A red light panel is only as useful as the light that actually reaches you, at the distance you will really sit.
We cared about output at a normal distance, the mix of red and near-infrared, and whether the box threw off electrical noise or heat you did not want in a small room.
Distance and dose
Numbers quoted at the surface of the LEDs are not the numbers at your skin. Sit farther away and you need more time. A panel that is pleasant to be near is a panel you will use. A hot, buzzing one becomes furniture.
- A stated output at a distance, not only at the lens.
- Both red and near-infrared if that is what you bought it for.
- A stand or a mount that does not wobble.
- Short sessions you will repeat, rather than a heroic first week.
Light you do not sit in front of is a specification, not a treatment.
Using it
Same distance, same time, a few days a week. Moving the panel around and changing the timer every session makes the whole thing a guess. Protect your eyes the way the maker says to.
Buy the panel you can place and leave. Consistency is the dose.
