Can you use cream with LED or is serum really better?
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Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:23 pm

Hello All
I have been lurking, heavily for a year or more. LOVE it here and am on often. Been using some copper peptides, occassionally dermaroll (hate it) etc. and bought DPL but never use it due to inconvenience. Used it 3 times in a year. BUMMER.

I want to buy Antiaging light stim, as it seems easier to use for different areas, the best of the lot for many, or rather, a successful tool in skin care. I want Tua Viso too, but have nerve issues so will wait.

So, do you have a favorite serum to use w/AALS? Can you use a cream instead? I am on a tight budget and don't want to toss out lots of money, I can't. So what would be the best budget conscious option to use with AALS? I have fair, semi dry skin, but its in decent condition...so to speak.

Thanks and thanks to everyone here who posts such great stuff. I have learned SO MUCH.
Smile

red

free skin care · Wed Mar 30, 2011 2:39 pm

Hello redcat wave

,
Check the Lightstim thread for Kassy's pretreatment serums...she keeps things economical. Also with your DPL... don't let it sit in the drawer...use it on your hands or chest while your use the lightstim on your face!

free skin care · Wed Mar 30, 2011 2:58 pm

Since creams are usually opaque, they are not optimal for any treatments that use light. It may absorb the light, resulting in a decreased strength of the light or just that the light won't reach the skin at all

Wed Mar 30, 2011 4:11 pm

Toby
Thanks, I follow a lot of your threads and remarks. Very helpful. As for the DPL I know, right. It is the most money I EVER spent on any skin care, I struggled over that decision for a year, and don't use it. I got that one because it did NOT have handle and was stand up hands-free. I have a lot of injuries, issues, hands, body -everywhere so thought DPL was ideal, but it is not. I occassionally try to use it on my knee for pain, but its tough. Smile

Oasis,
thanks, that what I sort of figured. I like the feel of serums way more anyway.

free skin care · Thu Mar 31, 2011 5:55 am

oasisjc wrote:

Since creams are usually opaque, they are not optimal for any treatments that use light. It may absorb the light, resulting in a decreased strength of the light or just that the light won't reach the skin at all

IMO creams do not block light. If they did, there would be no need for sunscreens.

Tue Oct 25, 2011 1:08 pm

I made my own Green Tea based DIY "Serum" by heating a few Tablespoons of filtered water in the Microwave, in which I steeped a Green Tea Bag. Then added 1 NAC Tablet, 1 crushed Green Tea Tablet, 1 Sea Buckthorn capsule and 1 Gaba capsule. It smells terrible because of the NAC and looks even worse because the Sea Buckthorn is a bright orange. Mixed with the tea it makes a muddy, sticky mess. After I put it on, I felt my skin tighten immediately and actually look quite glowing and radiant after it had sunk in, with the help of my DPL. I did the same mixture the next day and put Emu oil on top after I let it sink in for 15 mins and then used my light. My skin looks better than ever now. Especially on the back of my hands, just a month ago I was contemplating a Laser peel to get rid of all the spots and wrinkles. (One thing to be aware of it does make my light sticky, so I have to keep wiping it with a damp paper towel as I move from one area to the next).

free skin care · Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:01 pm

So it is ok to use cream/lotions as pre-LED treatments?

Keliu wrote:

oasisjc wrote:

Since creams are usually opaque, they are not optimal for any treatments that use light. It may absorb the light, resulting in a decreased strength of the light or just that the light won't reach the skin at all

IMO creams do not block light. If they did, there would be no need for sunscreens.

free skin care · Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:06 pm

Serums absorb more easily, I also add a few drops of vitamin e oil to the serum, which also helps with any moisture that may be taken out while doing the treatment. I have personally found my skin to be quite dry after LED.

free skin care · Thu Oct 27, 2011 12:02 pm

From my understanding, oil, silicones, polymers are occlusive ingredients. They have to be removed with a damp washcloth right before the LED treatment. That is, you let them get absorbed for half an hour and then wipe them out before the treatment.

free skin care · Thu Oct 27, 2011 12:08 pm

I've been using nothing, just doing it after nightly shower. It sounds like nothing is best...but the heat can feel drying.

In my recent thread about a study that showed positive results with IR, it said a side effect was some dryness. So this is an interesting thread...

free skin care · Thu Oct 27, 2011 12:36 pm

RussianSunshine wrote:

From my understanding, oil, silicones, polymers are occlusive ingredients. They have to be removed with a damp washcloth right before the LED treatment. That is, you let them get absorbed for half an hour and then wipe them out before the treatment.

The term "occlusive" has always been the bone of contention. When oil is spoken of as being occlusive it is in relation to water not light - oil is occlusive to water. However, we all know that oil will not block light - just think of suntan oil.

Omnilux, Baby Q and Lightstim all recommend the use of a serum prior to an LED treatment.

free skin care · Thu Oct 27, 2011 3:55 pm

Keliu, good to know!

Keliu wrote:

The term "occlusive" has always been the bone of contention. When oil is spoken of as being occlusive it is in relation to water not light - oil is occlusive to water. However, we all know that oil will not block light - just think of suntan oil.

Omnilux, Baby Q and Lightstim all recommend the use of a serum prior to an LED treatment.

free skin care · Thu Oct 27, 2011 5:43 pm

I don't quite understand, is that a bad thing? Please elaborate if you can.

Keliu wrote:

RussianSunshine wrote:

From my understanding, oil, silicones, polymers are occlusive ingredients. They have to be removed with a damp washcloth right before the LED treatment. That is, you let them get absorbed for half an hour and then wipe them out before the treatment.

The term "occlusive" has always been the bone of contention. When oil is spoken of as being occlusive it is in relation to water not light - oil is occlusive to water. However, we all know that oil will not block light - just think of suntan oil.

Omnilux, Baby Q and Lightstim all recommend the use of a serum prior to an LED treatment.

free skin care · Fri Oct 28, 2011 4:06 am

echoecho wrote:

I don't quite understand, is that a bad thing? Please elaborate if you can.

Keliu wrote:

RussianSunshine wrote:

From my understanding, oil, silicones, polymers are occlusive ingredients. They have to be removed with a damp washcloth right before the LED treatment. That is, you let them get absorbed for half an hour and then wipe them out before the treatment.

The term "occlusive" has always been the bone of contention. When oil is spoken of as being occlusive it is in relation to water not light - oil is occlusive to water. However, we all know that oil will not block light - just think of suntan oil.

Omnilux, Baby Q and Lightstim all recommend the use of a serum prior to an LED treatment.

All I'm saying is that I can't see how oils can block light - so, therefore, how can oils or creams block the light from an LED treatment. In addition, most of the manufacturers of these devices recommend applying a cream or serum prior to treatment.

I suppose you could argue that oils may scatter the light - but considering that we hold our LEDs flush with the skin, I can's see how this would be a major issue. Anyway, I don't use an oil prior to treatment, I use a watery serum.

ETA: Just another thought. We all know that heat aids in the penetration of topicals. We are told to warm creams in our hands before applying or to apply them to warm skin. Therefore, it seems logical to presume that the heat from the LED device would help with product penetration.

free skin care · Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:36 am

oasisjc wrote:

Since creams are usually opaque, they are not optimal for any treatments that use light. It may absorb the light, resulting in a decreased strength of the light or just that the light won't reach the skin at all

The effect of blocking, absorbing, or scattering the light is almost always minimal. And you can even reason that there's no way that they completely block the light. If they did, then you wouldn't be able to see your skin under the oil.

And if you want to get more technical, even the few oils with that actually have a "blocking" effect typically have SPFs in the range of 1 - 5, in terms of blocking UV light, so the effect is weak. Of course, to be technically correct, the light from AALS and other devices is mostly in the infrared range, which is a different part of the light spectrum.

In sum, the effect is too weak to really make a difference.

HTH Smile

free skin care · Sun Oct 30, 2011 10:53 am

Sorry, that should say that the LED lights are typically in the "visible and/or infrared range".

free skin care · Sun Oct 30, 2011 11:57 am

Now I don't use a LED, but from what I understand the thing works, sort of, by heating up your skin (as do the gadgets using radio waves) and a watery serum would plump up your skin cells and be absorbed much more quickly because of the heat. Same mechanism as Ageless Secret Gold and the blow dryer. A creamy or oily serum wouldn't do the trick, and even could be, theoretically, harmful for heating up too quickly under LED or other heat inducing gadgets. You could burn yourself.

free skin care · Sun Oct 30, 2011 12:26 pm

Lotusesther wrote:

Now I don't use a LED, but from what I understand the thing works, sort of, by heating up your skin (as do the gadgets using radio waves) and a watery serum would plump up your skin cells and be absorbed much more quickly because of the heat. Same mechanism as Ageless Secret Gold and the blow dryer. A creamy or oily serum wouldn't do the trick, and even could be, theoretically, harmful for heating up too quickly under LED or other heat inducing gadgets. You could burn yourself.

I dont see how its possible to burn yourself with an LED. TheyÅ•e in humidicribs after all. I once fell asleep with my LED on my face for two hours and it didï¿½net leave a mark.

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