When I first encountered red light therapy (RLT), I thought I’d found the holy grail of health treatments. It sounds like actual magic: with the flick of a switch, a dose of red light is rumored to cure everything from acne to sore muscles from the cellular level up. No chemicals, no down time. But as with most magical-sounding health cure-alls, you have to wonder: Too good to be true?

There is a lot to be excited about, according to experts, but RLT isn’t totally free of controversy, either. Here’s how red light therapy works, which of it’s claims are legit and which remain shady.

RLT works its magic by delivering safe, concentrated wavelengths of natural light into your skin (up to 10 deep millimeters, to be exact) where it’s absorbed by your cells. This “stimulates the production of collagen, elastin, and fibroblasts,” says Rhonda Klein, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in Connecticut. That in turn enhances a little something known as ATP, the source of energy for every cell in the body (read: natural energy sans a 3 p.m. caffeine crash). “RLT also boosts circulation, bringing more oxygen and nutrients to your cells and tissues,” Dr. Klein says.

Translation? When your cells are hit with the red light wavelengths, a host of regenerative effects occur, leading to potential benefits like younger-looking skin, enhanced muscle repair, and diminished scarring.

As evidence for RLT’s benefits mounts, so do ways to soak them up. Professional wellness spots—your dermatologist’s office, local spa, or maybe even a fancy gym—offer a variety of options, from full-body panels that allow you to fully bask in the glow, to smaller devices for more targeted treatments. You can also do DIY treatments at home with a handheld device, red light face mask, or even a RLT bed, if you want to go all in.

It’s not just any red light that delivers this performance-optimizing boost, however; two wavelengths of red light in particular—660 nanometers and 850 nanometers—deliver the best biological response, explains Michael Hamblin, M.D., an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. The former, 660 nanometers, is more quickly absorbed by the skin, making it the go-to for cosmetic treatments, while 850 nanometer wavelengths penetrate deeper into your body to help with muscle recovery, joint pain, and full body health.

n other words, you can’t just pop a red light bulb into your desk lamp and expect to jumpstart a cellular time machine. When you visit a professional, you can expect a treatment utilizing one of these optimal wavelengths, but if you buy a DIY device, be sure to check that it specifies an output intensity. “With so many devices coming out online, it’s a good idea to consult a dermatologist or other skincare specialist to guide you on the most effective choice,” says Dr. Klein. (You should also be wary of tanning salons that swap out UV bulbs for red bulbs in tanning beds and bill them as “anti-aging” treatments, she adds.)

Where red light does become controversial is how many rays you actually need to soak up to see results—researchers haven’t yet nailed down the optimal dose. What they do know is that there isn’t a fear of overdoing it. “You could use RLT for 24 hours as day and wouldn’t damage the skin,” says Dr. Hamblin. “It’s almost impossible to cause any harm.”

Wound Healing

Wolverine-esque wound healing is just one of the many benefits touted by proponents of RLT—and there’s no shortage of research to confirm it really does help you heal faster. A 2014 study found red light therapy promoted “increased tissue repair and healing…[plus] beneficial effects on wrinkles, acne scars, hypertrophic scars, and healing of burns.”

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