When it comes to red light therapy devices, we often come across terms such as power, wavelengths and dose. But another crucial factor that is often overlooked is the beam angle of the lens. This can significantly influence how the light acts on your skin or deeper tissue. In this article, we explain what the beam angle is, how it affects your therapy and how to choose the right beam angle for your needs.

What is the beam angle?

The beam angle describes how widely or narrowly the light of an LED device is emitted. It is the angle within which the light is emitted effectively before it gradually loses intensity.

📌 A wider beam angle (e.g. 60° or more) means that the light is spread further, covering a larger area but with lower intensity.
📌 A narrow beam angle (e.g. 30° or less) concentrates the light more strongly on a smaller area, increasing the intensity and allowing deeper penetration.

How does the beam angle affect your therapy?

The beam angle plays a crucial role in red light therapy and can influence both surface-level and deeper tissue applications.

• Wide beam angle (e.g. 60° or more):

  • Covers a larger area at once.

  • Ideal for large-area applications such as skin rejuvenation or muscle recovery.

  • Provides more even light distribution, but with lower intensity.

  • Particularly useful when the goal is gentle therapy covering a wide area.

• Narrow beam angle (e.g. 30° or less):

  • Concentrates the light on a smaller area.

  • Ideal for targeted applications, especially for deep tissue such as muscles, joints or organs.

  • Higher intensity, leading to deeper light penetration.

  • Particularly useful when targeted, intensive therapy is desired.

How do you choose the right beam angle?

Choosing the right beam angle depends on your specific goals and the desired depth of application.

1. Surface-level skin applications (anti-ageing, skin repair):

   • A wider beam angle of 60° or more is ideal, as even light distribution over a larger area is desired.

2. Deeper tissue applications (muscles, joints, organs):

   • A narrower beam angle of 30° or less is better suited to delivering more intense light deep into the tissue.

3. Combined therapy:

   • If you want to target both superficial and deeper tissue layers, a device with variable lenses or a combination of 30° and 60° beam angles is the best choice.

heilys panels: the ideal combination of 60° and 30° beam angles

Our heilys panels deliberately use two different beam angles to reach both superficial and deeper tissue optimally:

• Red light (630nm, 660nm, 670nm): With a 60° beam angle, it covers large areas evenly and effectively. This is ideal for applications such as skin rejuvenation, skin regeneration and collagen production, where gentle, even exposure is desired.

• Infrared light (810nm, 830nm, 850nm): With a 30° beam angle, the light is projected in a more focused way onto deeper tissue, resulting in higher intensity and deeper penetration. This is particularly effective for muscles, joints and organs.

This combination allows precise control of the therapy by covering both broad and focused areas. This maximises the biological effect and offers versatile use for different needs.

Conclusion: wide vs. narrow – which beam angle is right?

• For large-area applications such as skin rejuvenation or muscle recovery, a wide beam angle is ideal.

• For targeted applications on deeper tissue, a narrow beam angle is better suited.

• The combination found in heilys panels offers the perfect balance between wide-area and focused light therapy.

With this well-thought-out design, heilys enables optimal use for a wide range of goals.

Would you like to find out more about getting the most out of our panels? Read more on our blog!

A recent red light therapy test also shows how different red light devices compare head to head. The heilys®️ Gen30+Vision was rated the test winner.