Why Use LED after Microneedling and Does Wavelength Really Matter?

In response to frequently asked questions I receive from around the world, I have decided to create a data base of short courses in order to share information needed to grow your practice safely and successfully.  Here is the question that prompted this course on the benefits of combining Microneedling with LED:

“Dr. Lance Setterfield, in your excellent book on dermal needling, you mention using near IR LED after treatment if desired. I have two devices, but both are 880 nm, not your recommended 830. Is 880 close enough? Thank you.”

In other words, does she need to invest in new equipment to supplement her Microneedling treatments, or can she achieve great results using the equipment she already has?  This is an exceptionally valid question when every penny counts after the COVID shutdown.  Does a slight difference in LED wavelength matter that much?

To answer this question, we need to understand what we are attempting to achieve by using LED after Microneedling, and how different wavelengths work at a cellular level to accomplish these goals.

With collagen induction being the goal, there are two schools of thought:

• Conventional wisdom insists that microtrauma of the skin is required to trigger an inflammatory cascade that recruits white cells which, in turn, release growth factors and cytokines for myofibroblast recruitment to produce collagen.  This theory presumes that inflammation is to be provoked and prolonged to obtain best results.  Given that LED reduces inflammation, many of you will have been told not to apply LED immediately after Microneedling.

• But what if the collagen induction triggered by Microneedling arose from a different pathway than described above?  What if keratinocyte injury produced collagen type VII at the Dermal/Epidermal junction that was normal in structure, rather than scar collagen associated with myofibroblasts and inflammation?  Applying LED would be an unbelievably valuable asset to enhance non-scar collagen formation. 

Apart from answering the original question, this course also outlines how photobiomodulation works at a cellular level and emphasizes the many other synergistic benefits of LED after Microneedling.

COURSE ACCESS | 48 HOURS