Having a shorter, more powerful fast burn session is more preferred over a longer, slow burn session. Lightstim has the longest session while the OvationULT has the shortest session time of all the beds on the market right now. The power of the Lightstim is 12.6 and the Ovation 68 mw/cm2. This is nearly 5 times difference in the joules of energy delivered to the body at a time. Lower powered beds still work but to get the same joules of energy to create ATP and nitric oxide, it takes longer. Some people find more benefit with a slow burn bed based on their body ecology. For home use, using a slow burn bed can be a big time commitment. People usually find the time to get more sessions in per week on a fast burn bed.
Light Sensitive Serums
This takes red light bed therapy to another level. Most people don't do this. If you have the discipline each time, using a serum that has hyaluronic acid helps the red light penetrate better and for those using it for skin therapy, this is when you notice the most difference. Note that many red light beds are not strong enough to activate the light sensitive serum all the way.
Keep the Lights OFF
The room should be pitch black to get the best results even if not using light sensitive serums. Unwanted light sources degrade the red light penetration.
Exfoliate First
Using a dry skin brush (I use the copper bristles) makes a huge difference if doing this for a few minutes before a red light bed session. Once the top layer of dead skin is gone, the skin is way more receptive to the red light. I hear this all the time from aestheticians. The best results are when dry brushing and using serums. I know several brands that make really good serums.
Wrong Dosage
There's a very fine balance of having a just enough stimulus from red light to overdoing it and having the reverse effect. If it is too strong and the body voltage is jacked up too high and the liver can't produce enough glucose that the cells are demanding…this is when problems arise. If using it for skin only, slow burn, less is more approach is better. If using it to penetrate deep in the body, a fast burn 10 minute session with a high powered bed is more appropriate. If buying for a skin clinic, a lower powered bed should be fine. Most holistic health clinics use high powered beds.
Too long of a session
If using it outside the recommended treatment window, many people experience oxidative stress. You will know when this happens. This is the best way for a clinic to lose customers. High levels of ROS can be created if using a red light bed that has not been cleared by the FDA. Once too many joules of energy are delivered to the body is when the problems happen. I know the beds that are powerful enough where 8 to 10 minutes delivers everything that is needed and what happens if going over that. Most beds are ok to use 20 to 30 minutes if they are under 60mw/cm2. Over that, this is when you need to .know what you are doing or treating.
OVERDOING IT
If jacking the voltage of the mitochondria with a high powered red light bed and doing it more than the cells can combust the glucose from the liver to create ATP, this is when ROS is produced and builds up very quickly. This doesn't happen with beds under 60mw/cm2 as much so there is no worry there. Fully charged mitochondria produce ATP and ROS very quickly when it has glucose and oxygen to combust. (I always make sure my 02 stat on my pulse oximeter is at least 98 or I don't use the bed. I avoid ROS as much as I can and don't go on a red light bed blindly like most people do. When using a high powered bed to often or too long ROS gets produced at exponential rates. When there is too much ROS in the body, the blood becomes sludgy and the body produces very little ATP. I strongly recommend a vibration plate with enough G force and use it before and after the session to create the negative pressure to push all the metabolic waste to the portal vein to the liver.
Notice: for those with slow metabolisms, I strongly recommend shorter sessions with a higher powered bed than longer exposure to red light with lower intensity. Fast burn beds create the least ROS based on what biohackers who use both tell me. The inhibitory effect of ATP from ROS is reduced with shorter sessions as ROS is short lived. Once the cells are past the ATP stimulatory response and you continue to pour energy into the cells, cellular functions will be inhibited.
Serums
I strongly recommend using an anti-oxidant serum every time when using a high powered red light bed. These serums help minimize ROS. Doing as many protocols to eliminate ROS should give the results you would normally get in a month in around 2 weeks instead. If someone has the discipline and time to do these things is when best results happen.
Pairing Protocols
The best results I have found are when using vibration plates, HBOT, saunas, and pemf. For example, clearing out the lymphatic system can be helpful for people with inflammation. Red light therapy before HBOT can be helpful for those that want to separate mitochondria from nitric oxide so a person's 02 stat goes up (mostly for people with low 02 stats). If using for lipolysis or cellulite, warming up the body before the session can be helpful.
I don't always have time for pre and post session protocols
I understand. Many people have a short window of time to use a red light bed daily. Although using a dedicated vibration plate or rebounder is optimal, newer style red light beds have frequency vibration built in so it helps remove the waste that was released during the session.
Top canopy is too far
Many people find the concave top canopy to be too far away as it does not touch the skin. Some people prefer this as they want to do a longer session. If you want a bed that has the most contact with the skin the zero gravity designs give the most skin contact. If you study salamander studies, you can see that as the LEDs are further away, the more latent heat the body gets and the less co-efficient. When the LEDs are almost directly touching the body the rays go deepest in the body.