Red light therapy
Red light therapy and infrared sauna: how to use them together
Red light therapy and infrared sauna sessions can share the same block of time, but only when the light device is built for the heat of a running cabin. This guide covers how the two differ, which device can go inside the sauna, and how to plan the wiring, space and routine before you buy.
Can you use red light therapy in a sauna?
Yes, if the light device is engineered for the heat of a running cabin. In Clearlight's lineup, the CORE Red Light Therapy Tower is the one tower Clearlight designs to attach inside its saunas, and it ships with a sauna door mount for that purpose. Among Lumaflex panels, the manufacturer describes the IP67-rated Body Pro Kit as water- and heat-resistant, and Lumaflex's sauna guide covers wearing it during a session.
A third route builds the light into the cabin. The Finnmark FD-4 Trinity and FD-5 Trinity XL are hybrid saunas that combine Finnmark's infrared heaters, a Harvia traditional heater and a red light panel at 650 nm in one cabin, so you can switch between heat types.
Clearlight says the Full Body tower "is not designed to attach to your Clearlight sauna (use the CORE Tower.)" For the Personal tower, Clearlight's manual describes tabletop or stand use, while its product FAQ says it "can be conveniently mounted inside any of our Clearlight saunas." Clearlight's manual also says its red light products should be installed only where ambient temperatures do not exceed 145°F (63°C), and that higher temperatures "will result in reduced life, lumen output." The Lumaflex Essential and Essential Pro are sweat-resistant rather than waterproof, so they belong outside the cabin. There are two ways to combine red light with a sauna session:
Red light therapy vs infrared sauna: what is actually different
A light source and a heat source
A red light therapy device is defined by its wavelengths and its irradiance, the light power arriving on each square centimeter of skin. Every Clearlight tower splits its LEDs evenly between 650 nm red and 850 nm near-infrared, and the CORE is rated at 55 to 110 mW/cm² at four inches, depending on optics and distance. Lumaflex's Essential and Body Pro Kit use 630 and 850 nm; the Essential Pro carries six wavelengths from 630 to 1064 nm.
An infrared sauna is defined by its heaters and the air temperature they produce. The Cleveland Clinic notes that temperatures in infrared saunas typically land between 110 and 135°F (about 43 to 57°C). Clearlight's Premier heaters are far infrared only, at roughly 6 to 14 microns (6,000 to 14,000 nm). The Sanctuary adds True Wave Full Spectrum heaters that emit near infrared (700 to 1,400 nm) and mid infrared (1,400 to 3,000 nm).
Where the wavelengths overlap
The overlap is near infrared: a Sanctuary's 700 to 1,400 nm band includes the 850 nm that towers and panels use. In the sauna, that energy is one part of a broadband heat source; in a light device, it is a narrow LED band specified at a stated irradiance and distance. Red at 650 nm sits below the near-infrared band, and neither heater type is specified to deliver it, so red light at a stated wavelength and intensity comes from a light device.
Do they cancel each other out?
No. Light waves cancel in a stable way only when their sources are locked in step, which takes a deliberate laboratory setup. LEDs and sauna heaters are independent sources, so neither neutralizes the other: the sauna keeps heating and the tower keeps emitting its rated bands. The opposite claim, that the pairing multiplies the effects of each, is not something the research below tested.
What the research covers
Research on the two has developed separately. A 2017 review by Michael Hamblin in AIMS Biophysics notes that photobiomodulation (PBM) is also known as low-level laser therapy. It reports that the primary chromophores, the molecules that absorb the light, have been identified as cytochrome c oxidase in mitochondria, and lists secondary effects that include increases in ATP, a brief burst of reactive oxygen species, an increase in nitric oxide and modulation of calcium levels. That is a proposed mechanism, not a promise about any device. Sauna studies, by contrast, examine whole-body heating. The research cited here examined one or the other, not the two combined, so this guide makes no claim that the pairing does more than either alone. For individual light studies, see this research summary in our Clinical Trials library.
Using red light therapy in an infrared sauna: the CORE
What the CORE covers
The CORE is a 38-inch, 200-watt tower with 140 LEDs, half at 650 nm and half at 850 nm. Its included door mount fits Clearlight Sanctuary, Premier and outdoor cabins, so the tower hangs inside the door, faces the bench, and covers the chest, shoulders and upper body while the heaters run. Irradiance is rated at four inches and falls with distance, so what reaches you depends on how far you sit from the door. Outside the sauna, the CORE also works as a standalone tower on an optional floor stand or wall mount.
Plan the circuit before you mount it
A Clearlight sauna's default circuit is sized for its heaters. The CORE's 200 watts on top of that load pushes most models past their default amperage, so Clearlight publishes an upgrade for each affected model. The Sanctuary 2, for example, moves from a dedicated 120-volt, 20-amp circuit to a 120-volt, 30-amp circuit, while the Premier IS-3 is already sized for the CORE. The full list is in the electrical section of our tower guide. Have a licensed electrician do the work, ideally on the same visit as the sauna circuit, and ask your Sauna Republic specialist to confirm the requirement for your model before the order ships.
Comfort in a hot cabin
Adding a CORE to a Clearlight sauna?
A specialist will confirm door-mount fit and the circuit upgrade for your model before you order.
Get PricingRed light therapy before or after sauna sessions
For sessions before or after the sauna, the Full Body and Personal towers and the Lumaflex Essential and Essential Pro are used outside the cabin, as their own sessions, and the Body Pro Kit works outside the cabin too. Choose by how much of the body you want to cover:
Only one Lumaflex panel goes in the cabin. Lumaflex describes the IP67-rated Body Pro Kit as water- and heat-resistant and covers in-session use in its sauna guide; follow its instructions for placement and session length. The Essential and Essential Pro are sweat-resistant, not waterproof, so keep them outside the cabin.
Which order?
There is no established research consensus on whether light should come before or after heat, so choose by schedule and comfort. After the sauna, rinse and towel off first: our Lumaflex guide recommends placing a panel against clean, bare skin, and the Essential and Essential Pro are sweat-resistant rather than waterproof. Before the sauna, a tower session while the cabin preheats suits homes where the tower lives in another room. If a cold plunge or other devices are part of the same routine, our therapy stacking guide covers planning them together.
Why more minutes are not the goal
A 2009 review by Huang and colleagues in Dose-Response reports that "a biphasic dose response has been frequently observed where low levels of light have a much better effect on stimulating and repairing tissues than higher levels of light," a pattern frequently described using the Arndt-Schulz curve. In practice, longer or stronger sessions are not automatically better. A CORE session in the cabin followed by a second tower session on the same area adds exposure with no assurance of added benefit, so stay within each manufacturer's session guidance rather than stacking minutes.
Choosing the sauna and the light device
The sauna: far infrared or full spectrum
Both Clearlight lines accept the CORE's door mount, so the sauna can be chosen on its own merits. The Premier is far infrared only and runs on 120 volts across the line. The Sanctuary adds near and mid infrared; the Sanctuary 1 and 2 run on 120 volts, while the larger indoor models need a dedicated 240-volt circuit. If you want near infrared built into the heaters, choose Sanctuary; if you prefer the Premier's simpler wiring, a CORE adds red and near-infrared light to the session instead; note that adding a CORE moves a Premier IS-2 from a 15-amp to a 20-amp circuit, while the IS-3 is already sized for it. Our Sanctuary vs Premier guide covers the trade-offs, and the Clearlight indoor sauna collection lists every model.
A sauna with red light built in
If you would rather not add a separate device, the Finnmark Trinity hybrids build the light in. The FD-4 Trinity seats two and the FD-5 Trinity XL seats up to four; both pair Finnmark's infrared heaters with a Harvia traditional heater and stones, plus a red light panel. Finnmark lists one wavelength for that panel, 650 nm red, and no near-infrared band like the CORE's 850 nm LEDs. Finnmark rates the FD-4 at 120 volts and the FD-5 at 240 volts, with an electrician required for the FD-5's 4.5 kW Harvia KIP heater. Both are in our hybrid sauna collection, and our best indoor saunas guide sets them beside the Clearlight cabins.
The light device: match it to the use
The table shows only where each device fits relative to the sauna; for model-by-model detail, see our Clearlight tower guide and the Lumaflex guide above.
| Device | Where it is used | Wavelengths | Coverage | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearlight CORE | Inside a running Clearlight sauna, or standalone | 650 + 850 nm | Chest, shoulders, upper body | 200 W; circuit upgrade on most saunas |
| Clearlight Full Body | Outside the cabin | 650 + 850 nm | Head to thigh, standing | Up to 400 W; standard outlet |
| Clearlight Personal | Outside the cabin, or inside a Clearlight sauna per Clearlight's FAQ | 650 + 850 nm | Face, hands, knees, feet | 65 W; standard outlet |
| Lumaflex Essential | Outside the cabin | 630 + 850 nm | Wraps one area | Battery; USB-C charging |
| Lumaflex Body Pro Kit | Inside the cabin per Lumaflex's sauna guide, or outside | 630 + 850 nm | Wraps one area | Battery; USB-C charging; IP67 |
| Lumaflex Essential Pro | Outside the cabin | Six, 630 to 1064 nm | Wraps one area | Battery; USB-C charging |
| Finnmark FD-4 Trinity and FD-5 Trinity XL panel | Built into the cabin | 650 nm | Fixed panel; coverage not listed | Part of the sauna (FD-4 120V; FD-5 240V) |
An example routine
These schedules are examples, not a prescription. Session length should come from each manufacturer's instructions and from your own comfort in the heat.
Check with a healthcare professional first if you are pregnant, photosensitive, taking a photosensitizing medication, or managing a medical condition, and follow each manufacturer's safety guidance for the sauna and the light device.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put any red light panel in my sauna?
No. Clearlight designs only the CORE to attach inside its saunas and says the Full Body is not designed to attach to them; its manual says its red light products should be installed only where ambient temperatures do not exceed 145°F (63°C). Among Lumaflex panels, only the IP67 Body Pro Kit is described by Lumaflex for use during a sauna session; keep the Essential and Essential Pro outside the cabin.
Does infrared sauna heat already include red light?
Not as a specified output. Sanctuary full-spectrum heaters emit near infrared (700 to 1,400 nm), overlapping the 850 nm band as broadband heat rather than a rated LED band, and neither Clearlight heater type is specified to deliver 650 nm red. The chromotherapy lighting in Clearlight cabins is ambient color, not red light therapy. The Finnmark FD-4 Trinity and FD-5 Trinity XL are different: alongside chromotherapy, they include a red light panel at 650 nm.
Should I use red light therapy before or after the sauna?
There is no established research consensus on the order. Pick whichever suits your schedule, run each device on its own timer, and dry off before strapping on a Lumaflex panel after the sauna.
How long should each session be?
Let each device set it. Clearlight towers have presets from 5 to 30 minutes, and the Personal tower's manual pairs time with distance, for example 10 to 15 minutes at 6 to 10 inches. Lumaflex sessions are auto-timed at 10 minutes. Given the biphasic dose response described in the research, longer is not automatically better.
Do I need eye protection?
Follow the eye-safety guidance in your device's manual; Clearlight includes optional goggles with every tower. Either way, do not stare into the LEDs at close range. Because 850 nm near infrared is largely invisible, how bright a panel looks understates its total output.
Will the CORE work in a sauna that is not a Clearlight?
Clearlight specifies the included door mount for its Sanctuary, Premier and outdoor infrared cabins. For any other cabin, including traditional saunas, which typically run at 150 to 195°F, plan on red light outside the cabin and ask a specialist before ordering.
Do I need an electrician?
For a CORE inside a Clearlight sauna, usually yes, because its 200 watts pushes most models past their default circuit. The Full Body and Personal towers use a standard 120-volt, 15-amp outlet, and Lumaflex panels charge over USB-C.
Plan your red light and sauna setup
Tell us your cabin, your room and your wiring, and a specialist will confirm compatibility and current pricing.
Request pricingBrowse all three towers in the Clearlight red light therapy towers collection.
Clearlight, CORE, Sanctuary, Premier and True Wave are trademarks of Sauna Works, Inc., dba Clearlight Infrared. Sauna Republic is an authorized Clearlight dealer. Finnmark and Harvia are trademarks of their respective owners. This article is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Clearlight describes its products as general wellness products; their statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, and they are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, photosensitive, taking medication, or managing a medical condition, consult a healthcare professional before using a sauna or a light therapy device, and follow the manufacturer's safety guidance.
