Does Red Light Therapy Fade Tattoos?

A Pew Research Center survey found that 32% of U.S. adults are inked, and 22% have multiple tattoos. With red light therapy and other forms of light therapy, like infrared, amber, green, or blue light, becoming increasingly popular, there is a concern about how it could affect them:

Thankfully the reassuring answer is that red light therapy won’t harm or fade your tattoos. The problem is UV light - found in sunlight and sunbeds not red light therapy. UV rays can cause tattoo ink to fade, especially lighter colors like red, yellow, or green. Excessive UV exposure can also burn and irritate your skin, leading to blistering, itching, scabbing, and flaking skin. That’s why covering them up during extended time out in the sun is important.

Take care of your tattoos in sunlight.

Prime the skin with photobiomodulation before your tattoo.

Red light therapy is UV-free and gentle on the skin. It doesn’t damage the tattoo ink or affect the design, making it a safe choice for tattooed individuals.

However…

Tattoos can heat up during your treatments. Ink tends to absorb light, and certain colors (like black or dark green) may get hotter than others. So be careful that you don’t end up with more pain after your PBM instead of less.

Pretreating the Skin Before Your Tattoo

Are you getting more ink soon? Plan on using your red light therapy a few days ahead of your appointment and the day of. Tattoos are an injury to the body and there’s trauma to the skin that causes an inflammation response. Your immune system is doing it’s job. Getting PBM light on the area you’re getting the tattoo before, prepares the area for optimal healing.

When you get home, depending on the device you have, gentle cellular stimulation without creating heat will also speed up the healing time and reduce pain. Just be careful!

Tracy