Positive and Negative Effects of Visible Light, on Skin and Elsewhere

Visible light is the main component of solar radiation and is the primary cause of the greenhouse effect. Recent evidence suggests that High EnergycVisible (HEV) light is harmful to skin and other evidences seem to point out a beneficial effect of longer wavelengths. With natural endogenous photosensitizers HEV light can generate comparable amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS’s) when interacting with skin as those produced by UVA and UVB. Visible light is also used as a therapeutic wavelength in the clinic to alleviate skin conditions either directly or via photo-dynamic therapy treatments. This 90-minute accredited training course will discuss a multidisciplinary overview involving biochemistry and photobiology. The role of visible light in modulating the inflammatory response and other phenomena such as healing, barrier recovery and melanogenesis will be discussed.