Serenity and Fire with Krista

The Healing Power of Light: How Red & Infrared LED Therapy Transforms the Body

• Krista Guagenti

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LED red light therapy is one of my absolute favorite treatments we offer at Panacea (just ask our staff)—and in this episode, I’m telling you exactly why.

Before I ever brought our LightStim LED bed into the spa, I tested it in my own home for 18 months. I wanted to be 100% sure it actually worked. And I can confidently say it does!

In this episode, I’m breaking down:

  • The difference between red and infrared light—and what they do inside your body
  • Why our LED bed is FDA-cleared (and why that’s rare in the spa world)
  • The benefits I’ve seen firsthand—from joint pain relief and glowing skin to deeper sleep and more energy
  • What you can expect during a session, plus how often to go to feel real results

This isn’t just about looking better—it’s about healing from the inside out. Whether you’re dealing with inflammation, anxiety, skin conditions, or just need a reset, LED can support your wellness in powerful ways.

💡 Want to try it?
Use code Serenity10 at PanaceaLuxurySpa.com for 10% off your first LED light bed session. And don’t forget—we offer an incredible first-time booster package: 3 sessions in one week for just $225 (a $150 savings).

If you’ve tried LED or have questions about how it can support you, DM me—I’d love to hear your story 💚

—Krista

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Serenity and Fire, the podcast where wellness meets grit. I'm your host, krista Guagenti, founder of Panacea Luxury Spa Boutique. Join me as we dive into the intriguing world of biohacking, clean living, cutting edge spa trends and the hustle, grind and grit of entrepreneurship. From my personal battles with weight management, infertility and a 30-year journey to create and launch my dream business to building a sanctuary for those who have been touched by cancer, I'm here to share real talk, inspire big dreams and spark a passion for holistic living inside each and every one of you. So let's dive in. Welcome back to Serenity and Fire. I'm so excited about today's episode because I get to talk about one of my favorite treatments that we offer at Panacea Luxury Spa Boutique, and that is LED red light therapy. Led, along with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, are two of my favorite treatments that we offer, because, when it comes to healing the body from the inside out, I feel like these two therapies do the most. And not that everybody doesn't love a great massage, facial, nail service, body treatment we all do but when we look at true healing of the body, these two treatments just do so much, and so today I wanted to share some of the great benefits that LED has to offer. I actually had the LED therapy bed that we have in the spa in my house for about 18 months before we opened the spa, because I really wanted to see if it could do all of the things that the manufacturer said it could do before bringing it into the spa and introducing it to our clients. It could do before bringing it into the spa and introducing it to our clients. And you know, in the spa world sometimes there are a lot of treatments out there that get a lot of hype but don't actually provide a lot of benefit, but this is definitely not one of them. There have been over 45,000 studies done on the benefits of LED lightbed therapy and I'm going to go over a few of them with you today and hopefully, after this episode, you'll be running to Panacea to try your first LED treatment.

Speaker 1:

Before we dive into all of those benefits, I do want to share one thing about the specific table that we purchased in the spa. I was very intentional and did tons and tons of research on all of the different equipment and beds that were available in the market and this particular bed, which was manufactured by a company called Light Stem. I specifically chose it because they are the only manufacturer in the industry that has both FDA cleared and approved LED light beds, and this is important because that means that not only are they approved for use by the general public, but Light Stem went that extra mile to do all of the clinical research studies to prove and show that their tables do actually provide the therapeutic benefit that they claim they do. So that's pretty unheard of in the health and beauty industry. Not too many things are regulated. Pretty much every device out there does not go through this type of clearance and clinical trials to prove their efficacy.

Speaker 1:

So I really do believe that the light stem therapy beds are the best in the industry and do provide the most benefit for our clients. So I can tell you that I personally love LED. It's so soothing, calming, comforting. It provides so many incredible healing benefits, which I'm going to get into here in just a minute. But I can also tell you that literally at least half of my staff uses our LED beds on a regular basis, and I've heard them talking about everything from just soothing their muscles after having a long day of doing massages to helping with skin conditions, to helping with stress, headaches and just so many other things, so they love it, and I know that you'll love it too. And what's happening during an LED light bed therapy treatment is we're using red and infrared light therapy to deliver four different wavelengths of energy into the body, and when we do this, we're healing the body from the inside out by regenerating new cells, healing damaged cells, we're increasing mitochondrial activity in our cells, which again is that energy store system in our bodies that helps fight disease and aging.

Speaker 1:

Led can help with things like joint pain, inflammation, muscle recovery. It can increase serotonin and dopamine levels, so it's really great for people who struggle with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and even seasonal affective disorder, which is a big deal here in Ohio, where we have so many days that are gloomy and dark. Led can boost collagen and elastin, so it's really incredible for anti-aging, and I usually typically see immediate improvements in our client's complexion right after they've had a treatment. We've also found that LED can be really great for people who have skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis, and we've even had some clients who swear that it has completely cleared up their conditions. Led can also help prevent osteoporosis, and there's also tons of data showing that it can significantly reduce high blood pressure, even at levels that are greater than what some clients see, with taking antihypertensives with no change in diet or exercise at all.

Speaker 1:

Led can also aid in wound healing. It can provide relief for those who suffer from neuropathy and lymphedema, and it has tons and tons of brain healing benefits, so it can provide a lot of relief for people who suffer from symptoms of traumatic brain injuries, parkinson's and even Alzheimer's. There's just so many wonderful healing benefits for the body when doing LED light bed therapy, and these are just to name a few. Led is literally giving you all of the benefits of the sun, without the harmful rays and damaging UV effects. Like any holistic therapy, the more treatments you do, the more your body is going to benefit and feel the real effects of the LED therapy.

Speaker 1:

I feel like most people start to feel and experience benefits after the third treatment, and so I usually typically recommend that our clients try to do at least three treatments within the first seven to 10 days and then listen to your body. From there and after that, your body will literally start to crave the LED when it needs it. You'll start feeling things like joint pain, inflammation, and you'll realize that you're not sleeping as well. So that's when you'll know that you really need to come back in for therapy again. We have people who come in multiple times a week, some who come in one time a week and and others who only come in a couple times a month. So it really just depends on what your body needs and you just really have to listen to your body and then figure out the best treatment regimen from there. We do offer packages of three, six and 10 to help keep the cost down and, like I said, I do definitely recommend that you try to front load your first three treatments to really get the most optimal benefits in the beginning. We do offer a first time booster series where you can do three treatments in one week for just $225, which is a $150 savings. So some really great package offerings to consider.

Speaker 1:

So a couple things. When you're having the treatment, let's go over what happens and what you can expect. So the table is a very bright red light. You actually can see it as you're walking down the hallway, which is kind of cool, and I always like to let the clients know that that bright light is not harmful to your eyes. It's actually super beneficial and red light therapy is one of the few things that can actually help treat macular degeneration and some other significant eye conditions. But we do provide you with goggles just to help minimize the intensity of the light, if that is something that you need. I personally, when I use the table, never use the goggles, because I really want to optimize those healing benefits for my eyes.

Speaker 1:

The table is like half of a tanning bed and it has an acrylic cover over the led lights. So for some the table can be a little uncomfortable, especially in those first few treatments. But by the time you've come in for your third treatment your body gets so used to it and it's literally melting into the table. But if you do feel uncomfortable, we do offer bolsters that you can put under your knees or under your ankles to make it more comfortable for you. And again, like I said, usually by the third treatment, if you needed those bolsters in the beginning, you typically don't need them by the time you've gotten to that third or fourth treatment.

Speaker 1:

I typically usually fall asleep whenever I'm having a treatment. I usually find that about 45 minutes after the treatment I then feel super energized. So I'm always really excited to hear how other people feel and what they experience when they've had a treatment. There's a heating component to the table as well, so you do get warm and it's perfectly normal to sweat throughout the treatment. I typically always do so. I just always like to let clients know to be prepared for that. So here's what you can expect during the treatment.

Speaker 1:

It's a 45 minute therapy and we do recommend that you go without any clothes on, although if you're not comfortable with that, you can definitely go in with your bathing suit but we do recommend trying to get as much skin contact as possible with the table so that you can get the most optimal benefits from the LED lights. We're going to start you face down for 20 minutes. We'll have you put your face into a nice padded cradle and then over the back of your head we're going to put a lighted LED face panel so that you can get headphones in. If they want to listen to a meditation or a podcast or, you know, an audiobook, they can definitely do that. We also play light spa music in the treatment room, so it is super relaxing and, like I said, I typically always fall asleep and I always feel like I'm in this super euphoric state by the time that I wake up, like it's just so incredible and comforting. Um, we do recommend that you not wear any jewelry when you're in the treatment. Because of the heat from the bed Sometimes the jewelry can get a little bit warm, so we do recommend that you take that off, but other than that, it's a super easy treatment.

Speaker 1:

I have found that we've had lots of people who have come in that have had different types of surgeries, who have arthritis, different types of pain throughout the body, who see significant relief from LED. So that's one of the reasons why we love it so much, and most of our clients who come in on a regular basis swear by its benefits and really don't want to live without it. So, as far as contraindications go, it pretty much is safe for everybody. The only people that really have to be cautious are if you have an extreme sensitivity to light or you tend to get migraines that are brought on by light. If you're on any type of photosensitizing drugs, if you have any type of light-induced types of seizures. Also, if you have melasma or hyperpigmentation that is exacerbated by mild warmth, you probably won't want to do the LED and you want to make sure that you're not using any products prior to the treatment that can't be exposed to mild warmth. You probably won't want to do the LED and you want to make sure that you're not using any products prior to the treatment that can't be exposed to mild warmth.

Speaker 1:

Accutane is another one that you have to be careful with. That must be discontinued for six months in advance of the treatment and if you're pregnant, you just really need to seek approval from your physician. But it has been shown that LED does provide some significant benefits to even pregnant moms and the fetuses. So you just want to go ahead and make sure that you have that approval from the physician and know that when you come in, because it is that hard surface, we may have to prop you up just a little bit to make it a little more comfortable for you, and you most likely won't be able to lay face down. So typically for our pregnant clients, we'll put them in a side lying position with some bolsters just to make things more comfortable for them. We also want our pregnant clients to make sure that they're being super cautious of their core temperature, because we don't want them to ever get overheated. We can place a fan in the room if that is necessary, but for most clients, especially those who aren't pregnant. We don't want to do that because the heat is part of the healing benefits. So the only other clients that really have to worry about treatment are anyone who has suspicious lesions or skin cancers. They should definitely consult with their physicians before having treatment, and any clients that are being treated for any significant or serious health conditions should always seek approval before having any types of services, including LED. But other than that, it's super safe.

Speaker 1:

I hope that you'll come in and try it. So that's just a couple of quick highlights about the benefits of LED lightbed therapy. I could definitely talk about this for hours and go much deeper into things and all of the 45,000 different studies that are associated with the benefits of LED lightbed therapy. So if you have more questions or you want me to dive deeper into any of those things, or if you'd like me to talk about why our particular brand of LED is better or different from other ones on the market or different from devices that you may be able to get and use in your home, definitely DM us on our Instagram or Facebook page and I'll be happy to dive into some of those other topics down the road.

Speaker 1:

Remember that we do offer a 10% discount on your first LED lightbed therapy service. So when you book, just use the code Serenity10 at PanaceaLuxurySpacom and we'll be sure to give you that 10% off. Make sure that you tell us about your LED experiences using the hashtag Serenity and Fire, as always. Don't forget to leave us a review and hit subscribe to the Serenity and Fire show wherever you get your podcasts. This helps us reach more people like you, so we can spread the word of health and wellness to the masses. Until next time, keep balancing Serenity with Fire. I'm Krista Mageni and I'll look forward to talking with you in our next episode.