Who wouldn’t want beautiful, radiant skin with a golden tan? And with the advancement in science, beauty is a very attainable desire. Light therapy is the new buzz word in the skin circuit and is fast becoming an important revenue stream for many tanning salons.

Light therapy also offers benefits including increased skin firmness and hydration, improved tone and texture, reduced hyper-pigmentation, and diminished fine lines and wrinkles. It’s also an effective treatment for acne and helps reduce pore size, which are common concerns for young clients.

Tanners are interested in looking their best, and this new technology is a breakthrough way to help them rejuvenate their skin and feel better about themselves and their appearance. Treatments are affordable, fast and gentle, and the largest target demographic for the service is looking for skin rejuvenating alternatives to cosmetic surgery.

“Women who have had or are considering having facelifts or other types of facial cosmetic surgery are prime candidates for light therapy,” says Paul Spivak, president of Chardon, Ohio-based Light Therapy Systems (LTS), manufacturer of the Skin-Rejuvenation system. “Potential customers also purchase anti-aging face creams, serums and lotions, and get facials or dermatologic treatments such as microdermabrasion or Botox® injections.

Light therapy exposes skin to certain wavelengths of light for a prescribed amount of time to treat specific health conditions. The type commonly used in salons uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to activate skin cells with pulses of low-level, non-thermal light energy. LED treatments give skin a “light bath” that targets specific cells that absorb a specific wavelength of light. It works with the body’s own natural processes to convert light energy photons into cellular energy to energize the skin cells responsible for collagen and elastin production.

The wavelengths are non-laser, non-thermal and non-ablative; therefore the treatments do not require operator licensing or certification and can be performed by salon employees.

When is comes to light therapy systems, salons have several high-quality options. For instance, the patented Lumière Light- Thèrapie device features an array of LEDs that deliver pure, uniform, narrowband red light to treat a number of skin conditions and works in conjunction with Lumière Topical Skincare.