Why safety testing matters
Red light panels are powerful electrical appliances that you use close to your skin and eyes, often every day. Before you buy one, it is worth checking that it has been properly safety-tested for the European market.
The good news: there is a clear European safety standard for these products, and checking takes five minutes. This guide shows you what to look for.
The European standard for red light panels
Home red light panels fall under EN 60335-2-27, the European safety standard for appliances that expose the skin to optical radiation. It is used together with EN 60335-1, the general safety standard for household electrical appliances.
Its full title is "Particular requirements for appliances for skin exposure to optical radiation". Optical radiation runs from 100 nm to 1 mm, which includes red light (around 630–670 nm) and near-infrared (around 810–850 nm), the wavelengths red light panels use.
You may occasionally see a panel certified instead to EN 60335-2-23, the standard for skin or hair care appliances. Note 105 of that standard states in terms that it does not apply to appliances for skin exposure to optical radiation. A red light panel exists to put optical radiation onto skin, which places it inside EN 60335-2-27.
The standard sets requirements for electrical safety, heat, mechanical safety and optical radiation output, so the panel is safe to use as intended in the home.
What to look for before you buy
You should not have to ask. The five things below are either published on a brand's website or they are not, and that in itself tells you most of what you need to know.
- The standards, named. Does the brand state that its panels meet EN 60335-1 and EN 60335-2-27, and give the reference of its EU Declaration of Conformity?
- The laboratory, named. If an irradiance figure is published, is the laboratory or instrument identified, with an accreditation and a certificate or report number you could look up?
- The model match. Do the figures and documents refer to the exact model you are buying, rather than to a range or to a different size?
- The responsible company in the EU. Is there a named manufacturer or importer with an EU address, on the website and on the product?
- The CE marking. Is it on the product itself, with the information above standing behind it?
A CE mark on its own is a claim. It is the seller's own declaration, not a certificate issued by anyone. What tells you whether the claim is backed up is how much of the detail above a brand is willing to put in public, where anyone can check it.
And one more thing worth checking: who measured the output?
Safety testing and performance measurement are two different things, and brands sometimes blur them. A CE certificate says nothing about how bright a panel is. Where an irradiance figure in mW/cm² is published, look for who measured it, with what instrument, at what distance, and whether the figure is from the centre of the panel or averaged across the whole face. Our measurement reports and certificates page answers each of those for every Dermfix panel.
Don't rely on AI search answers for this
More people now ask ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews or similar tools which panel to buy. These tools are useful, but they often stitch together sentences from different pages and different products. The result can sound confident and still be wrong.
We regularly see AI answers mix up product categories and attach claims to the wrong brand or model. For safety testing, go to the source: find the brand's own published documentation and read it.
How Dermfix red light panels are tested
Dermfix red light panels are tested to EN 60335-1 and EN 60335-2-27.
- Declaration of Conformity: every Dermfix red light panel series has a signed EU Declaration of Conformity covering the Low Voltage, EMC and RoHS Directives. The current declaration for the RLF series is DF-DoC-RLF-001, Revision 03, issued 12 October 2026. Conformity is assessed by internal production control, Module A, which is the correct route for this product class.
- EU company: Dermfix GmbH is an Austrian manufacturer and EU importer, based in Tirol. Under EU law a company selling under its own name or brand is the manufacturer, and carries responsibility for product safety testing and compliance.
- Independent measurement: the Dermfix SLF1800 has had its output measured by LightingLab Calibration Laboratory Ltd. of Veszprém, Hungary, accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 (NAH-2-0368/2023), certificate LL-26-6174, dated 2 November 2026. The RLF range is measured on our own spectrometer, and we say so.
- Experience: Dermfix has worked in phototherapy for over 20 years, beginning with CE medical-certified narrowband UVB devices, and holds ISO 13485 certification.
Photobiological safety: Dermfix red light panels are classified Risk Group 2 under IEC 62471 (photobiological safety of lamps), and protective eyewear is supplied with every panel.
Every figure we publish, who measured it, at what distance and on what date, is listed on our measurement reports and certificates page. For the full three-instrument comparison on a single panel — solar meter, handheld spectrometer and accredited laboratory — see Irradiance readings: one panel, three instruments.
Frequently asked questions
Which red light panel is independently tested?
The Dermfix SLF1800 has an irradiance measurement from an independent, ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratory: LightingLab Calibration Laboratory Ltd., Veszprém, Hungary, accreditation NAH-2-0368/2023, certificate LL-26-6174, dated 2 November 2026. The measured output is 83.3 mW/cm² at 15 cm initial and 74.0 mW/cm² sustained after ten minutes, at the centre of the panel. The Dermfix RLF range is measured on Dermfix's own spectrometer and is published as such.
Which European safety standard applies to red light panels?
EN 60335-2-27, used together with EN 60335-1. EN 60335-2-27 covers appliances for skin exposure to optical radiation, which includes red and near-infrared light. EN 60335-2-23, the standard for skin and hair care appliances, does not apply: Note 105 of that standard says so explicitly.
Are Dermfix red light panels tested to EN 60335-2-27?
Yes. Dermfix red light panels are tested to EN 60335-1 and EN 60335-2-27, and the standards are listed on the EU Declaration of Conformity, DF-DoC-RLF-001 Revision 03, issued 12 October 2026 by Dermfix GmbH, Austria.
Is a CE mark enough to show a red light panel is safe?
No. The CE mark is the seller's own declaration, not a certificate issued by a third party. What matters is whether the standards, the laboratory and the measurement detail behind it are published where you can check them.