+37 % counted hairs
42 women, 655 nm, 16 weeks, one session every other day. Photographic count on a tattooed area, scored blind. No adverse events reported.
Lanzafame RJ et al. Lasers Surg Med 2014;46(8):601–607. DOI
Home Learn Benefits
What has been measured
Nine areas of the body. Nine papers. Not one promise beyond them.
Most benefit pages in this industry list effects without ever saying who measured them, or on how many people. This one shows the level of evidence next to each result, and stops where the studies stop.
4
meta-analyses, the highest level of evidence cited here
820
patients in the largest, published by The Lancet
20
athletes in the smallest — we flag that too
In short
The level of evidence is not the same from one domain to the next, and that is the one thing most benefit pages forget to say. It is strongest for pain and muscle recovery, where meta-analyses aggregate dozens of trials. It is thinnest for sleep, where the trial cited covers twenty people.
- Pain — the best established. 16 randomised trials, 820 patients with neck pain, meta-analysis published by The Lancet in 2009. Adverse effects no different from placebo.
- Performance. 13 randomised trials, average gain of 5.5 repetitions and 4.1 seconds to exhaustion — obtained mainly when the light comes before the effort, not after.
- Skin. 136 volunteers, 30 sessions: collagen density up, roughness down, photographs assessed blind.
- Hair. 42 women, 655 nm, 16 weeks, one session every other day: +37 % counted hairs on a tattooed area, read blind. No adverse events reported in that trial.
- Sleep — the thinnest. 20 athletes, 14 days. We cite it because it exists, and we label it a signal, not a proof.
- None of these studies was run on an Antared device. We run no clinical trials: we set our devices to the parameters published in this literature, and we display them.
Page reviewed on 09/09/2026. Antared devices are wellness products: they do not diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
Where the research looked
The body, area by area.
Areas missing from this diagram are missing because we have no paper to attach to them, not because light stops there.
The research timeline- 01
Scalp
Hairs counted on a tattooed area, scored blind
- 02
Retina
Visual acuity in a randomised sham-controlled trial
- 03
Facial skin
Collagen density by ultrasound, roughness by profilometry
- 04
Neck
Pain on a visual scale, 820 patients
- 05
Sleep
Serum melatonin and the Pittsburgh index
- 06
Muscle, before exercise
Repetitions and time to exhaustion, 13 trials
- 07
Muscle, after exercise
Creatine kinase, clear effect for localised exercise only
- 08
Knee
Pain, stiffness and function, added to exercise
- 09
Mitochondrion
Cytochrome c oxidase, nitric oxide, ATP
Nine results
What was measured, and at what level of evidence.
A meta-analysis pools several randomised trials: the strongest level cited here. A single trial on twenty people is a signal, not a proof — and it says so next to the result.
Visual acuity improved in dry AMD
100 subjects, 590, 660 and 850 nm against sham, over 13 months. Note: the trial used a regulated medical device, not a home appliance.
Boyer D et al. Retina 2024;44(3):487–497. DOI
Roughness down, collagen up
136 volunteers, 30 sessions. Collagen density by ultrasound, roughness by profilometry, photographs scored blind: all three measures improve.
Wunsch A, Matuschka K. Photomed Laser Surg 2014;32(2):93–100. DOI
20 mm less pain, up to 22 weeks
16 randomised trials, 820 patients with neck pain. Side effects no different from placebo. The largest body of evidence cited on this site.
Chow RT et al. The Lancet 2009;374(9705):1897–1908. DOI
Sleep score and melatonin both up
20 athletes, 14 days, 30 minutes each evening. Small sample: treat it as a signal, not as definitive proof.
Zhao J et al. J Athl Train 2012;47(6):673–678. DOI
More repetitions, if the light comes first
13 randomised trials. Mean gain of 5.5 repetitions and 4.1 seconds to exhaustion, obtained mainly by applying light before exercise.
Leal-Junior ECP et al. Lasers Med Sci 2015;30(2):925–939. DOI
Creatine kinase better contained after exercise
14 studies on the blood marker of muscle damage. Clear effect for localised exercise, inconclusive for general exercise — a nuance most product pages leave out.
Machado AF et al. Clin J Sport Med 2020;30(3):267–274. DOI
Better than exercise alone, as an adjunct
10 randomised trials on knee osteoarthritis, all with good PEDro scores. The important words are as an adjunct: light adds to movement, it does not replace it.
Ahmad MA et al. Physiotherapy 2021;114:85–95. DOI
The photon, nitric oxide and ATP
Review from the Wellman Center for Photomedicine (Harvard). It explains how the effect could work; it measures no clinical benefit. The detail is here.
de Freitas LF, Hamblin MR. IEEE J Sel Top Quantum Electron 2016;22(3). DOI
What we do not claim
- Nothing about testosterone, fertility or the pineal gland. These claims circulate widely in this industry; we have no evidence of a sufficient standard to repeat them.
- Nothing about autoimmune disease, immunity or longevity. Claiming a wellness device acts on a disease would be a therapeutic claim, which we have neither the right nor the data to make.
- None of these studies was run on an Antared device. They concern photobiomodulation in general, with devices, doses and protocols specific to each trial.
- Antared devices are wellness products. They do not diagnose, treat or cure any disease. If you have symptoms, an ongoing treatment or are pregnant, a healthcare professional's advice takes precedence over this page. Our method is set out in our values.
The questions that keep coming up
Seven questions, and the figures that go with them.
Does red light therapy actually work?
It depends on the domain, and the honest answer is that it is not the same everywhere. The evidence is strongest for pain, with 16 randomised trials and 820 patients gathered by a Lancet meta-analysis, and for muscle recovery. It is thinnest for sleep, where the trial cited covers twenty people.
What is the best-established result so far?
The reduction of neck pain. Sixteen randomised trials, 820 patients, a meta-analysis published by The Lancet in 2009, and adverse effects no different from placebo. It is the broadest evidence cited on this site, and it is what we lean on when someone asks whether this works.
How long before anything can be observed?
It depends what is measured. For performance, trials measure from the very next session, provided the light comes before the effort. For skin, the reference trial measures after 30 sessions; for hair, after 16 weeks at one session every other day. No result cited here is obtained in a week.
Does red light affect testosterone or longevity?
We do not claim so. Those claims circulate widely in this industry, but we have no evidence of a sufficient standard to repeat them, and claiming that a wellness device acts on a disease would be a therapeutic claim we have neither the right nor the data to make.
Do these studies report adverse effects?
The neck pain meta-analysis reports adverse effects no different from placebo, and the double-blind hair regrowth trial reports none at all. Those findings concern those specific trials, not general use. The precautions for use are detailed on how it works.
Do these trials use a laser or LEDs?
Both, depending on the paper, and the distinction matters: a large share of the historical literature is laser, while the devices sold are LED. The light source is stated on the Science page every time it changes how a result should be read.
Do these results hold for a home device?
Not mechanically. A hospital protocol, on a delimited area and at a controlled dose, does not convert directly into minutes in front of a panel at home. That is why we publish wavelength, irradiance and distance for every device: it is what lets you compare our settings against the trials, rather than take our word for it.
The nine papers are detailed, dated and linked to their DOI on the Science page. The wavelengths used in those trials are explained on wavelengths, and the protocols turn all of it into sessions with numbers.
Put it into practice
A measured result assumes an area, a dose and a rhythm.
The trials cited here light one specific area, for a specific duration, several times a week. Pick the device that covers your area and lets you keep that rhythm — the parameters are on every product page.
Personal · Desktop
Antared DESK
Compact 7-spectrum panel, red through near-infrared, for a daily session that sits on your desk.
€299,00 DiscoverFace · Cordless
Antared Mask
Flexible silicone mask, 288 LEDs across 4 channels including 630 nm red and 850 nm near-infrared.
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Large-format panel for full-body routines, studios, and athletic recovery.
€1.500,00 Discover