Ian Sample

See you then.

Imagine coming home.

You're expecting to see your partner or your mum or dad, but sitting in the dark is a figure you don't quite recognise.

White mask over their face, an unearthly red glow coming from below.

Dark holes where their mouth and eyes should be.

It sounds like something from a horror movie.

But it's actually the latest trend in our age-old quest to look younger for longer.

Red light therapy has been around for decades, but until recently was only available in expensive dermatology clinics.

That's all changing thanks to an explosion in the range of devices you can use at home.

So today, what's the science behind red light therapy?

And do these at-home devices actually do anything?

From The Guardian, I'm Ian Sample, and this is Science Weekly.

Maddy, red light therapy masks have become all the rage.

I basically had to run from someone in John Lewis the other day who was attempting to get me to try one on.

So, look, to start off, what is red light therapy?

And where did this idea come from that shining red light on yourself would actually have some kind of benefit?

So it sounds like there is some science behind this, or at least some claimed science behind this.

What is going on then?

What do they think, what are they saying are the mechanisms?

Right.