Red Light Therapy vs Infrared Sauna: What Is the Difference?
Red light therapy vs infrared sauna: what is the difference?
Quick answer: Red light therapy shines red and near-infrared LED light, about 630 to 850 nanometers, on your skin with very little heat. An infrared sauna uses far infrared heat to warm your body and make you sweat at 110 to 140°F. They are two different things, and many people use both.
Key takeaways
- Red light therapy is light. An infrared sauna is heat.
- Red light panels use LEDs at set wavelengths, most often around 630 to 660 nm (red) and 810 to 850 nm (near-infrared).
- A carbon far infrared heater peaks at about 8 to 9 microns, a wavelength roughly ten times longer.
- A red light panel does not make you sweat. The room stays at room temperature.
- Far infrared heaters and mood lights do not give you red light therapy. Only a separate red and near-infrared LED panel does.
- Standard red light panels are not built for sauna heat. Use one outside the hot room unless it is rated for sauna use.
The two get confused because red light panels also use near-infrared light, and because saunas are now sold with red lights inside. This guide covers what each one is, how a session differs, whether a sauna can replace a panel, and how people fit both into one routine.
| Red light therapy panel | Infrared sauna | |
|---|---|---|
| What it gives off | Red and near-infrared light from LEDs | Far infrared heat from carbon or ceramic heaters |
| Wavelength | About 630 to 850 nm (0.63 to 0.85 microns) | 3 microns and longer. A carbon panel peaks at about 8 to 9 microns. |
| Heat | Very little | Cabin air at 110 to 140°F |
| Sweat | No | Yes |
| Typical session | 10 to 20 minutes per area | 20 to 30 minutes |
| How often | 3 to 5 times a week is a common routine | 3 to 4 times a week is the common guidance |
| How you use it | Bare skin 6 to 18 inches from the panel | Sitting inside the cabin |
| Space and power | A tabletop or wall panel on a normal outlet | A cabin about 4 feet wide on its own circuit |
| Price | Often $100 to more than $1,000 for a home device | Most home cabins cost $1,500 to $8,000 |
What is red light therapy?
Red light therapy is the use of low-power red and near-infrared light on the skin. Researchers call it photobiomodulation.
- The light. Studies and home panels mostly use red light between 600 and 700 nm, commonly 630 and 660 nm, and near-infrared light from about 770 to 1,200 nm, commonly 810, 830 and 850 nm.
- The source. LEDs in home panels, and LEDs or low-level lasers in clinics. Each LED gives off a narrow band around its set wavelength.
- The heat. Very little. Cleveland Clinic lists "non-thermal LED light" among its other names.
- The dose. It depends on distance and time. A common home routine is bare skin 6 to 18 inches from the panel for 10 to 20 minutes per area.
- The eyes. The LEDs are bright, and near-infrared is invisible. The American Academy of Dermatology says to wear the eye protection the directions call for, every time.
Dermatologists also note that the devices in a clinic are more powerful than the ones sold for home use.
What the research covers. Red light has been studied most for skin appearance and hair. Cleveland Clinic's summary is that there is not enough evidence yet to support most of the uses it is promoted for, and that larger studies are needed. Mayo Clinic says much the same about infrared saunas: larger and more exact studies are needed. We make a red light panel and sauna products, not medical claims, so this guide sticks to what each device is and how it is used.
For either one, ask your doctor first if you are pregnant, have a health condition, or take medication that makes you sensitive to light or heat.
What is an infrared sauna?
An infrared sauna is a wooden cabin whose heaters warm your body directly with radiant heat. The air warms up as a side effect, so the cabin stays at about 110 to 140°F, far below the 150 to 195°F of a traditional sauna.
- The heaters. Most home cabins are far infrared, with large carbon panels or ceramic heaters in the walls. A carbon panel runs at roughly 120 to 180°F on its surface.
- The wavelength. A surface that warm gives off far infrared, peaking at about 8 to 9 microns. Your skin absorbs it at the surface as heat.
- The effect. Your body warms up and you sweat. Many people start within 10 to 20 minutes, and new users often sweat less in their first sessions.
- The session. One sit of 20 to 30 minutes.
For how that compares with a hot Finnish sauna, see infrared vs traditional sauna.
Is an infrared sauna the same as red light therapy?
No. They use very different parts of the spectrum and do different jobs.
- Wavelength. A red light panel works at about 0.63 to 0.85 microns: visible red light and near-infrared. A far infrared heater works at 3 microns and longer. Both involve infrared, which is where the mix-up starts.
- Heat. Far infrared is absorbed at the skin surface and turns into heat. That is the whole point of a sauna. A red light panel is built to deliver light, not to heat you.
- What you feel. In the sauna you get hot and sweat. In front of a panel you feel mild warmth up close.
- The session. 20 to 30 minutes in a cabin, against 10 to 20 minutes per area at a panel.
So "is red light therapy the same as an infrared sauna" has the same answer either way round: no, and one does not replace the other.
Does an infrared sauna give you red light therapy?
Not on its own. It depends on what is built into the cabin.
- Far infrared heaters: no. A carbon panel or ceramic heater is nowhere near hot enough to give off red or near-infrared light. Its output is far infrared heat.
- Full spectrum lamp heaters: not the same thing. The halogen or quartz lamp heaters in a full spectrum sauna do emit near infrared, but as the broad output of a hot element. A red light panel uses LEDs tuned to set wavelengths at a known intensity.
- Chromotherapy lights: no. Many saunas have color-changing LED mood lighting. A red glow from those lights is ambiance, not red light therapy.
- Built-in red light panels: yes, if they are real ones. Some saunas come with separate red and near-infrared LED panels made to work in the heat. These are often sold as red light saunas.
If a listing says the sauna has red light therapy, ask three things:
- Which wavelengths? A real panel lists them, for example 660 and 850 nm.
- What intensity, at what distance? Look for an irradiance figure in mW/cm² measured at a stated distance.
- Is it separate from the heaters and the mood lights? It should be its own LED panel.
Can you use a red light therapy panel in an infrared sauna?
Usually not. Most red light panels are built for room temperature, and sauna heat and humidity can damage the electronics and void the warranty.
- Check the rated operating temperature in the panel's manual before it goes anywhere near a hot cabin.
- Sauna-rated panels exist. A few are built with heat-resistant wiring and sealed electronics and are rated for sauna temperatures.
- Ours stays outside. The Saunom EW300 Pro is made for dry, indoor rooms and should not be used inside a sauna or steam room.
The simple setup is a panel on a table or shelf in the room where you cool down.
Red light therapy before or after an infrared sauna?
Either works. No study has settled the order, and people do it both ways.
- After the sauna. Sauna, cool down and dry off, then 10 to 15 minutes at the panel.
- Before the sauna. 10 to 15 minutes at the panel, then the sauna, then cool down.
Two practical points apply to both:
- Dry off first. A panel is an electrical device, and it belongs in a dry room.
- Keep the panel outside the hot room unless it is rated for sauna use.
Doing both takes about 30 to 45 minutes, plus the cool-down in between.
Red light therapy vs infrared sauna: cost, space and power
A panel is the smaller purchase in every way.
- Price. The American Academy of Dermatology puts home red light devices at $100 to more than $1,000. Most home infrared saunas cost $1,500 to $8,000.
- Space. A tabletop panel sits on a desk or nightstand. A two person cabin is about 4 feet wide and 3.5 to 4 feet deep, plus clearance.
- Power. A panel plugs into any outlet. Ours draws 110 watts. A one or two person infrared cabin typically draws 1.5 to 1.8 kW and needs a circuit to itself.
- Running cost. At the 2026 US average of about 18 cents per kWh, a 15 minute session on a 110 watt panel costs under one cent. A sauna session costs roughly 25 to 40 cents.
60 LEDs, each with 630, 660, 810 and 850 nm. A tabletop panel for the room where you cool down, not for inside the sauna.
Which should you choose: red light therapy or an infrared sauna?
Choose by what you want the session to be.
An infrared sauna fits if you:
- want heat and a real sweat
- want a place to sit for 20 to 30 minutes
- have the floor space and a circuit for a cabin
A red light panel fits if you:
- want light on your skin without the heat
- want a 10 to 20 minute session at a desk or beside the bed
- have little space or a smaller budget
Both fit if you want the sauna for heat and the panel for light. They do not overlap, so nothing about one makes the other redundant.
What we use, and why
Our own sauna is a traditional Finnish one, and most of what we make is for that kind of room. Far infrared saunas are next in our range.
We also make a red light panel, the Saunom EW300 Pro. Each of its 60 LEDs carries four wavelengths: 630 and 660 nm red, and 810 and 850 nm near-infrared. It stands on a table, and it is made for dry, indoor rooms, so it is set up outside the sauna. A common routine is sauna, cool down and dry off, then 10 to 15 minutes at the panel.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between red light therapy and an infrared sauna?
Red light therapy is LED light at about 630 to 850 nanometers, used on bare skin with very little heat. An infrared sauna is a cabin that uses far infrared heat to warm your body and make you sweat at 110 to 140°F. One is light, the other is heat.
Is an infrared sauna the same as red light therapy?
No. A carbon far infrared heater peaks at about 8 to 9 microns, roughly ten times the wavelength a red light panel uses, and it gives off no red or near-infrared light. A sauna heats you. A red light panel does not.
Does an infrared sauna have red light therapy built in?
Only if it has separate red and near-infrared LED panels. Far infrared heaters do not produce red light, and color-changing chromotherapy lights are mood lighting. Ask the seller for the wavelengths and for an intensity figure at a stated distance.
Can you use red light therapy and an infrared sauna on the same day?
Yes. Many people do both in one routine, and they are different kinds of session: one is heat and sweat, the other is light with very little heat. Keep a standard panel outside the hot room, and dry off before you use it.
Should you do red light therapy before or after an infrared sauna?
Either works, and no study has settled the order. A common routine is sauna, cool down and dry off, then 10 to 15 minutes at the panel. Others use the panel first. The panel stays outside the sauna in both cases.
Can I put a red light therapy panel in my infrared sauna?
Usually not. Most panels are built for room temperature, and sauna heat and humidity can damage them and void the warranty. Check the rated operating temperature in the manual. A few panels are made and rated for use inside a sauna.
Does red light therapy make you sweat?
No. Red light panels use LEDs that give off very little heat, and the room stays at room temperature. If you want to sweat, that is the job of a sauna, where infrared heaters warm your body at 110 to 140°F.
Is near infrared in a full spectrum sauna the same as a red light panel?
No. A full spectrum sauna makes near infrared with hot halogen or quartz lamp heaters, which give off a broad range of heat. A red light panel uses LEDs tuned to set wavelengths such as 810 and 850 nm, with very little heat.
Are the colored lights in an infrared sauna red light therapy?
No. Color-changing lights in a sauna are chromotherapy, which is mood lighting. A red light therapy panel uses LEDs at specific red and near-infrared wavelengths, and its listing states the intensity. A red glow in the cabin does not tell you which one you have.
Which is better, red light therapy or an infrared sauna?
Neither is better, because they do different things. A sauna gives you heat and a sweat for 20 to 30 minutes. A red light panel gives you light on the skin for 10 to 20 minutes, with very little heat, in far less space.
How long is a red light therapy session compared with an infrared sauna session?
A red light session is usually 10 to 20 minutes per area, with bare skin 6 to 18 inches from the panel. An infrared sauna session is usually 20 to 30 minutes. Beginners start shorter with both and follow the directions for their device.
Do you need eye protection for red light therapy?
Follow the directions for your device. The American Academy of Dermatology says to wear the recommended eye protection every time if the directions call for it, and that sunglasses are not a substitute. Our panel comes with protective eyewear for that reason.