The Preconditioning Research
Here is an idea that sounds back to front: that shining light on your skin before you head out into the sun could help prepare it to cope with UV exposure. A small but compelling body of research suggests that red light therapy may do exactly that.
It is the sort of claim that deserves a raised eyebrow, so let us be clear from the outset. This is not a reason to reach for your sunscreen any less. What follows is early-stage science, shared as a promising direction rather than a settled fact. But it is a direction worth understanding, particularly at this time of year, and it might just change how you think about your LED device over the summer months.
Why summer is when your device earns its place
Summer is the season many people quietly shelve their LED device. The evenings get busy, you are outdoors more, and light therapy somehow starts to feel like a winter thing, something for the darker months when your skin needs a lift.
We would gently push back on that. Summer is precisely when your skin faces the most UV, and it turns out that might be exactly when a consistent LED routine matters most. There is research, early but interesting, pointing to the idea that red and near-infrared light may help prepare skin to cope with sun exposure, rather than only repairing it afterwards. If that holds true, then packing your device away in June would be the last thing you would want to do.
The core evidence: a 2008 pilot study
The most direct evidence comes from a pilot study by Daniel Barolet and Annie Boucher, published in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine in 2008. Their approach was elegantly simple. They took a group of volunteers and treated one area of skin with pulsed red LED light at 660 nanometers, across several sessions over one to three weeks, while an equivalent area of skin received nothing at all. They then exposed both areas to controlled doses of UV-B, the wavelength behind sunburn, and compared how the skin reacted.
The pre-treated skin held up better. The researchers set a demanding bar for what counted as a meaningful result: redness reduced by more than half compared with the untreated side. A reduction at that level showed up in 85 percent of participants on at least one of the doses tested, and across all the doses the average drop in redness sat at just over 40 percent. In some participants the team estimated an effect loosely comparable to an SPF of 15, alongside less of the post-inflammatory pigmentation that can linger long after the redness has faded.
This was a small, exploratory study, and Barolet is careful to say so. But the direction of the finding is what makes it worth your attention.
What “preconditioning” actually means
The word the researchers use is preconditioning. The thinking is that a mild, well-tolerated dose of light nudges skin cells into a kind of defensive readiness, so that when UV arrives, the machinery for coping is already switched on. It is best understood as an emerging hypothesis rather than an established mechanism: a plausible explanation that the early results seem to support, but which needs far more study before anyone can speak in certainties.
A clue hidden in the rhythm of the day
Barolet points to something in nature to explain why this ability might exist at all. Early in the morning, sunlight is rich in visible and infrared light, while the harsher UV peaks around midday. So it is possible our skin evolved to read that early-morning light as a signal, a cue to prepare for the stronger radiation coming a few hours later.
If that is right, light therapy may simply allow us to tap into a protective mechanism the skin already has. By harnessing red and near-infrared wavelengths through LED technology, you can draw on the benefits of light while leaving the potentially harmful UV rays out of the equation altogether, and take your treatment at a time that suits you, rather than at dawn.
A second signal, a decade later
A decade on, in 2018, Barolet returned to the theme from a different angle, this time in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology. This was a split-face study in people with melasma, that stubborn, sun-driven facial pigmentation that is notoriously hard to shift. Using pulsed near-infrared light, he saw pigmentation fall on the treated side.
But the observation we find most striking was almost an aside. He noted that the light appeared to precondition the skin, seeming to help it build resistance to future sun exposure. The same idea, surfacing again in a completely different setting. When a finding turns up twice, in two different contexts, it starts to feel less like a fluke and more like a thread worth following.
Why the pulsing matters
There is one more detail worth pulling on. In both studies the light was pulsed, delivered in sequential bursts rather than a steady beam. Barolet has described it as being a little like Morse code. He has long argued that how the light is timed shapes how the skin responds, which is a useful reminder that the finer details of light delivery, in the microsecond domain, may be as important as wavelength and dose. It is a field still very much in motion, and it is one reason Maysama delivers its light in pulses rather than a continuous beam, across both the PRANA and AURA masks.
So where does this leave you?
First, to be completely clear: none of this is a reason to rely on your SPF any less. Sunscreen and sensible sun habits stay exactly where they are, non-negotiable. What this research hints at is something that could sit alongside them, not replace them.
The possibility is this: that a steady LED routine, kept up through the summer rather than abandoned, may help your skin meet the season in better shape. The evidence is early and the studies are small, so we share it as a promising finding rather than a conclusive fact. But it is a signal pointing in a wonderful direction, and one we will be watching closely.
In practical terms, that means:
- Keep your sunscreen and sun-sensible habits firmly in place. Light therapy is a potential complement, never a substitute.
- Resist the urge to shelve your LED device in summer; consistency through the warmer months is the whole point.
- Treat at a time that suits your routine. The research suggests the preparation, not the precise hour, is what matters.
Keeping your routine going
If the takeaway is consistency, then the device that makes it easy is the one that earns its keep, and two Maysama masks suit this well. The PRANA LED Mask delivers pulsed red light at 630 and 660nm; that 660nm wavelength is the one Barolet's research used, alongside near-infrared. The AURA LED Face Mask, cordless and powered by Intelligent Micro-Pulsing Technology™, makes a daily routine especially easy to sustain, year round. Either way, the point is the same: a steady practice, kept up through the summer rather than shelved. Explore the range of LED devices to keep your light therapy going through the summer and beyond.
Frequently asked questions
Does red light therapy replace sunscreen?
No, and it is important to be firm on this. Nothing in the current research supports using light therapy in place of sun protection. SPF and sensible sun habits remain essential. The science discussed here points to a possible complement to sun protection, not an alternative.
When should I use my device for this benefit?
The studies applied light across several sessions in the days and weeks before UV exposure, rather than as a one-off. The apparent benefit came from preparation over time, so a consistent routine matters more than any single perfectly timed session. There is no need to treat at dawn to mimic morning light.
Is the evidence conclusive?
Not yet. The findings come from small, exploratory pilot studies. They are genuinely promising and the direction has now appeared in more than one setting, but larger and more rigorous research is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn. We share this as an area to watch, not a proven outcome.
What kind of light was used in the research?
Pulsed red light at 660 nanometers and pulsed near-infrared light, delivered in bursts rather than a continuous beam. Researchers in this field believe the timing and pulsing of the light, not just its wavelength, may influence how skin responds.
References
Barolet D, Boucher A. LED Photoprevention: Reduced MED Response Following Multiple LED Exposures. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine. 2008;40(2):106-112.
Barolet D. Dual Effect of Photobiomodulation on Melasma: Downregulation of Hyperpigmentation and Enhanced Solar Resistance: A Pilot Study. Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology. 2018;11(4):28-34.
