Red light therapy in South Austin, the gentle one
A few minutes in front of a red light panel, a mild warmth, and nothing to brace for. Most people add it to the end of a visit.
What is red light therapy good for?
What happens
You sit or lie in front of the panel. A mild warmth and a lot of bright red light, and that's about the whole experience.
Add it on
It stacks easily with everything else here, so most people attach it to a session they were already booking.
What it's for
The studies are about recovery after hard exercise. For everyone else, it's the quiet last step of the reset.
Red light therapy is a few minutes in front of a panel that gives off red and near-infrared light. You feel a mild warmth, and that's the whole experience. No water, no cold, nothing to brace for, which is why it's the easiest thing in the building to add to a visit.
What is it good for?
If you train hard, it's how you feel in the days after. In a review of four trials, red light was tested head to head against cold therapy, and it came out ahead for strength recovery and soreness. It's a small set of studies, 66 people in all, and the reviewers rated their certainty moderate to very low. It's still the use we point people to. The details, and how strong the evidence is, are here.
If you don't train at all, it's the last and quietest step of The Protocol, after the sauna, the tubs, compression and vibration. That whole sequence is the reset, built for the people who keep going and feel drained even on the days they slept. What people tell us after they've been coming a while is simple: they sleep better, their mood is up and they feel less anxious. That's the whole reset talking, not a claim about the light on its own.
Is red light therapy the same as sunlight?
No, and it's the question we hear most.
A panel gives off a narrow band of red and near-infrared light and nothing else. Sunlight is the whole spectrum at once, including ultraviolet, which is the part that tans you, burns you and carries the skin cancer risk. A panel has none of that. It also gives you the same dose every time, while sunlight changes with the hour, the season and the clouds.
That's also why a panel does nothing for vitamin D. Vitamin D comes from ultraviolet, and there isn't any. The full side-by-side is here.
What panel do you use?
LightpathLED: one full-height panel you stand or sit in front of, and a narrower tower beside it. You can see both in the photo at the top of this page, and there's more of the room on the equipment page.
We'll publish the settings and the session length for the new South Lamar room once they're set. We'd rather leave a gap than print a number we'd have to take back.
How do people use it?
As an add-on, almost always. A few minutes at the end of a session you were already booking beats a separate trip across town. If you're doing the protocol, add it at the end.
Want something at the start of a visit instead? Vibration therapy is the warm-up people use. Want heat? The infrared sauna is the bigger commitment.
Who should check first
If you're pregnant, have a condition that makes you sensitive to light, or take medication that does, check with your doctor before you book. And don't look straight into the panel. We'll show you how to sit on your first visit.
Book a session, or read the questions people ask us.
Generator is a recovery studio, not a medical provider. Nothing here diagnoses or treats a condition, and it isn't a substitute for advice from your own clinician.
Red light questions, answered
What is red light therapy good for?
The research we rely on is about muscle recovery after hard exercise. In four small trials, red light did better than cold for strength recovery and soreness, and the reviewers rated their certainty moderate to very low. That's the use we point people to. If you're not training for anything, it's the quiet last step of The Protocol, the reset.
Is red light therapy the same as sunlight?
No. A panel gives off a narrow band of red and near-infrared light. Sunlight is the whole spectrum, including ultraviolet, which is the part that tans and burns you, and a panel has none of it. A panel is also the same dose every time, while sunlight changes with the hour and the season.
Does red light therapy give you vitamin D?
No. Vitamin D comes from ultraviolet light, and a red light panel gives off none.
What red light panel do you use?
LightpathLED. A full-height panel you stand or sit in front of, with a narrower tower beside it. We'll publish the settings and session length for the new room once they're set.
How often should I use it?
It's the last step of The Protocol, so most people get it every time they come in. The studies used it around hard exercise, and that's the honest limit of what they show.
Does it feel like anything?
A mild warmth and a lot of bright red light. That's about it, and it's nothing like the sauna.
Can I add it to another booking?
Yes, and that's how most people use it.
Who should check first?
If you're pregnant, have a condition that makes you sensitive to light, or take medication that does, check with your doctor first. And don't look straight into the panel.
Add red light to your visit
Pick your time and book it here, or book the whole Protocol.