Yellow Light Therapy (Amber, 590 nm): What It Does for Skin
Yellow light therapy, also called amber light therapy, uses LED light at about 570 to 595 nm, most often 590 nm. It reaches the upper layers of the skin and has been studied for two things: smoother-looking skin with fewer fine lines, and calmer skin after clinic procedures such as laser. In the largest trial, 137 women had amber light on one side of the face and red on the other, and wrinkle volume around the eyes fell by about 30% on both sides. Yellow has a smaller body of research than red or near-infrared, so it is best seen as a gentle surface wavelength that works alongside them. This article covers what yellow light does, how it compares with red, the doses the trials used, and how to use the 590 nm band on a panel.
What does yellow light therapy do for skin?
It acts on the upper skin, where it has been linked to smoother texture, fewer fine lines and faster settling of redness after procedures. It is a low-level, non-thermal light, and the trials reported no side effects.
The best-known early study gave 90 people a full-face 590 nm LED treatment eight times over four weeks, at a very low dose delivered in pulses. Digital imaging showed fewer signs of sun ageing in 90% of them, and skin surface measurements improved by 10%. In the ten who had biopsies, staining for type I collagen rose by an average of 28%. The study had no comparison group, so it shows what happened in the people treated. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, 2005
A 2025 trial added yellow to red and near-infrared. Thirty people with sun-aged facial skin were randomised to LED sessions combining 570 nm or 590 nm yellow with 620 nm red and 850 nm near-infrared, three times a week for eight weeks. Both groups finished with significantly better wrinkle and overall skin scores than they started with. Lasers in Medical Science, 2025
Is yellow or red light therapy better?
In the one trial that compared them directly they performed about the same. Red has many more trials behind it, so the sensible approach is to treat yellow as an addition to red and not a replacement.
That trial enrolled 137 women aged 40 to 65. Each had red light at 660 nm on one side of the face and amber at 590 nm on the other, at the same dose of 3.8 J/cm², for ten sessions over four weeks. Wrinkle volume around the eyes fell by 31.6% on the red side and 29.9% on the amber side. Because every participant received both colours, the result tells us the two were equivalent, not how either compares with no light at all. Photobiomodulation, Photomedicine, and Laser Surgery, 2023
| Yellow or amber | Red | Near-infrared | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wavelength | 570 to 595 nm, usually 590 | 620 to 700 nm | 800 to 1,100 nm |
| Where it works | Upper skin, about 0.5 to 2 mm | Skin, about 2 to 3 mm | Below the skin, about 5 to 10 mm |
| Studied for | Fine lines and texture; redness after laser or IPL | Wrinkles, texture, collagen; acne with blue | Skin ageing with red; muscles and joints |
| Size of the research | A handful of trials | Many, including sham-controlled trials | Many, including sham-controlled trials |
| Visible | Yes, warm yellow-orange | Yes | No |
The full comparison of colours is in LED light therapy colours, and every wavelength is set out in our red light therapy wavelength chart.
How deep does yellow light penetrate?
About 0.5 to 2 mm, which covers the epidermis and the upper dermis. It stops short of where red and near-infrared reach because blood absorbs it far more strongly.
The depth figure comes from a dermatology review of LED devices. Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, 2015 The reason is in the absorption tables for haemoglobin. Oxygenated blood has an absorption peak at 576 nm, and at 590 nm it still absorbs about 24 times more light than at 630 nm and about 45 times more than at 660 nm. Oregon Medical Laser Center So yellow light is taken up by the fine blood vessels of the upper skin before it can travel further. That is the physical basis for the interest in yellow light and redness, and it matches where the 2005 study found its collagen changes, in the upper dermis.
It also sets the limits. Muscle, joints and anything else beneath the skin are the territory of near-infrared, as described in infrared vs red light therapy.
Does yellow light therapy help with redness?
The evidence is for redness after clinic procedures, where two small studies found skin settled faster on the side given yellow light. The effect showed in the first day or two.
- After IPL: 15 people had one intense pulsed light treatment, then yellow LED on one side of the face straight afterwards and again a day later. A blinded assessor scored redness at 43.3 on the LED side against 52.7 on the other at the first assessment, and four of the 15 said that side was more comfortable. By one week both sides had cleared. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2008
- After fractional laser: 20 patients had 590 nm LED on a randomly chosen half of the face right after full-face laser. The LED side was less red in all 20 at 24 hours, and still less red at 48 hours in the six who had the strongest laser settings. Dermatologic Surgery, 2009
These were clinic treatments on freshly treated skin under a practitioner's care. For home use, follow your clinic's aftercare advice first. We cover the timing by procedure in red light therapy after microneedling, Botox, fillers and peels.
Does yellow light help with dark spots?
Early research points that way. In a pilot study of ten people without a comparison group, weekly amber LED sessions were followed by lower pigment and redness readings after eight weeks.
The participants had melasma, a patchy facial pigmentation, and received 585 nm amber LED at 20 J/cm² once a week in a clinic. Their severity score fell from 17.02 to 13.05, the melanin reading fell from 300.5 to 258.9, and nobody reported a flare. Cells, 2022 A larger sham-controlled trial of amber light for melasma has been registered. BMJ Open, 2023 Melasma is a medical condition and visible light affects pigment differently across skin tones, so anyone with it should see a dermatologist before using a light device. Our precautions advise against using the panel on Fitzpatrick skin types V and VI.
Is amber LED the same as a yellow laser?
No. They share a colour and work on opposite principles: a low-level amber LED is non-thermal, while a yellow laser delivers enough energy in thousandths of a second to heat and close blood vessels.
The pulsed dye laser used by dermatologists runs at 585 or 595 nm and is aimed at visible vessels, birthmarks and some scars. DermNet Its results belong to that procedure and do not carry over to an LED. The same goes for lymphatic drainage: the clinical research on light and lymphoedema used near-infrared lasers at 808 to 905 nm. BMC Cancer, 2017
How often should you use yellow light therapy?
Most of the trials used two or three sessions a week for four to eight weeks, and the better-designed ones ran at low brightness for 10 to 15 minutes. Results were measured at four and eight weeks.
| Study | Light | Dose per session | Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 people, 2005 | 590 nm, pulsed | 0.1 J/cm² | 8 sessions over 4 weeks |
| 137 women, 2023 | 590 nm and 660 nm | 3.8 J/cm², about 10 minutes | 10 sessions over 4 weeks |
| 30 people, 2025 | 570 or 590 nm with 620 and 850 nm | 6.39 J/cm² at 7.1 mW/cm² | 3 a week for 8 weeks |
| 10 people, 2022 | 585 nm | 20 J/cm² at 20 mW/cm² | Once a week for 8 weeks, in clinic |
The intensities were low, in the single digits to 20 mW/cm². The practical lesson for a home panel is that yellow does not need to be turned up high: a low setting and a short session are in line with what the trials did. The session length for the 137-women trial comes from its published protocol. BMJ Open, 2018 General scheduling is covered in how often to use red light therapy.
Which Kivorla device has yellow light?
The panel. Its 590 nm amber band is one of nine wavelengths, and it can be dimmed from 1 to 100% on its own.
The 9-Spectrum Red Light Therapy Panel covers 480, 590, 630, 660, 670, 810, 830, 850 and 1060 nm, each adjustable from 1 to 100%. For a face session that means amber and the three reds can be raised together while near-infrared is turned down, or all of them run at once. Suggested use is 10 to 15 minutes per area at 12 inches for a broad area, with the supplied goggles on, and the timer runs from 1 to 30 minutes. The 4-Wavelength Red Light Therapy Mask does not include amber: it uses 665 nm red with 850 and 1064 nm near-infrared, and 460 nm blue with 850 nm in its second mode.
Do not use either device if you are pregnant, have epilepsy, have a thyroid condition or take thyroid medication, take photosensitising medication, or have broken skin on the area. Standard shipping to the US, UK and Germany is free. Read the precautions before ordering, since returns are accepted within 30 days, less a 10% restocking fee if the device is unopened with its seals intact, or 20% if it is opened but undamaged and complete.
Kivorla devices are general wellness devices, not medical devices. This article describes what published research on amber light examined and is not a claim that our devices treat redness, melasma or any other condition. If you have a skin condition, speak to a doctor before using a light device.