Our awareness of just how helpful LED light therapy can be has grown in recent years. LED light therapy treatments are regularly offered in beauty salons and skin clinics now and the at-home LED light therapy treatment market booming. Global Market Insights estimates the global light therapy market was worth US$1 billion in 2020, and Technavio says the market is set to grow buy hundreds of millions in the next few years thanks to the growing incidence of skin disorders.
An article in Allure Magazine says LED light therapy can help alleviate all sorts of issues, like lowering blood pressure, “treat acne, reduce certain scarring, heal burns, delay the signs of aging, decrease exercise-induced muscle fatigue, and even prevent against cardiovascular disease, such as heart attacks and strokes. The science behind this full-body treatment states that just like plants, our skin and other body tissues have the ability to absorb light and turn it into energy, stimulating our body’s natural process to building new proteins and regenerating cells.” Most of these treatments only focus on the face, but there’s a growing trend for light therapy beds in beauty spaces, and Sydney is about to get one dedicated to this growing trend.
The city’s first dedicated light therapy-bed space, The Collagen Lounge, opens this month in Waterloo. The Collagen Lounge is equipped with LED light therapy beds for full-body, head-to-toe treatments. Just a few Australian salons and skin clinics have light therapy beds (sometimes known as collagen induction beds) right now.
Professional Beauty had the chance to ask Founder of The Collagen Lounge Sandra Gavelan a few questions about this emerging beauty and wellness trend and treatment.
PB: What made you want to open this space?
“Beauty and self-care has always been something I’ve been interested in. Always Looking presentable to me is a must. When you look good you feel good, and I decided why not expand this passion & open a space for women to come in and feel pampered & confident by taking care of themselves.”
PB: Have you seen similar style beauty spaces elsewhere in the world? Australia?
“In America and Europe, red light therapy/collagen beds are very popular. I feel like Australia is a little behind in this aspect we just started the face RLT LED but not whole body. To get the whole body’s collagen stimulating is phenomenal.”
PB: Why is it such a good beauty treatment to have?
“Skin improvement has been placed in a new light. The secret lies in the skin-rejuvenating effect of the specially tailored light spectrum. At Collagen Lounge our beds utilise pure coloured light that penetrates deeply into the skin. The regenerative mechanisms in the skin are given a boost, stimulating the production of collagen and elastin. The proteins are replenished, and the skin’s fibre structure is renewed. Every treatment enables the skin to restore itself and continuously regenerate.
Collagen Lounge is much more than just a skin improvement concept. It is a deliberate lifestyle choice and one that perfectly matches the ambition to achieve wellness and well-being.”
PB: What are the benefits?
“The process of skin regeneration is one of the body’s own functions. Red light therapy utilises the effects of pure collagen light, which has a revitalising, stimulating effect. This special light provides extra stimulation to the restorative mechanisms in the skin, resulting in step-by-step, gentle, safe rejuvenation of the skin. Production of collagen and elastin are stimulated, the protein layers are supplemented and the skin’s fibre structure is renewed. The improved support and elasticity this provides restores firmness to your skin.
Evidence suggests that RLT may have the following medical benefits:
- promotes would healing and tissue repair
- improves hair growth in people with androgenic alopecia
- help for the short-term treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome
- stimulates healing of slow-healing wounds, like diabetic foot ulcers
- reduces psoriasis lesions
- short-term relief of pain and morning stiffness in people with rheumatoid arthritis
- reduces some of the side effects of cancer treatments, including oral mucositis
- improves skin complexion and builds collagen to diminish wrinkles
- helps to mend sun damage
- prevents recurring cold sores from herpes simplex virus infections
- improves the health of joints in people with degenerative osteoarthritis of the knee
- helps diminish scars
- relieves pain and inflammation in people with pain in the Achilles tendons
PB: Who is light therapy suitable for?
“We start to lose collagen production at 25 so from all ages above 25+ RLT is suitable and beneficial.”
PB: What is the technology being used?
“Red Light Therapy! Approximately 45% of sunlight is visible light we can see with our eyes. In addition to visible light, sunlight also includes components we are hardly able to detect ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) light. Various scientific investigations have proved that visible light produces several responses in the skin. Infrared light, for example, is known to penetrate the skin deeply where, among other things, it improves the blood circulation. Collagen light falls within the colour spectrum of light and is yellow, orange and/or red. The colour spectrum is the bandwidth of light visible to the naked eye. It spans the range of wavelengths from approximately 380 to 760 nm. Collagen light occupies a range of frequencies just below that of infrared light, running from around 600 to 760 nm.”
PB: Tell us a bit about the journey to starting the business?
“I have a great passion for beauty, wellness, health and self care, so one evening while I was unwinding, I was drinking my usual glass of collagen supplement before bed and came across the red-light therapy treatment. Drinking collagen on the lounge resulted in… Collagen Lounge. Here I am today making my concept reality.”
PB: What is your background?
“My background is a stewardess. I’ve been in the airline industry for almost 10 years prior to being married and having children. I lived in Dubai and worked for Emirates. Then from there I worked for Virgin Australia International. I loved feeling well groomed and always took pride in my appearance. I think that’s where beauty and flying go hand in hand. We had to always look immaculate. Things like keeping our skin hydrated were important, which was something I always wanted to help people achieve.”
PB: What are your plans after opening the first lounge?
“To have Collagen Lounges nationwide and maybe introduce more services in the near future.”
PB: Okay, so these look like tanning beds. But they’re not. How are they different?
“An LED red light therapy bed may look like a tanning bed and glow like a tanning bed, but this light-up piece of machinery is definitely NOT a tanning bed. In fact, unlike tanning beds (which have been shown to cause cancer and premature aging), LED red light therapy beds have amazing health benefits.
Scientists have observed that exposure of the skin to yellow, orange and/or red light leads to higher production of collagen. This works as follows: In addition to collagen and elastin, the skin also contains fibroblasts. These are special cells that synthesize collagen. Light penetrates the skin to a depth of 10 mm, causing the fibroblasts to grow and divide. Production of collagen and elastin are stimulated in this manner, improving the elasticity of the skin.”
PB: Do they have the same skin cancer risks as tanning beds?
“No. Unlike tanning beds (which have been shown to cause cancer and premature aging), LED red light therapy beds have amazing health benefits. There are no risks are associated with the treatments, you are safe to get treatments everyday there is no skin damage caused by Red light therapy.”
How many beds will the lounge have? Will it have beds and the face treatments (like most salons and clinics have now) or just beds?
“Collagen Lounge has two beds. With the full body Red light treatment, you get the same effect on your face as the face red light therapy you see at salons. College lounge have commercial medical grade beds that have stronger lamps which penetrate deeper into the layers of your skin.”
Treatment pricing
- 20-min single treatment, $99
- 30-min single treatment, $119
- Packages are also available.
The Collagen Lounge, 1 Hunter St, Waterloo NSW 2017
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