How Neutrogena’s Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment Works
Originally released in July 2017, the Neutrogena Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment device fights acne breakouts by addressing blemishes with targeted light therapy treatment.
While it can be difficult to find this product available for purchase at this time, we’ll take a look at how this product works on acne and some related devices that have been on the market.
Product Spotlight: Neutrogena Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment
The Neutrogena Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment is a handheld device designed for the at-home treatment of mild to moderate acne. Manufactured by Neutrogena, a skincare, hair care, and cosmetics company, and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson, this device is clinically proven to treat inflammatory acne and reduce breakouts.
Manufacturer instructions recommend using the Neutrogena Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment device for two minutes, three times a day.
How Does the Neutrogena Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment Work?
Let’s explore how light therapy, like that used in the Neutrogena Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment, works to address acne.
Light Therapy
Light therapy is a medical treatment available in medical spas, at physicians’ offices, or in devices manufactured for home use. It isolates specific wavelengths of light to shine onto the body to elicit a range of positive benefits.
Home-use devices often use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for light therapy, as this method is very safe and produces few to no known side effects.
Light therapy can successfully treat many skin conditions, like acne wrinkles, rosacea, and scarring.
Red Light Therapy for Acne
Red light therapy has been the subject of many clinical studies. Overall results show red light therapy to be an incredibly safe and effective treatment for acne.
Red light therapy can improve active acne outbreaks and treat acne scars. The light works on the surface of the skin as well as below it, reducing inflammation, repairing damaged tissues, and rejuvenating the skin at a cellular level.
Blue Light Therapy for Acne
Blue light therapy is a microbe-fighting treatment, effective against a range of pathogens from fungus to virus. It’s also effective at killing P. acnes, the primary bacteria responsible for acne, along with a whole host of other bacteria.
Red and Blue Light Therapy in Combination
The Neutrogena Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment uses a combination of red and blue light therapy to treat acne.
This therapy combines blue light’s antimicrobial properties with red light’s anti-inflammatory effects to provide the best possible results. Red light calms inflammation and promotes healing, and blue light kills the bacteria that caused the inflammation in the first place.
Clinical research shows that combined red and blue light therapy may also reduce oil production in the skin to prevent future breakouts. According to the same 2013 study and another earlier study, blue and red light combination therapy effectively and safely reduces inflammatory and noninflammatory acne.
Is Neutrogena’s Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment Effective?
While any product will have mixed reviews, the Neutrogena Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment’s reviews appear to be mostly positive.
From celebrity product reviews to feedback from lesser-known working moms, most reviews indicate that this product is easy to use, effective against breakouts, and conveniently portable.
What About the Neutrogena Light Therapy Acne Mask?
Neutrogena formerly sold a product called the Neutrogena Light Therapy Acne Mask. They voluntarily recalled the mask in July 2019. Neutrogena recalled the product “out of an abundance of caution” due to concerns over possible injury to consumers’ eyes.
Neutrogena received complaints from some users of “visual effects” such as eye pain, tearing, blurry vision, and seeing spots. These complaints were associated with approximately 0.02% of masks sold, and no permanent eye damage was reported.
Neutrogena recalled the product, however, worried that the mask could pose a theoretical risk to a small number of people with certain eye conditions or taking certain medications that increase the eyes’ photosensitivity.
The Neutrogena Light Therapy Acne Mask first appeared as the illuMask Anti-Acne Light Therapy Mask before being purchased and upgraded by Johnson & Johnson.
Where Can You Purchase Neutrogena’s Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment?
As of 2023, Neutrogena has removed the Light Therapy Acne Spot Treatment from their company websites. You can still find the product available at other retailers, though availability seems to fluctuate.
Walmart and Amazon frequently list this product as out of stock, and Bed Bath & Beyond may no longer carry it. Alternative places to look include third-party selling sites like eBay.