Can I Use My Phone During Red Light Therapy?
With a red light mask, yes. With a panel, put the phone out of the beam before the light comes on. The mask has one eye opening with no diodes over the eyes and is cordless, so reading or scrolling is fine and the mask moves with your head. A panel is different: goggles stay on for the whole session, a phone held in the beam shades the skin behind it, and leaning in to look at it changes how much light you get. This article covers eye safety, shadowing, why distance matters, what strong light does to a phone, screens in the evening, and what to do during a panel session instead.
Can I use my phone during red light therapy?
It depends on the device. With a mask, use it as you normally would; with a panel, use it before the session and keep it out of the beam once the light comes on.
A mask sits on the face at a fixed distance and leaves the eyes uncovered. A panel is a large light source in front of you, and the space between it and your skin is exactly where a phone would be.
- Mask: reading, answering messages and scrolling are all fine while it runs.
- Panel: choose your wavelengths, brightness and timer with the controller, find your distance, put the phone on a shelf outside the beam, then put the goggles on and start.
Can you use your phone with a red light mask on?
Yes. The mask has an eye opening with no diodes over the eyes, and it moves with your head, so you can look down at a phone and the light on your face stays the same.
Inside the mask, the diode arrays face the forehead, cheeks, nose and chin. You look out through an open window at eye level, which is why the mask can be worn with the eyes open, as explained in is red light therapy safe for your eyes. The phone sits outside the mask, so it shades nothing. The mask is cordless and cannot be used while plugged in, so there is no cable to manage either.
Two rules still apply. Our precautions say "Do not stare directly at the light source", so do not lift the mask mid-session to look into it. And let the timer end the session, rather than stopping to check how it looks.
Can you look at your phone with panel goggles on?
Keep the goggles on for the whole session, whatever they let you see, and do not look towards the panel. That makes a panel session a time to listen rather than to scroll.
The panel precaution is short: "Always wear the supplied goggles. Do not look directly into the panel." The American Academy of Dermatology says the same of home devices in general: "if the directions tell you to wear protective goggles, wear them every time." AAD, 2024
Goggles go on before the light comes on and come off after the timer stops. Behind them, eyes open or closed makes no difference, and closing your eyes when you face the panel is a sensible extra. Goggle types and fit are covered in red light therapy goggles. The point to keep in mind is that goggles are for light that reaches your eyes by accident, not permission to look at the panel. Near-infrared is invisible, so a panel can look dim while giving out most of its power, and your eyes will not warn you. A phone in your hand invites glances back up towards the light.
Does holding a phone block the light?
Yes. Light works only on skin it reaches, and a phone held between the panel and your face shades the skin behind it for as long as it is held there.
It is the same principle as clothing over the skin. How much it matters depends on the session:
- Face or neck session with a panel: the phone sits right in the beam, and the patch behind it gets little or no light.
- Back or leg session with a panel: a phone in front of you is outside the beam, but arms raised to hold it can shade the sides of the torso.
- Mask: the phone is outside the mask and shades nothing.
Do you need to stay still during red light therapy?
With a panel, yes: keep the treated area at the same distance and facing the panel square-on until the timer ends. With a mask it matters far less, because the mask moves with you.
The dose your skin receives is irradiance multiplied by time. Our panel delivers at least 1567 W/m² at 6 inches, and at 12 inches the irradiance is well under half of that. The timer counts minutes, not light. If you drift back in your chair to read a screen, the area gets less than you planned; if you lean in, it gets more. Leaning closer to speed things up is not the answer either, since with light more does not necessarily mean better.
Angle matters too. Light that falls on skin at a slant spreads over a larger area, so each square centimetre receives less. Tilting your head down to a phone does that to a face session. To keep the dose steady:
- Pick the distance: 6 inches for a joint, 12 inches for a broad area.
- Mark it: a strip of tape on the floor, or a chair that stays put.
- Face it square-on: the treated area pointing straight at the panel.
- Stay there: until the timer ends the session.
Heights for each body area are set out in how to set up a red light panel at home. A mask is different because its silicone shell flexes to the shape of the face and moves with the head, so the distance between diodes and skin stays the same whether you look up, down or sideways.
Is red light bad for your phone?
The light itself is not the issue: the panel gives out no ultraviolet, and its shortest wavelength is 480 nm. Warmth is, because a phone absorbs near-infrared as heat.
At 6 inches the panel delivers at least 1567 W/m², of which at least 1200 W/m² is near-infrared. The standard full sunlight used to test solar panels is 1000 W/m². PVEducation So a phone held 6 inches from the panel receives more radiant power per square metre than midday sun. That strength is the point of a panel.
Apple says its iPhones and iPads are designed for ambient temperatures between 0 and 35°C, and warns against "Leaving your device in direct sunlight for an extended period of time." When a phone gets too hot, charging can slow or stop, and "The display dims or goes black". Apple Support A phone held in the beam for 15 minutes is a phone sitting in strong sun.
- Fine: a phone on a shelf or table beside the panel, out of the beam.
- Avoid: charging it in front of the panel, resting it on the panel, or propping it up in the beam.
Does blue light from your phone cancel out red light therapy?
There is no known mechanism by which it would. A phone screen gives off a small fraction of the light a therapy device does, and measurements of screen light place it well within safety limits.
Public Health England scientists measured computers, tablets and low-energy bulbs against international exposure limits and concluded: "None of the sources assessed approached the exposure limits, even for extended viewing times." Eye, 2016 For skin, a systematic review of nine studies of blue light from electronic devices did not identify it as a hazard for pigmentation, redness, melasma or photoageing, while noting that the exposure data were of low confidence. Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences, 2022 Where screen light does matter is sleep.
What can you do during a red light therapy session?
With a mask, most quiet things: read, answer messages, watch TV, fold laundry. With a panel, listen to something and stay still at your distance.
| Activity | Mask | Panel |
|---|---|---|
| Reading a book | Yes | Not during the session: goggles stay on, and a raised book shades skin and shifts your distance |
| Using your phone | Yes, held where you normally hold it | Before and after; keep it out of the beam while the light is on |
| Watching TV | Yes | Face sessions: no, you are facing the panel. Body sessions: goggles stay on and the area stays at its distance, so audio suits it better |
| Podcasts, music, audiobooks, calls on speaker | Yes | Yes, the best fit for a panel session |
| Light chores, such as folding laundry | Yes | No, moving around changes the distance |
| Sitting still | Not needed; the mask moves with your head | Yes, at a marked distance, square-on to the panel |
For back or leg sessions you face away from the panel, but the goggles stay on all the same.
Can you wear earbuds or headphones during red light therapy?
Earbuds, yes, with either device. Over-ear headphones shade the skin they cover during a face or neck session with a panel.
If you treat the jaw or neck with a panel, headphone cups sit over skin you are trying to reach, so earbuds or a speaker across the room work better. A podcast also makes a 10 to 15 minute session pass without tempting you to move.
Can you fall asleep during red light therapy?
It is best to stay awake. Our red light therapy for sleep article advises against lying down to sleep in the mask, and its 5, 10 or 15 minute timer ends the session for you.
With a panel, set the timer before you start; if you forget, it stops on its own after 5 minutes. Dozing in a chair lets your distance and angle drift, so a panel session works best when you stay awake and still until the timer ends.
Should you use your phone after an evening session?
Time the screen, not the light. Red and near-infrared work at any time of day, but bright screens in the hours before bed are linked to falling asleep later.
In a randomised crossover study, 12 adults read on a tablet at full brightness for about four hours before bed on five evenings, and from a printed book on five others. With the tablet, evening melatonin was suppressed by about 55%, they took about 10 minutes longer to fall asleep, their melatonin rhythm shifted more than 1.5 hours later, and they were sleepier the next morning. PNAS, 2015 It was small, with long exposure at full brightness, but it points the same way as the general advice. Harvard Health suggests you "Avoid looking at bright screens beginning two to three hours before bed." Harvard Health, 2024 The American Academy of Sleep Medicine's minimum is to turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime. AASM
A phone's night mode is not a substitute for putting it down. In a randomised study of 167 young adults, an hour on a phone with night mode before bed made no difference to sleep compared with the phone without it, and among those who slept longer, no phone at all gave better sleep efficiency than night mode. Sleep Health, 2021
Our red light therapy for sleep article suggests finishing an evening session about two hours before bed, using red and near-infrared only, then dimming the lights and switching off screens for the last hour. Blue modes belong in the morning, for the reasons in red light therapy morning or night. An evening session is a natural moment to put the phone down, not to pick it up.
How does this work with Kivorla devices?
The mask is built for doing something else while it runs. The panel is built for output, so you set it up, step into position and let the timer do the rest.
The 4-Wavelength Red Light Therapy Mask is cordless, with a food-grade silicone shell that flexes to the face, one eye opening and no diodes over the eyes. You set the 5, 10 or 15 minute timer on the controller, and one charge gives about 40 minutes of use. The red mode is 665 nm red with 850 and 1064 nm near-infrared, the one to use in the evening. The blue mode is 460 nm blue with 850 nm, best kept for the morning. The manual sets a maximum of 20 minutes a day.
The 9-Spectrum Red Light Therapy Panel covers 480, 590, 630, 660, 670, 810, 830, 850 and 1060 nm, each dimmable from 1 to 100%, so the 480 nm channel can be turned down to its lowest setting for an evening session. The timer runs from 1 to 30 minutes and stops at 5 minutes if you do not set it. Output is at least 1567 W/m² at 6 inches, the surface stays at or below 40°C, and protective goggles come in the box. Suggested use is 10 to 15 minutes per area, at 6 inches for a joint or 12 inches for a broad area.
Read the precautions before ordering. Standard shipping to the US, UK and Germany is free, and returns are accepted within 30 days: unopened with seals intact, refunded less a 10% restocking fee; opened, undamaged and complete, refunded less 20%.
Kivorla devices are general wellness devices, not medical devices. Do not use either device if you have epilepsy, and speak to a doctor before starting if you have an eye condition or ongoing sleep problems.