The LED Light Order Nobody Talks About (And Why It Matters): Before or After Skin Needling
You've probably seen it on TikTok or Instagram, or maybe you've had the treatment before. You finish your skin needling session, and straight away the LED light comes out to "help the healing" and calm down that redness that makes you look like you've been baking in the midday sun for three hours.
So when you come into ReSKN Studio for the first time, and I start your treatment by putting you straight under the LED light before anything else, especially before skin needling, the question always comes: "Silvia, why are you doing the LED light before my skin needling? Where I used to go, they always did it after my procedure!"
I know, ladies. Most clinics are still doing things the old-school way, with old techniques. So let me explain why I prefer LED light before skin needling, not after.
What LED light actually is, and what it does for your skin
LED light therapy uses specific wavelengths of light, usually red, blue, and near-infrared, to trigger a process called photobiomodulation. In simple terms, the light penetrates the skin and gets absorbed by your cells, kick-starting increased cellular energy production. That extra energy is what drives the benefits: more collagen production, reduced inflammation, and faster healing.
When you combine LED light with skin needling, you're not just adding a nice extra. You're directly supporting your skin's healing response at a cellular level, right when it needs it most. Since skin needling already works by triggering your body's natural repair process, timing the LED light around that process, rather than treating it as a separate, unrelated step, is what actually makes the bigger difference. Which is exactly what this post is about.
Why I don't rush to calm the redness
The main focus of skin needling is to send signals to your body to start a healing process that builds collagen and elastin in the deeper layers of your skin. That's the entire point of the treatment.
The inflammation we cause is exactly what your body needs to kick-start that healing process. So why would we want to suppress it straight away? That's actually where the magic happens. By letting your body move through this phase naturally, we're supporting the best possible results from your skin needling session.
And it's not just LED light at the end of treatments that gets me thinking this way. Ice globes, cooling sheet masks, all the same idea applies, and honestly, it gives me the ick a little. I understand that from a client's perspective, comfort and relaxation feel like exactly what you'd want after something as intense as skin needling. But if relaxation is what you're after, a facial would probably be a better booking than skin needling.
Skin needling is about real, visible results, not a soft, relaxing experience. That's exactly why I love offering LED light right at the start, straight after cleansing. It preps your skin to perform at its best before the main treatment even begins. I also prefer doing LED light before any facial or chemical peel you're booked in for, because peels are also actively working within the skin, and you don't want to interrupt that healing process either.
This isn't just about technique for me, it's about respecting the skin's own biology. I'd rather let the healing process unfold the way the body intends, then support it properly, than rush to mask what it's trying to do. That's why I choose better results over a quick fifteen minutes of comfort.
If you're in Sydney and ready for skin needling done properly, based on biology, not old habits, book a consultation with me at ReSKN Studio in Woollahra.
