Frequently asked questions
Red light Therapy
Red light
Therapy
Red light therapy, in the scientific literature often called photobiomodulation is a type of light therapy involving use of 600-1000nm light to positively affect cellular function. We had red light therapy expert Vladimir Heiskanen write an in-depth guest article on everything red light therapy which you can read here.
Yes, thousands of academic papers have been published on the subject over the past several decades showing benefits for a wide variety of indications in human and animal studies, and showing improved cellular function in vitro.
For a comprehensive overview of the available research on different issues and how red light therapy can help, check out the database Vladimir Heiskanen has made on the subject, linked here.
Irradiance, or power density, is a measurement of the amount of light energy hitting a given surface area. For red light therapy, this is often expressed as mw/cm².
Red light therapy is efficacious within a particular dosage window. Too little light, and the effects won't be there, or won't be optimal, too much light, and the effects also diminish. Good light therapy devices have an irradiance that allows one to supply the right amount of light energy in a reasonable treatment time.
The irradiance expresses a given amount of light energy for a given surface area, and a given amount of time. The total amount of light energy takes the treatment time, surface area and irradiance into account. According to various experts, when using red and near-infrared lights for full-body benefit, a total energy of multiple hundreds of thousands of joules is appropriate and effective.
Yes, when used for an appropriate time at a correct distance, red light therapy is perfectly safe. Out of the thousands of studies on red light therapy, very few have observed any sort of negative reaction. Many of these are in vitro studies, and animal experiments using excessive doses of lasers, not LEDs. Overall the evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of red/near infrared light therapy being safe.
Yes it is, the research has generally found that there are no important differences between lasers and LEDs as a light source, as long as the irradiance is matched.
CytoLED
We're highly committed to providing accurate information, both about our devices, and red light therapy in general with unmatched value and customer service. Unfortunately, misleading measurements with inaccurate equipment, outright lies about power consumption, irradiance or total light output have been the norm rather than the exception, we hope to break that trend.
While we can't comment on any specific device, we can say that a lot of these devices aren't what they claim to be, and haven't been designed with good care. Many will make bold wattage or irradiance claims, but even a simple power meter will show these to be incorrect. Quality materials, design and adequate testing will make a device more expensive. If something sounds too good to be true, be it price-point or claimed power, it's generally because it is.
We're headquartered in the Netherlands, but we have freelancers as well as full-time workers all over the world.
We don't currently have any full-time job vacancies. If you feel you have a particular skill to offer as a freelancer, feel free to email us at info@cytoled.com. If instead you are a public figure with an audience, and would like to collaborate, please check out our affiliates page.
Shipping
Yes, we offer worldwide shipping from our Netherlands warehouse.
That depends where you live. If you live in the Netherlands, it can be as quick as a day. Within the rest of Europe, it's usually a few days. Outside of Europe, it's typically within a week or so. Please see our shipping page.
Every order will receive a tracking link once the device is shipped. If you haven't received your link and it's been longer the timeframe given on shipping page, please check your junk folder, and if it's not there, get in touch with us at info@cytoled.com.
That depends on the country the device is shipped to.
Please contact us as soon as possible and we'll communicate with the carrier to resolve the situation. Please email us at info@cytoled.com.
The devices are packaged in a highly protected way, it is very unlikely they got damage in shipping even if the box looks a bit damaged. If things truly look out of the ordinary, however, feel free to get in touch at info@CytoLED.com. Please supply some pictures of the box, and device itself, if possible.
Our products ship from our Rotterdam warehouse.
If you are in the EU, there will be no import fees with your order.
Devices
Don't worry, half of our LEDs are red, 660nm (visible to the human eye), the other half are near-infrared, 850nm (not visible to the human eye). The LEDs that appear off when turning on the device in its default settings are simply emitting light of a wavelength that is not visible.
Yes, that is not inherently a problem. However, please make sure that most ventilation holes are not blocked. When you lay a device such as the Duplex, Triplex or Pentaplex down on its side, the ventilation holes on one side will be blocked. The ventilation holes on the other side and the back adequately make up for that in this case. However, when the ventilation holes on the back are also blocked, fully or partially, there is a risk of the device overheating, please avoid this.
There is no problem with that in principle, however, each LED has its own lens and reflector, and emits a focused beam. When you're right up against the device, the beam will only hit a small surface area. This way you will have many small, circular spots on the body that are irradiated, rather than one smoothed out surface area.
For most uses, this is our recommended treatment time. If you wish to use it for an unlimited amount of time, simply hit the button with the clock icon, and the timer mode will be turned off. Alternatively you could add or subtract minutes with the plus and minus buttons. Please refer to the manual for full instructions on how to use the control panel.
You're most likely too close to the device, and the individual beams haven't converged yet. For this reason, we recommend a distance of at least 50cm for our 30 degree beam angle devices (One, One Plus, Duplex, Triplex), and 30cm for our 60 degree beam angle devices (Zero, Pentaplex).
orders
Please check your junk folder, if you can't find it there, please get in touch at info@CytoLED.com
If your card is declined repeatedly, please shoot us an email at info@CytoLED.com and we'll look into it.
As long as your order hasn't been shipped yet, you can email us at info@CytoLED and we can cancel the order for you.
If your item does not arrive we offer a full refund. If the item differs in some way from what's advertised, please contact our staff, and we'll be happy to take a look.
Shoot us an email at info@CytoLED.com and we'd be happy to talk with you about your specific situation.
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