Infrared Pro — Red Light, Near Infrared, Far Infrared & Full Spectrum: What's the Difference?

Once you start looking into light therapy and infrared saunas, these terms come up constantly — often as if they mean the same thing. They don't. Knowing the difference helps you get more out of both your sauna and any red light panel you use with it.

It comes down to wavelength

Light sits on a spectrum, and most of it is invisible to us. A wavelength — measured in nanometres (nm) for shorter waves and micrometres (µm) for longer ones — determines how deeply the light reaches into tissue and what it does there. Different wavelengths have genuinely different effects.

Far infrared (FIR)

Far infrared is the long end of the infrared range, roughly 3–10 µm. This is the band your Infrared Pro's heating emitters work in. FIR is absorbed at the skin and felt as deep, penetrating warmth — and because it heats the body directly rather than the air, the cabin can run cooler than a traditional sauna while still driving a strong sweat.

Near infrared (NIR)

Near infrared sits between visible red light and far infrared, roughly 700–1400 nm. It's invisible but reaches deeper into tissue than red light. NIR is used in photobiomodulation — exposing tissue to specific wavelengths to support cellular energy and recovery — and it produces very little heat, which is why sitting in front of a red light panel feels nothing like sitting near a sauna emitter.

Red light

Red light is the visible deep-red glow you see from a therapy panel, around 630–700 nm. It doesn't reach as deep as NIR but works on surface and shallow tissue, and it's often paired with NIR so a single panel can address different depths at once. Like NIR, it works through light rather than heat.

Full spectrum

“Full spectrum” describes a setup that combines several of these wavelengths — usually red and near infrared, sometimes reaching into far infrared as well. The goal is to cover multiple tissue depths in one session instead of a single wavelength. Your Infrared Pro is a full-spectrum sauna, pairing radiant far-infrared heat with the option to add red and near-infrared light therapy.

How they work together

In practice you get two different things from one space: the far-infrared emitters deliver the radiant heat and sweat, while a red light panel delivers light-based therapy at shallower depths. They act through different mechanisms, which is why using both offers something neither does on its own.

Questions? Email info@calore.ca or call us anytime.