Red Light Therapy vs. Sunlight
Why Summer Isn't the Time to Cut Back
Summer is in full swing. You’re getting your full dose of sunlight every day. You might be wondering, "Now that I'm getting more sun, do I still need red light therapy?"
It's a fair question. Sunlight and red light therapy both involve light hitting your skin, so the logic seems sound on the surface. Sunlight and red light therapy are both good for you, but they're not doing the same job. Once you see how they work together, summer becomes less about choosing one over the other and more about getting the full benefits of both.
Sunlight and red light therapy aren't interchangeable
Let's give sunlight its due first. It triggers vitamin D production, supports mood and energy, and helps regulate your circadian rhythm — the internal clock that governs everything from sleep to hormone release. None of that changes. Get outside, soak it up, enjoy your summer.
Alongside all its benefits, it also triggers enzymes in the skin that break down existing collagen — the same natural process behind a suntan and, over time, sunburn and photoaging.
🔬 Fun fact from the lab:A study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that UV exposure triggers enzymes in the skin that actively break down existing collagen — it's not just that sun stops new collagen from forming, it eats away at what's already there.
⚡ The flip side: A study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found the opposite happens with low-level red and infrared light — measurable increases in collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid.
In other words, UV and red/near-infrared light are pulling in opposite directions on the same tissue — one breaking collagen down, the other supporting its production back up.
So more sun doesn't mean you need less red light. It often means your body has more repair work on its plate, at the same time it's also dealing with everything else summer brings.
What actually changes for your body in summer
Think about what a typical summer adds to your routine: more time outdoors, more UV exposure, more intense workouts, more travel, more heat stress, more late nights. All of it asks more of your body's recovery systems.
Your cells are working overtime to repair UV damage, regulate inflammation from harder training, and keep up with a schedule that probably looks nothing like January's. That's more demand on the same systems red light therapy supports — not less.
The takeaway
If anything, summer is a season to stay consistent, not scale back. Your body is doing more repair work than usual, and giving your cells the energy to keep up with that is exactly what a session is designed for.
A few ways to think about it this time of year:
After a day in the sun, an evening session supports the skin repair your body is already working on.
After a harder workout or a run of travel, use it the same way you would for any other intense training block — as recovery support, not a nice-to-have.
If your schedule gets unpredictable, that's exactly what 24/7 access is for. Consistency matters more than any particular time of day.
Summer doesn't reduce what your body needs. It just changes where the demand is coming from. Enjoy the sunshine, keep your sessions consistent, and let both do what they're each best at.
Ready to give your skin that extra support this season? Book your next session and keep the momentum going all summer long.