I have used this product daily for only 1 week, and there is noticeable lightening of several dark spots that I've been fighting with creams for a couple of years. Several other reviews support the validity of infrared therapy, and I also found this to be true in literature research (I am an MD, but not a dermatologist, so I had access to several derm journals for full article reviews). I am still using lightening serums also, but I was using these prior starting the light therapy.
Now, use of the product is not quite like the picture depicts; it is important to have your skin quite close to the LED's, so it is doubtful you'll be relaxing with a cup of coffee! My worse area is the glabellar region, and in order to get good coverage for the midline of your face you'll have to slightly turn away from the center, which means other areas of your face may not get the same intensity of light. My unit instructions stated your skin should be no more that 1/4" away from the LED's, and there should be no concern for your skin touching the LED's given it is actually used this way for pain relief. I let my skin touch and then pull away only slightly, which should be around the quarter inch mark. The timing on mine is one session daily for 17 minutes, but you can apparently split this into 2 sessions if desired. Also, I have had no trouble with my panels (another review mentioned this). If you try to move the unit around by touching the panels, however, they will likely come off; move it by the base and you should have no problem.
Overall, I am very satisfied, which is a relief after paying $350! If you have problem areas that you would like to improve (and you can be devoted to doing the daily treatments for a while) then I would strongly recommend this product!