Wavelengths explained.

Cytochrome c oxidase (CCO) is the fourth enzyme complex in the mitochondrial electron transport chain — the molecular target that defines red light therapy. CCO has specific absorption peaks at 620–660nm (red) and 800–850nm (near-infrared). Photons at these wavelengths get absorbed efficiently; photons at other wavelengths mostly pass through or scatter.

Karu's 1989 work and Hamblin's subsequent reviews mapped CCO's absorption spectrum across the visible and near-infrared range. The two peaks (red around 660nm, NIR around 830–850nm) are why these specific bands have become the standard in PBM research and clinical practice.

Other wavelengths exist in commercial devices — 590nm yellow, 850nm versus 1064nm NIR, etc. — with varying evidence quality. But 660nm + 850nm remain the most-evidenced combination, and both are present in R1SE's bed.

The Hamblin biphasic curve (Anders, Lanzafame, Hamblin et al. 2015) shows that PBM benefits rise with dose up to an optimal point — typically 4–60 J/cm² depending on application — then plateau or reverse at higher doses. More red light beyond the optimum doesn't add benefit and may actively reduce it.

This is fundamentally different from most pharmaceutical or nutritional interventions where the dose-response is monotonic (more = more, up to a toxic ceiling). PBM has a productive zone and a counter-productive zone separated by a relatively narrow band.

The practical implication: follow protocols based on RCT-evidenced doses, not on intuition or “if a little is good, more must be better.” R1SE's bed delivers doses within the productive range across the standard 30-minute session. Home users with high-irradiance panels often inadvertently overdose by running too long or too close to the device.

Blue light (400–500nm): Used clinically for acne (kills P. acnes bacteria) and neonatal jaundice. Doesn't engage cytochrome c oxidase the same way red light does. Penetration is minimal (sub-millimetre).

Yellow / amber light (570–620nm): Some commercial devices include this for skin tone and pigmentation. Less rigorously evidenced than red and NIR.

Far-infrared (3000–100,000nm): This is what infrared saunas use. It's a thermal heating modality, not photobiomodulation. The mechanism is body-heating, not cellular signalling. R1SE's sauna and red light bed are different services targeting different things.

UV-A/UV-B: Tanning bed wavelengths. Cause skin damage. Not used in red light therapy. If a provider markets a “tanning bed with red light benefits” — that's a tanning bed.