This New Medicine Doesn’t Come in a Pill…It Comes in Waves

Ron Poe’s Inspiring Wellness Journey with Red Light Therapy

Ron Poe is a born tinkerer and inventor with a passion to create and improve technologies.

In the 1970s he repaired used tanning equipment and saw that many coming from overseas could be produced better. So in 1980 he started his own manufacturing company. In the early 2000s a man approached Poe to make him a light bed using the brand-new red light technology, Poe got right to work. “The mom had cancer,” Poe explains. “After using it a few times, she went back to her doctors for a routine check, and they said, ‘what are you doing? Because something is happening here and it’s not the cancer medicines!’” And just like that, Poe entered the red light therapy industry. 

Inventing Red Light Therapy Beds 

Poe didn’t waste any time inventing his red light therapy beds. “I always ask myself the question, ‘how is the future going to be? How is business going to be done in the future?’ And I try to do it today.” And he did. He and his family-run business would spend the next several years experimenting with and perfecting their red light therapy beds. And there was a lot to solve for. What are the best materials to use to make a commercial-grade, long-lasting bed with minimal repairs? What distance should a person be from the source of the light? How strong should the light be? And how long should the person be exposed for each session? 

Poe created the Goldilocks System, a patented process to determine the perfect distance for even distribution of the 60-degree lenses for concentrated blending of the light for the greatest penetration. “We used the inverse-square law to find the exact point where a person will receive maximum benefit. Any closer or further away and there’s diminishing returns.” Using Poe’s Goldilocks System that uses a proprietary blend of red light and infrared light, users only need to use Poe’s bed for a little under 15 minutes per treatment.

But Poe hasn’t stopped there. As he’s received feedback, he’s continued to improve his inventions. “I realized that many people have injuries that make it difficult to get in and out of a bed or raise and lower the canopy.  And because this is a commercial-grade bed designed for establishments who may have disabled patronage, I want our beds to be easy to use. Plus, chiropractors and wellness providers don’t need additional staff to operate them.” Poe added even more features like raising the bench to make it easier for patients to get in and out, increasing the width to allow full-sized comfort for legs and arms, and automating the canopy so that patients can operate the bed, themselves, simply with the push of a button. At the end of a patient’s session, the canopy automatically raises.

Deeper Than Skin 

It didn’t take long for word to spread around the globe about the many amazing benefits of red light therapy. By 2016, celebrities like Kourtney Kardashian, Gwyneth Paltrow, Emma Stone and Chrissy Tiegen were using red light facial treatments to eliminate wrinkles, acne and scars. Poe was seeing even more dramatic results and from a more mature crowd. “Most of my friends are older and have a lot of health issues. I felt my beds could help.” 

And, boy, was he right. Chronic wounds that people had lived with for years were healing. Back, knee, knee replacement and foot surgeries were cancelled. Wounds and even old scars started healing and at rapid speed. “My friend, Paul, he’s 76. He’s had bad neuropathy in his feet for over 30 years and hasn’t been able to feel a thing. I let him use it, and now he can feel his feet.” 

Poe even used the machine on himself, first healing his back from an old car accident, then reducing his scar after heart surgery. “I even grew back the hair on the top of my head.” Poe now sports a fuller head of hair.

The list of testimonials from Poe’s customers is even longer and more impressive.  A chiropractor stopped by the Red Light Wellness headquarters in Missouri on his way back to New York City. “He came in here at four o’clock on a Sunday and laid in the bed. Afterwards, he was driving back to NYC, a 20-hour drive. He said, ‘Well, I’ll stop along the way because I won’t be able to stay up.’ But he felt so good, he drove right through. He goes, ‘I feel great.’  Then, he went for a run in the park. He knocked seven minutes off his best time.”

“One chiropractor started using my machine in his practice. He was so busy with patients in such a short amount of time, he called me and ordered a second.” Another customer contacted Poe and said, “Ron, you have no idea how many lives you are helping. You have such a wonderful creation. I just want to thank you.”

Are all Red Light Therapy Products the Same? 

“No!” cautions Poe with emphasis. “A lot of this equipment is being manufactured outside of the US without proper oversight.” Poe’s daughter, Shawn, also part of the family business, elaborates. “We had one client spend a lot of money on another bed made outside the US before they learned the hard way and purchased a bed from us.” 

Red Light Wellness publishes a list of questions on their website to help buyers make educated purchases. Topics like FDA clearance, cost of repairs, shipment turnaround time, and bed downtime are just a few of the things perspective buyers should keep in mind. “Our beds are made here in the US, and we sell factory direct. They’re made with wellness providers top of mind. We don’t want our customers incurring expensive repair fees or costly down time. Our goal is for these beds to not only help as many people as possible, but to also serve as a second source of income for chiropractors and wellness providers,” says Shawn. She also adds that providers can add a sizable amount of income to their practice without adding staff.

The Future of Red light Therapy

The future of red light therapy is nothing but bright. The list of conditions for which red light therapy is helping is rapidly growing. Patients with everything from autoimmune disease to fertility issues to HPV (human papillomavirus) are seeing miraculous results. 

Scientists and researchers are continuing to study the endless possibilities. One study on human telomeres suggests that red light therapy may help lengthen telomeres, which typically shorten as a person ages. Poe explains, “the telomeres get shorter and shorter as you get older because they reproduce not so perfectly…they make little mistakes. [Scientists] are actually thinking [RLT] gives telomeres something to restore them to make them longer. Lobsters in the ocean will last two hundred years because their telomeres are reproduced so perfectly. So that would be a secret of the youth, for sure.”

For Red Light Wellness, they are entering a new partnership with Logan University, a top four chiropractic college. The university will study red light therapy and its effects using one of Red Light Wellness’ Miracle Beds. “We are super excited to substantiate and help the red light industry grow and reach more people with studies backed by scientific research.”

Poe reflects, “Getting paid is one thing. Keeping the lights on is good. But, when you help people and change their lives, it’s a miracle. And that’s actually how we came up with the name. People were calling about a miracle bed. And I thought, ‘I’m gonna go with it.’”•

-Amber Hauseman