We know beauty comes from the inside out, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look and feel our best. In our past couple articles, we’ve covered many ways far infrared can help you, inside and out – relieving pain, relieving stress, or increasing immunity, but there’s still more we haven’t touched on yet. Today, let’s take a look at FAR infrared skin purification. By the end of this article, I think you’ll see looking our for our skin is far more than aesthetic too.
Whenever we’re exposing our skin to heat, it’s logical to be wary. We known what sun can do to our unprotected skin. Why would other types of heat rays be any different? But as it turns out, there is a marked difference between a day at the beach and an hour in the far infrared heated studio, and it’s not just the amount of time you’re spending there. To understand how far infrared affects your skin, we’ve got to look at two things – first, what exactly far infrared is and second what collagen is and how it affects our skin.
As it relates to our skin its important to understand both how infrared differs from other types of light and what far infrared is specifically. When it comes to skin, all types of light are not created equal. Ultraviolet (UV) light, for example, which happens to be the type of light the sun releases “induces skin photoaging, which is characterized by thickening, wrinkling, pigmentation, and dryness”, as explained in Chiu, Chen, Chen, and Hsu’s article on how Far-infrared suppresses skin photoaging. Separate from ultraviolet light is infrared light. Design Dermatoloty & Aesthetics explains “when your skin is exposed to infrared radiation it converts it to heat”.
The right amount of infrared light can have a “healing effect” on skin. When infrared is used too close to our skin and for the wrong variation of time, it can end up harming us. High tech health explains near infrared is “only [] beneficial in very precise doses”. But far infrared heat has been found to have none of these risks. Dozens of studies have looked at the affects of far infrared saunas and found no harm caused to the skin.
In fact, it can even reverse skin photoaging caused by UVB light (by decreasing collagen degradation – more on that to come!). A study looking at the effects of infrared radiation on skin photo-aging and pigmentation found after six months of treatment all patients reported improvements in skin texture and roughness and fair improvements in tone of skin.
The second thing to understand about far infrareds impact on our skin is collagen. You might have heard of collagen if you’re a skincare enthusiast, but what is it really? Well to start, it provides structure and strength to your skin as well as accounting for 30% of your body’s protein. Collagen also helps new cells grow in your dermis, helps replace dead skin cells, provides a protective covering for your organs, helps your blood clot, and provides elasticity to your skin.
Our skin is the largest organ in the body and the amount of blood supply it gets can affect our health and ability to make new skin proteins. Studies suggest far infrared can increase collagen. Far infrared has been found to stimulate cells and tissues. Far infrared not only has the potential to purify your skin, but also to repair it and help heal wounds. Other types of infrared, such as Far-infrared radiation therapy is even being studied for wound treatment.
If you want to see how far infrared can help purify your skin, stop by a class at your local Oxygen Yoga & Fitness.