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December 05, 2025

Should I Use a Serum With Red Light Therapy?

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Key Takeaways:

Red light therapy boosts cellular energy, collagen activity, and overall skin health with gentle, non-invasive wavelengths.
Applying a serum after red light therapy can enhance hydration, firmness, and radiance.
Avoid strong active ingredients before sessions and build a simple routine.

Red light therapy works on its own, and you don’t need a serum for it to be effective. However, the right serum, used the right way, can absolutely amplify what your sessions are already doing for collagen, hydration, and overall skin quality. The wrong one, at the wrong time, can just as easily get in the way or irritate your skin.

Red and near-infrared light target cellular energy pathways; serums deliver topical actives. When you pair them intentionally, you give your skin both the internal signal and the external support it needs to repair and renew.

Read on to learn how red light therapy benefits skin and how serums fit into that picture.

What Is Red Light Therapy?

Red light therapy (also known as photobiomodulation) is a non-invasive treatment that uses low-level red and near-infrared wavelengths to support cellular energy, collagen production, and tissue repair in the skin.

When those wavelengths hit your skin, they get absorbed by little power centers inside your cells called mitochondria. That boost in energy helps your skin do all the things it’s already designed to do — just more efficiently.

That’s why research shows that red light therapy can help with the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and skin elasticity with modest, measurable benefits, especially over consistent use. It also helps calm irritation and redness, and studies show it can reduce inflammation and support rosacea-prone skin.

It’s also gentle. Red and near-infrared light don’t behave like blue light or UV light — they don’t heat your skin, they don’t burn, and they carry a far lower risk of hyperpigmentation.

Whether you’re trying to soften lines, brighten dullness, recover from irritation, or just keep your skin functioning at its best, this technology works behind the scenes to support the processes your skin relies on every day.

How Can Serums Complement Red Light Therapy?

Once you understand what red light therapy does at the cellular level, it becomes way easier to see why pairing it with a good serum feels like a power couple for your skin.

Serums are lightweight formulas packed with high concentrations of active ingredients that target specific concerns like dryness, dullness, uneven tone, or early signs of aging. They’re designed to sink deeper than a moisturizer and deliver results you can actually see.

Here’s where the synergy happens: red light therapy temporarily boosts circulation and increases skin permeability, which means your skin is primed to absorb ingredients more effectively right after a session. Some research even shows that combining LED light therapy with topical anti-aging formulas can lead to better results than using either one alone.

Serums can amplify what RLT already does by doubling down on hydration, collagen support, or calming irritated skin. Think of it like giving your skin the right tools at the exact moment it’s most ready to use them.

When To Apply Serum in Relation to Red Light Therapy

Timing matters, and luckily, the rule here is super simple. For most people, serum should be applied after red light therapy.

This ensures your device’s wavelengths can penetrate the skin without anything blocking or diffusing the light. Then, once your skin is warm, energized, and more absorbent, your serum can sink in deeper and work more effectively.

Here’s the ideal routine:

Cleanse your face: Start with clean, bare skin so nothing interferes with light penetration.
Do your red light therapy session: Let the wavelengths reach the skin directly.
Apply your serum of choice: Choose a serum that matches your skin goals — hydration, brightening, calming, or firming.
Lock it in with moisturizer: And in the morning, finish with sunscreen to protect your fresh, glowing skin.

This layering method keeps things simple and ensures every product (and every wavelength) is working at full power.

What Serums Can You Use With Red Light Therapy?

After a red light therapy session, your skin is ready to absorb — so choosing the right serum can noticeably amplify your results. The key is to reach for ingredients that complement what RLT already does: boost hydration, support collagen, and calm irritation.

Here are the serum categories that pair especially well with red light therapy:

Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid is a hydration powerhouse. It pulls moisture into the skin, helping everything look smoother, dewier, and more refreshed. Because red light therapy increases circulation and skin permeability, HA sinks in afterward and leaves your skin feeling plump.

Peptides

Peptides act like tiny signals that encourage your skin to firm up and rebuild itself. Red light therapy already stimulates collagen pathways, so combining RLT with peptide serums creates a supportive effect — think: firmer, healthier-looking skin over time.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants brighten, even tone, and help your skin defend itself from daily stressors. After an RLT session, your skin is already in repair mode, which makes antioxidant serums even more effective at boosting radiance and supporting long-term skin health.

Specialty Serums

If you’re targeting fine lines or loss of firmness, copper peptides can be an amazing pairing — they support elasticity and skin strength. For irritation-prone or reactive skin, calming botanicals like chamomile or centella help soothe and comfort after a light session.

Ingredients To Avoid During Red Light Therapy

Now that you know what works with red light therapy, it’s just as important to know what to skip. Some skincare ingredients play nicely with RLT, and others can stir up irritation, increase sensitivity, or work against the treatment altogether.

Retinoids and Retinol

Retinoids are powerful, but they can also make your skin more reactive. When combined with light-based treatments, they may increase sensitivity, dryness, and the risk of irritation. If you’re using prescription-strength retinoids or over-the-counter retinol, check with your dermatologist before pairing them with RLT.

Strong Acids

Exfoliating acids help with texture and brightness, but they leave the skin more vulnerable. Using them right before a light session can heighten stinging, redness, and irritation. If acids are part of your routine, space them out so they’re not sitting on your skin during RLT.

Photosensitizing Ingredients

Some ingredients — like certain botanicals, essential oils, or acne treatments — can trigger photosensitivity. On darker skin to,nes especially, this can raise the risk of hyperpigmentation. If a product is known to increase sun sensitivity, it’s best to avoid it before red light therapy.

A Quick Note on Safety

Red light therapy itself is considered gentle and generally safe for all skin types. But as dermatology research notes, long-term effects of combining LED therapies with active topicals haven’t been fully studied. When in doubt, get personalized guidance before mixing higher-strength actives into your routine.

It’s always best to perform a patch test on a small area of skin first, and then proceed with a short red light therapy session on that area to confirm whether there are any negative effects. Everyone’s skin is different, and this is the best way to know whether a certain serum is safe for you specifically to combine with RLT.

How To Optimize Your Skincare Routine With Red Light Therapy

Once you understand what to use (and what to avoid), the next step is building a routine that actually works in real life. Red light therapy fits easily into most skincare systems — the key is using it at the right point in your lineup so the light reaches your skin fully and your products can work harder afterward.

A simple, effective routine looks like this:

Cleanse: Start with clean, bare skin. This ensures nothing blocks the wavelengths from reaching your cells.
Red Light Therapy Session: Use your device according to your recommended protocol. Think of this step as “priming” your skin — increasing circulation, improving permeability, and setting the stage for better absorption.
Apply Your Serum: After the session, apply a serum that aligns with your goals (hydration, calming, firming, brightening). This is when the ingredients sink in the most effectively.
Moisturizer: Lock everything in with a nourishing moisturizer to seal hydration.
Sunscreen (AM use): If it’s daytime, finish with SPF. Fresh collagen is more UV-sensitive, so this step protects your progress.

You can also layer in supportive products as needed. For example, our MitoAURA™: Red Light Therapy Enhancing Body Spray can be used pre-session for soothing hydration, and our MitoAURA™ Activate + Amplify Serum is formulated specifically for pre-session usage on the face to enhance the effects of red light therapy.

Monitoring Results and Adjusting Your Routine

Red light therapy works best when you use it consistently and pay attention to how your skin responds. Small adjustments over time can make a noticeable difference in results.

Track Your Progress

Take progress photos every week or two under the same lighting. Pay attention to hydration, texture, firmness, and evenness — these tend to shift first.

Note how your skin feels after sessions: calmer, smoother, or more balanced.

Start Gradually and Build Up

Most people do well starting with two or three sessions per week, then increasing frequency if their skin tolerates it. Consistency matters more than long sessions. And because the ideal dosage is still being studied, tuning into your own skin’s response is key.

Know What’s Normal

A little warmth or temporary redness right after a session can be normal. But if you experience ongoing irritation, increased sensitivity, or discomfort:

Pause the actives you’re using
Check whether any ingredients might be photosensitizing
Reduce session time or frequency
If symptoms persist, touch base with a dermatologist

The Bottom Line

Using the right serums and skincare products alongside your red light therapy sessions can help you achieve optimal results — but it’s important to understand what to use and what to avoid. Ingredients like retinoids should be approached with caution, while ingredients like hyaluronic acid can support skin health and complement the benefits of red light.

For at-home red light therapy devices and products you can rely on, shop Mito Red Light.

DISCLAIMER : Mito Red Light devices are Class II wellness devices aimed at affecting the body through supporting cellular function. The information provided in this article and on this site is for educational purposes only and is not intended to imply effectiveness of Mito Red Light devices for any specific application. The information provided in this article and on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, is not a substitute for consultation with a licensed medical provider and should not be construed as medical advice. Click here to read our article on potential contraindications of red light therapy.

FAQs

Should I apply serum before or after red light therapy?

In most cases, serum should be applied after red light therapy. Bare skin allows the light to penetrate fully, and applying serum afterward takes advantage of the increased circulation and improved absorption your skin has immediately post-session.

Can I use any serum with red light therapy?

Most gentle, non-irritating serums pair well with red light therapy. It’s best to avoid strong acids, retinoids, or anything known to increase photosensitivity unless your dermatologist approves it.

Which serum ingredients work best with red light therapy?

Serums with hyaluronic acid, peptides, or antioxidants (like vitamin C or E) work especially well. These ingredients support hydration, collagen, and skin repair — the same pathways RLT already activates.

Does using a serum improve the effectiveness of red light therapy?

Yes. While red light therapy is effective on its own, pairing it with the right serum can enhance hydration, firmness, brightness, and overall skin renewal.