Singlet oxygen in practices and studios: what to consider

This post is written for practitioners, studio owners and spa operators who are considering adding a singlet oxygen device to what they already offer. It covers the operational questions — room, throughput, scheduling, running costs — and deliberately makes no statement about effects. What a device means for an individual belongs in a conversation with that person, not in an article.

What the device does, in one paragraph

Room air is drawn across an illuminated catalyst surface. A photosensitiser transfers light energy to the oxygen molecules, which move briefly into a higher-energy state — the singlet state — and fall back again. According to the manufacturer, the energy released in that process is transferred to the water molecules in the air and carried on the airflow to the client, who breathes it in through a nasal cannula. The same principle occurs in nature during photosynthesis, where chlorophyll plays the part the catalyst plays inside the device.

A fuller explanation, without the chemistry lecture, is in the post Singlet oxygen, simply explained.

The legal frame, plainly: these are wellness devices, not medical devices. They are not approved for any medical purpose. In Germany the Heilmittelwerbegesetz applies, and it applies to you as well once you advertise the offer — see the section on wording below.

Why the technology dictates how you schedule it

The singlet state is short-lived. It cannot be bottled, stored or dosed. The process runs while air and light are present, and stops when the device is switched off.

Three practical consequences follow, and they are the reason the device slots into a practice differently from most equipment:

No preparation, no follow-up. Switch on, switch off. Nothing to set up between clients, nothing to clean down.

No supervision during use. Once the cannula is in place, the application does not need you in the room. That is what distinguishes it from equipment that occupies your time as well as your space.

It scales with device time, not with your time. The limiting factor is how many sessions the device can serve in a day, not how many hours you are free.

The room

Size. The Pro model is designed for treatment-room dimensions. Match the device to the actual volume rather than to the floor plan — a room with a high ceiling holds considerably more air than the square metres suggest.

Two places at once. The Pro is specified for simultaneous use by two people. For utilisation this is the single most important number: two chairs on one device halve the device time per client.

Noise. Ask for the decibel figure and judge it against your setting. In a treatment room where conversation happens, the threshold is different from a quiet resting room.

Power point and placement. The device needs an outlet and unobstructed airflow. Not in a cupboard, not behind a curtain.

How practices actually fit it in

Three patterns that come up repeatedly. None is prescriptive.

As a waiting or resting phase. The client sits before or after the main treatment. Uses time that is already passing and needs no extra room slot.

As a standalone booking. A block of 30 to 60 minutes — the length the manufacturer describes as typical — booked and priced on its own. Simplest to schedule and to account for.

Alongside another application. The cannula can stay in place during something that already happens anyway, as long as it does not get in the way. Adds no extra time.

Which pattern fits depends far more on your room plan than on the device.

The arithmetic before the decision

Run these numbers before, not after:

1. Device hours per week you can realistically fill.

2. Clients per hour — one or two, which follows from the number of outlets.

3. Price per application in your setting.

4. Running costs: power at your actual duty cycle, plus wear parts. Ask for the replacement interval and the price per part and multiply it out over five years.

5. Purchase or rental, and whether rental payments count towards a later purchase.

Current terms and both models are in the product overview. What to ask any supplier — including us — is set out in the buying guide.

Renting first is worth considering when you want to see how the offer is taken up before committing capital, or when the room situation is not yet settled.

Wording — the part that carries risk

Once you advertise the offer, the Heilmittelwerbegesetz applies to what you write, not only to what the manufacturer writes. Three rules that keep it straightforward:

Describe the process, not an outcome. "Air enriched with activated oxygen, breathed in through a cannula" is a description. "Helps with exhaustion" is a claim, and not a permitted one.

Attribute what you did not measure yourself. "According to the manufacturer" is not a weakening — it is the correct attribution.

For certain serious conditions, advertising is prohibited outright. Which ones is set out exhaustively in §12 HWG and its annex — the list is short, and it is worth reading once in the statute itself. For none of them may you advertise: not in a headline, not in a testimonial, not in a subordinate clause.

A safe pattern for a page or a price list:

“[Name of offer] — 45 minutes breathing air enriched with activated oxygen, through a cannula. The device works on the singlet oxygen principle; the underlying process is described in the manufacturer's documentation. Wellness offer, not a medical treatment.”

Client testimonials are permitted, provided they describe individual experience and promise nothing. An addition such as “experiences are individual and cannot be generalised” belongs underneath.

Instruction and support

Realistically, what a handover involves: setting up, the operating rhythm, wear parts and their intervals, and the wording you can safely use in your own materials. Ask who your point of contact is afterwards, and where a device goes if it needs repair — including how long you are without it.

The short version

The device runs unsupervised, needs no preparation between clients, and scales with device time rather than with yours. The decision comes down to three numbers: device hours you can fill, clients per hour, and running costs over five years.

Both models are in the product overview. How the principle is implemented at Forest Air is on the technology page.

Note: Forest Air devices are wellness devices, not medical devices. Descriptions of the underlying process refer to the manufacturer's own documentation. They do not replace medical or professional care, and we make no health claims.