Infrared for wellness has been around for quite some time in the form of infrared saunas. One early iteration of the infrared sauna that we know today was created in 1891 by American inventor John Harvey Kellogg — yes, the very same Kellogg who created Corn Flakes and is the namesake of Kellogg’s cereal. Kellogg’s invention, the ‘incandescent electric light bath,’ used light to help treat patients with a variety of conditions, from scurvy to diabetes.1 However, the role that infrared light, specifically, played in the incandescent light bath was not fully understood until many years later. In the 1960s, NASA began researching the potential physiological benefits of infrared light exposure on astronauts, revealing the value of infrared for recovery and performance for the first time.2 Since then, research on infrared light has expanded, and the popularity of infrared saunas and other infrared applications for wellness benefits like muscle recovery, restful sleep and increased circulation has exploded.
Despite this long history, there still remains a lot of questions, myths and misconceptions around the use of infrared for wellness.
Let’s look at infrared energy a bit more deeply, discuss CELLIANT® infrared technology and set the record straight regarding some common myths and misconceptions around infrared energy, and CELLIANT in particular.
Infrared is a type of energy on the electromagnetic spectrum that has wavelengths longer than visible light. In fact, infrared light comes just after red light on the electromagnetic spectrum and is invisible to the human eye.
Infrared wavelengths are categorized as near infrared, mid infrared or far infrared, with near infrared being closest to red light and far infrared being the furthest.
As awareness of infrared continues to rise, we’ve seen growth in both infrared innovation and consumer interest in infrared for wellness. Some popular applications include:
Probably the most well-known modality of infrared for wellness is the infrared sauna. Infrared saunas use infrared energy to heat the body directly (rather than heating the air like a traditional sauna) and claim a wide-ranging set of benefits from detoxification to immunity boost.
Infrared lamps are used by people and in hospital settings to help improve circulation and boost cell repair.
LED arrays commonly use both infrared and red light to help decrease inflammation and increase blood flow and tissue oxygenation.
A relatively new innovation, infrared-emitting bioceramic minerals can be embedded into textiles to give anyone in contact, or near-contact, exposure to the benefits of infrared energy. CELLIANT is the leading bioceramic infrared technology.
CELLIANT is a natural blend of bioceramic minerals infused into a carrier fiber or yarn, or printed on a fabric, that captures and converts body heat into infrared energy. At CELLIANT, our mission is to improve people’s lives and energize their spaces. To do this, we constantly innovate to create new carrier fibers and applications for our bioceramics as well as push the science of infrared forward. We work to be ahead of the curve, leading the world in infrared textile wellness.
CELLIANT captures and converts body heat into infrared energy. This energy interacts with the human body, resulting in numerous wellness benefits. CELLIANT is effective not only when it’s worn, but when it’s close to the body. That means it is effective not only as apparel and worn accessories, but also in other textile products like mattresses, bedding, and upholstery, for example.
Since the invention of CELLIANT, we’ve been working hard to use research to demonstrate the efficacy of our claims—to date, we’ve conducted 10 clinical trials. overseen by our Science Advisory Board. These clinical trials collectively demonstrate CELLIANT’s ability to:
For both infrared in general, and CELLIANT specifically, there’s many myths and misconceptions about what infrared is, what it does, and the way it can affect the human body. Let’s look at some of the more common misconceptions.
Wearing textiles infused with CELLIANT infrared energy, such as infrared apparel or infrared bedding, will not expose you to any harmful radiation whatsoever.
While we can’t directly see or exactly ‘feel’ the infrared energy working to increase local circulation and improve cellular oxygenation, CELLIANT’s 10 peer-reviewed, published studies indicate measurable results. In a clinical trial measuring TCPO2, which demonstrates the efficacy of our infrared bioceramics to increase cellular oxygenation, we’ve found that subjects have an average increase in TCPO2 of 8.4%.4 So even though we can’t see or feel it, we can be very confident that it is indeed having a physiological impact.
The idea of not being able to see or feel something to trust its effects isn’t particularly surprising. Think of taking vitamins, for example. Or brushing your teeth. There’s no immediate effect from the vitamins or the fluoride in the toothpaste, yet we believe, for good reason, that taking vitamins and brushing teeth is good for us.
This is simply false. During our standard testing procedure, we measure TCPO2 in 20 minute intervals for 80 minutes total. While 80 minutes is our standard window to reach the minimum threshold of statistical significance, we often see increases start immediately. And the longer the infrared exposure, the greater the results. In our aforementioned TCPO2 clinical trial, participants wearing CELLIANT-infused fabric had an average TCPO2 increase of 8.4% recorded over 90 minutes.5
CELLIANT will not make you feel hot. In fact, CELLIANT helps your body thermoregulate so that it will help you stay at a more consistent temperature. So if you’re hot, it will help keep you cool and if you’re cold it will help keep you warm.
It is true that CELLIANT bioceramics emit infrared in all directions, not just into the body. But enough is emitted back into the body to be effective and provide wellness benefits. For an illustrative example, imagine sleeping next to somebody that “runs hot.” You still feel their warmth even when you are not touching them, because while their body heat diffuses into the surrounding air, it also is felt by you. Infrared energy works the same way.
No, CELLIANT is embedded right into the carrier fiber and so will never wash out or lose efficacy. It is, essentially, part of the product and will last the useful life of that textile product. Further, our testing protocols ensure that every product claiming to contain CELLIANT, actually does contain the right amount of CELLIANT to be effective.
Despite our best efforts to scientifically demonstrate the efficacy of CELLIANT infrared technology, skepticism remains. We appreciate skepticism because it is core to science. This skepticism fuels us to continually pursue research and not simply accept something at face value. It’s what pushes us in our quest to further our body of clinical research, as we recognize that our clinical trials are far from exhaustive and do not yet test CELLIANT’s efficacy in all modalities and situations, nor in large enough population samples. Scientific research on infrared in general is in a similar situation of not yet having done enough to address all skepticism. What we can say is that the research is building, we are committed to being a part of that research by continuing to push the science of CELLIANT forward, and that to date, the research, where not conclusive, has been hugely encouraging.
We firmly believe in CELLIANT’s efficacy and continue to work towards improving people’s lives and energizing their spaces. And, we’re excited to share more research with our infrared community in the future.
CELLIANT is ideal for many different applications. The most obvious may be performance and recovery apparel but, because CELLIANT is effective not only when it’s worn, but when it’s close to the body, it’s ideal for a large number of textile products and industries like:
CELLIANT is trusted by leading brands around the world, such as Under Armour, Bear Mattress, KT Tape, Curad, Duluth Trading Company, Purecare and more. We’re proud of all our brand partnerships and work hard to help ensure the mutual success of each product that is powered by CELLIANT. Browse a full list of our brand partners here.
If you’d like to discuss infusing your textile products with CELLIANT infrared technology, we’d love to hear from you. Fill out the form below to get in touch with our Business Development team.
1History Of Far Infrared Light. (2021, February 8). Saunas.org.
2History Of Far Infrared Light. (2021, February 8). Saunas.org.
3Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing the Effects of Far-Infrared Emitting Ceramic Fabric Shirts and Control Polyester Shirts on Transcutaneous PO2. Dr. Ian Gordon, James Wason, Dr. Lawrence Lavery, Dr. Michael R Hamblin & MS Thein, Long Beach VA Memorial Hospital, Journal of Textile Science and Engineering. 2018. The present study has added to the body of evidence that suggest that IR-emitting garments can exert real measurable physiological effects, and deserve further study for medical indications.
4Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing the Effects of Far-Infrared Emitting Ceramic Fabric Shirts and Control Polyester Shirts on Transcutaneous PO2. Dr. Ian Gordon, James Wason, Dr. Lawrence Lavery, Dr. Michael R Hamblin & MS Thein, Long Beach VA Memorial Hospital, Journal of Textile Science and Engineering. 2018. The present study has added to the body of evidence that suggest that IR-emitting garments can exert real measurable physiological effects, and deserve further study for medical indications.
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