Flex MD, £1599, SHOP NOW

But, if you want a little more information, watch or read Alice’s interview with Louise below…

When was Dermalux invented?

“Dermalux is a brand we started in 2012,” explains Taylor, who, before that, was involved in her own clinic with co-founder Huw Anthony. “I’ve always been a fan of light therapy and we saw a gap for a non-invasive, results-driven treatment that could be integrated into clinical treatments and also be used in a home environment. LED wasn’t around in the same way that it is today; there wasn’t the choice of devices or options, and I don’t think there was the same level of education, so we saw all the potential benefits in our own clinic, and that’s sort of kick-started it.”

How does LED light therapy work?

“Light is an energy and the principle of light therapy is that we’re delivering very specific light energy or wavelengths or colours of light into the skin,” explains Taylor. “Each different wavelength is absorbed by a very specific target, which then triggers a very specific cellular response. That means what we can treat with light therapy is really determined by the wavelengths, specification and power of the device that you’re using.”

Why does Dermalux use red, blue and near-infrared LED light therapy?

“The three wavelengths that we use in Dermalux are red light, blue light and near-infrared light,” reveals Taylor. “Internationally, these have the most clinical data to support them.”

Blue light: more superficial and really helps with acne treatments.

Red light: is absorbed right into the dermis, into the heart of the cell and really kick-starts the energy of the cells so we’re triggering things like collagen and elastin and helping the cell turn over.

Near-infrared: is absorbed much deeper, we call it the “wound healing wavelength”, so it’s very good for your sensitised skins, bringing down inflammation, and for rejuvenation.

Combinations: Alice used the near-infrared and the red light together for an energising effect, which is good for promoting collagen and elastin growth and hydration. She also noticed an improvement in the clarity of her skin, with the device taking down skin redness even in half an hour. “You think ‘wow, okay, that’s clearly different’,” she explains.

Why does Dermalux use specific wavelengths – and how important is it compared to ‘power’?

“It’s all about the wavelength matching the target in the skin,” explains Taylor. “It’s a bit like a magnet – they’ve got to match together, otherwise you’re not going to get the optimum absorption, and you’re not going to see the same result. Wavelength is the number one parameter for the results of phototherapy, and then the next is power. Power is important, but power is a factor of time, so we can just do longer treatments or more treatments to see the same or similar results (with a lower-powered device).”

Why can Dermalux confidently claim to help with wound healing and acne?

It’s because it is a certified medical technology – not just an off-the-shelf mask: “Being a medical device means that we can treat medical indications, such as acne, wound healing, psoriasis, and offer pain relief, as well as cosmetic indications like rejuvenation, pigmentation, and more sensitised skins,” details Collins. “We can not only treat a wide range of conditions, but the device is clinically proven to do so. That’s supported by our own evidence and also by independent clinical data. Not that many LED devices on the market are medically certified and go through the testing that we’ve had to go through to get there.”

Does LED light therapy really work?

Perhaps the most frequently asked question of all! But there’s good news…

“Yes, it definitely works,” says Collins. “There are thousands of independent clinical papers about phototherapy. In fact, quite interestingly, there are more independent studies on LED photo therapy than there are on laser.”

That said, not all LED light therapy devices are created equal: “it’s like skincare products, it’s all down to the quality of the ingredients or the specification of the device,” Collins continues. Which is why Dermalux Flex stands out so much to many in-the-know.

How safe is Dermalux? 

The Dermalux is totally non-invasive, doesn’t hurt, and doesn’t get warm enough to burn you. Its status as a certified medical device also brings its own reassurances:

“We’re a medical device manufacturer, which means that we’re governed by medical regulations, so we have to comply with very strict governance,” reassures Collins. “Our products have to go through a high level of testing, not only for the efficacy of the device, but also for its safety, and it really governs what claims we can make as well. From a consumer point of view, that should give real assurance of the quality and safety of our devices.”

But isn’t light like UV damaging? How does LED light therapy differ?

“It’s down to the part of the spectrum that we’re exposed to,” explains Collins. “Very short wavelengths in the UV range – UVA, UVB, UVC – can mutate cells, so they can be damaging. However, the wavelengths that we’re using in LED light therapy have got years and years of clinical studies to support their benefits, efficacy and safety.”

“Blue light is the one that comes up quite a lot, but the blue light that’s coming from our devices again is used in a different spectrum,” Collins continues. “Blue light is typically between 460-70 nanometers, which is just an off-the-shelf sort of blue wavelength, whereas we’re using 415 nanometers of blue light, which is the clinically-evidenced wavelength because it’s the optimum absorption by the p acnes bacteria.”

How does the Dermalux Flex compare to treatments in the clinic?

Well, it’s actually the same technology… so the only difference is that you’ll be treating yourself without a practitioner at home. That said, it is one of the less powerful devices from Aesthetic Technology’s arsenal (which is why it is suitable for at-home use).

“We launched the Flex in July 2019 and we very much promoting it for professional use, but it is certified for home use as well,” explains Taylor. “We use the same wavelengths in all of our devices; the difference is the power. The Flex is a lower power device compared to some of our larger in-clinic devices, but lower power just means maybe more treatment or more frequency of treatment to see similar results.”

Is LED light therapy good for sensitive skin?

Yes, especially the near-infrared, because it helps take down inflammation: “The principle of the treatment is that we’re working to speed up our body’s own healing and repair response, we’re not creating trauma, which makes it different than many other aesthetic treatments,” says Taylor. “That’s why we can use Dermalux on psoriasis, we can use it on acne, on redness.”

“Taking psoriasis as an example, it is an autoimmune condition, so we’re not saying we can cure it, but it’s about getting it under control and managing it; that’s the key,” Taylor continues. “Most people who suffer with psoriasis go to the sun and they see improvement, so this is just like sunlight but without the bad bits, no UV, no harmful wavelengths. We’re really focusing on the beneficial wavelengths here.”

Can Dermalux Flex help melasma or could it make it worse? 

“With the Flex, there are two different protocols for pigmentation, including one for melasma, and we’ve seen some nice results with it, especially as we’re not creating trauma, so it won’t make things worse,” says Taylor. As a reminder, any trauma or need to put heat into the skin during treatment can increase your risk of making uneven pigmentation worse, aka postinflammatory pigmentation.

However, it’s important to remember that melasma is a tricky condition to treat. “We always say, treating pigmentation is only as good as, are you using your SPF every day? Are you using your antioxidants? You’ve got to put it into a more holistic treatment plan. Equally, melasma is a hormonal pigmentation, so we can’t control hormones, but we can try to help target the uneven pigment.”

How many awards has Dermalux won?

The Aesthetics Awards are like the Oscars of the tweakments world, and the Dermalux technology has won the award for Best Treatment not just once, but five times in a row.

“We are very proud of that, but of course that just hopefully shows the investment we’ve made in the company,” says Taylor. “We’re a British brand, we manufacture in the UK, and we’ve developed our own proprietary technology. Nobody in the world has our technology, so it’s like our own recipe. We’ve really invested in that part of the business to make sure that we’re delivering results.”

How often do you need to use the Dermaflux?

Alice used Dermalux about five times a week for 14 weeks, for about 20 minutes at a time, mainly because she had the time during lockdown! Here’s what Taylor had to say about whether there’s a ‘perfect’ frequency:

“It’s a bit like going to the gym. If you go to the gym three or four times a week, you’re going to see much quicker results than if you go once a week, so it’s a similar principle. With the Flex you can use it every day, but we say for a more sensitised skin probably better to leave a day in between. If you are using it as a combined protocol alongside other in-clinic treatments, we’d say a minimum of once a week. Ultimately, the more treatments you do and the closer the frequency, the faster and the better the results you’re going to see.”

Can you use Dermalux Flex during pregnancy 

“As a manufacturer that we haven’t tested on pregnant women, so the risk is unknown and use is at the discretion of the person who wants to use it,” cautions Taylor. “You get this with many devices or treatments, unfortunately. It’s a bit of a grey area, but that’s kind of a disclaimer that we use.

Interested in adding the Dermalux Flex to your skincare routine? Get it now for £400 less, during our November sale: Dermalux Flex MD, £1599, SHOP NOW