Which wavelengths are best for red light therapy?

The most common wavelengths which are included in almost all red light therapy panels (including ours) are:

• 660nm (red)
• 850nm (near-infrared)

This combination works well because the red light treats the skin while the near-infrared penetrates deeper and treats underlying tissue and muscles. To cite a 2019 paper, combining multiple-wavelength sources "can present a therapeutic advantage by providing concurrent energy delivery to biological tissues at different depths.”

The industry trick here is brands claiming that these particular wavelengths are chosen because they are the most researched; while there are studies on 660nm and 850nm, to say they are the most researched simply isn't true.

If you look through the literature you will observe a range of wavelengths being researched, with the 600-700nm (red) and 800-900nm (near-infrared) ranges yielding most of the promising results and the 700-800nm range being relatively ineffective/inert.

The real reasons 660nm and 850nm are so commonly used is:

1. They are some of the most mass-produced LED wavelengths which keeps costs down
2. They sit around the middle of the two most effective treatment ranges (600-700nm and 800-900nm)

Using these wavelengths in red light therapy panels strikes a balance between commercial viability and delivering a research-based product.

According to Joovv's scientific advisory board member Dr. Cleber Ferraresi "there is no supporting clinical evidence to using multiple wavelengths on the same spectrum" because they "are so close to each other that they will have the same therapeutic effect on the human body as just one of these". He may, however, be biased because Joovv's panels only use 660nm and 850nm LEDs.

To hedge our bets, we added a few additional well-studied wavelengths to the Hero300 with the intention of increasing your coverage while keeping our panels affordable:

630nm: 30 LEDs
660nm: 120 LEDs
810nm: 15 LEDs
830nm: 15 LEDs
850nm:120 LEDs

If you look at our competitors, you will see few have 5 wavelengths and those which do are more expensive. But the crux of it is this: There are benefits to a whole range of wavelengths between 600-700nm and 800-900nm and, while there isn't clear science on the degree to which these benefits overlap, prevailing consensus is that they do.