Do Those At-Home Light Treatments Really Work on Acne?

During my last month of a year-long trip around the world, I shared an apartment with a woman I'd been meaning to make friends with... well, since day one of the remote living program. You know how it goes: you feel like you have endless time, you keep setting dates and missing them, and suddenly, you're running out of open Fridays for drinks. Somehow, the only way Cameron and I could pal around was to live together. A few days into our budding friendship, I started complaining about yet another breakout. As an acne sufferer since middle school, I was accustomed to frequent pimples and zits and, at the age of 30, had yet to find a solution.

Cameron immediately perked up and brought out what looked like some sort of science experiment and told me to try it. Puzzled—and OK, a bit afraid of this radioactive madness—I said I'd stick with my creams. Twenty minutes later, she was still raving about her blue light therapy advice and I was still unconvinced of anything that required me to wear goggles.

Six months later and, Cameron, I stand corrected.

After finishing up my travels and returning home to hibernate before making my next moves as a freelance journalist and digital nomad, I landed in North Carolina with the worst skin I'd had in years. Thanks to eating many things I knew weren't good for me or my pores (looking at you dairy), maintaining an irregular sleep schedule and not using quality products, I knew I needed to do something drastic to kickstart my skin health.

For whatever reason, Cameron's voice came into my head and it propelled me to research blue light therapies. With a new market of at-home devices—and plenty of celebrities and influencers raving about them—there are countless ones to choose from, in all price ranges. As I tend to do when I'm fully invested in a quest for success, I decided to explore them all.

I've now been using a blue light treatment every single day for a little over two weeks—and, I kid you not, I radiate. My acne has nearly subsided, my breakouts have ceased and the texture of my face is incredibly smooth in a way it never has been before. Though I definitely know the blue light it deserves part of the credit, it's also important to note I've taken many steps to enrich my health in the past six weeks—cleaning up my diet, exercising, getting ample sleep and using serums. Even so, this is the prettiest my pores have ever appeared and I can't believe I didn't listen to Cameron all those months, and countries, ago.

Image via @lightstim