How Often Should You Use Red Light Therapy

It’s one of the most common questions people ask after getting started with red light therapy: How often should I actually use it?

While Alex Fergus briefly touched on this in his popular How to Use Red Light Therapy 101 guide here on Light Therapy Insiders, this post dives deeper.

Whether your goal is skin health, pain relief, recovery, or energy - you’ll find a step-by-step breakdown of what the science says, what real users do, and how to adjust based on your needs.

Let’s get into it.

How Much Red Light Therapy Is Too Much?

Let's get straight to the point. Asking "How much red light therapy is too much" is a bit like asking "How much exercise is too much".

It depends.

What works for a healthy 25-year-old might be too much for someone recovering from chronic illness or dealing with inflammation. Just like exercise, red light therapy needs to be adjusted to your body, your goals, and your current state of health.

Here’s what can affect how much is “too much”:

• The device you're using (some are far stronger than others)
• Distance from your skin (closer usually means more intensity)
• Session length (longer ≠ better)
• How many times per day/week you use it
• Whether you’re using multiple devices (or combining with sunlight)
• Your natural light exposure (sunlight contains red and near-infrared wavelengths too)

In short: there’s no one-size-fits-all rule.

You can calculate the optimal dose, but most people won’t bother. If you're just looking to use your device and feel better, that’s totally fine.

But if you're the type who likes to get precise, here’s how to calculate your red light therapy dose:

Can You Overdo Red Light Therapy? If Yes, What Happens?

Yes—you definitely can overdo red light therapy. This is due to something called the “biphasic dose response” in photobiomodulation (also known as Low Level Laser Therapy, or LLLT) (1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8).

In plain terms:

• A small to moderate dose stimulates healing and regeneration.
• A higher dose might still work, but the benefits level off.
• Go too far, and it can actually have the opposite effect - slowing progress or causing unwanted reactions.

So, more is not always better - more could decrease your effects and even cause minor side effects.

Examples of side effects if you overdo red light therapy is feeling tired because of overstimulation. Sometimes, you want to overdo the dose, however, such as in case of pain relief. For pain relief, you'll want to pursue an inhibitory effect intentionally.

For other goals, such as enhancing muscle recovery, or enhancing well-being or cognition in the brain, or increasing blood circulation, you'll want the optimal dose for deeper tissues. And, if you want to improve collagen or elastin synthesis in the skin, you'll want a dose that stimulates rather than suppresses.

🎙️ Want expert opinions on this?

Then, check out James Carroll from Thor Photomedicine talking about the biphasic response in this interview with Alex.

or

How Long Should You Do A Red Light Therapy Session?

Many people ask: "How long should you do a red light therapy session?" Well, I'll return to my analogy on exercise here once again. If you're asking "how long should you do an exercise session?"

There's no universal answer here. If you're exercising extremely intensively, a 5-minute session can be enough. If you're doing slow cardio at a low heart rate, a session can last three hours.

So, there's no universally valid answer on how long a red light therapy session should last. Session length should depend on:

• Your goal - whether you want superficial or deep tissue treatment
• The device you're using, which determines the power output
• How you're using the device, for instance, how far from the skin it's located

And so forth.

Once again, the simplest answer here is to simply follow the instructions that come with the red light therapy device. And, if you buy from a reputable seller, there should be decent instructions coming with the device. Check out some great red light therapy devices in our database.

Red Light Therapy Twice A Day. Is That A Crazy Idea?

Can you do red light therapy twice a day? Yes, but it’s rarely necessary, and often not better.

Overall, there's a red light therapy time limit with almost any device. Once you exceed exposure, you're overdosing your body. Then, potential side effects start to emerge - such as tiredness.

So, red light therapy twice a day isn't necessarily better and can even be detrimental. If the dose is low enough, you can do twice a day treatments.

Additionally, more studies are necessary on this topic, especially regarding higher doses. But generally, the consensus in medical science is that twice-a-day treatments aren't necessarily better.

Next, let’s break down some specific dosing questions.

How Often Should You Use Red Light Therapy On Your Face?

If your goal is skin health or anti-aging, using red light therapy on your face once per day is typically a safe and effective starting point.

Many people see great results with 3–5 sessions per week, especially when using face-specific devices like masks or small panels. Some brands (like Omnilux) even recommend every-other-day treatments.

As always, your device’s instructions should guide your timing and duration, but for most people, less is more when it comes to facial skin.

How Often Should You Use A Red Light Therapy Bed?

Generally, especially if you've got access to a red light therapy bed, treating yourself five to six days a week is best. If you're going to a clinic for treatment, however, that optimal treatment pattern might be very time-consuming or expensive. So in that case I recommend going as often as you can.

With a red light therapy bed, you can apply a very high dose for deep tissue treatment in a short amount of time. So you'll never need a twice-per-day treatment with a red light therapy bed as you'll be overdosing in that case.

So, What’s The Ideal RLT Protocol – If There’s Any?

There's no "ideal" protocol for red light therapy. The protocol will differ according to your goals and the device that you have, as well as other devices you're using and so forth. Just like there's no "ideal exercise routine" that's universally valid for everyone on this planet, there's no ideal red light therapy protocol either.

That said, most people do well with:

• 5–6 sessions per week
• 5–20 minutes per session
• Shorter times for the face, longer for larger muscle groups
• A rest day each week to avoid adaptation

As a general rule though, I still recommend following the instructions of the company supplying the device as most companies have thought very well about dosing protocols.

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