Objective To investigate the improvement effect of intense pulsed light combined with red and blue light therapy on quality of life in patients with mild to moderate acne. Methods A total of 146 patients with mild to moderate acne who were treated at Yanta District Yiben Tomato Medical Beauty Clinic from January 2025 to January 2026 were selected, and they were divided into the control group and the observation group according to different treatment regimens, with 73 patients in each group. The control group received conventional drug therapy, and the observation group received intense pulsed light combined with red and blue light therapy on the basis of the control group. The clinical efficacy, lesion severity improvement, adverse reactions and quality of life were compared between the two groups. Results After treatment, the total effective rate in the observation group was 95.89%, which was higher than 84.93% in the control group (P <0.05). After treatment, the lesion severity score in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P <0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups (P >0.05). After treatment, the Acne-QoL score in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion The application of intense pulsed light combined with red and blue light therapy in the treatment of mild to moderate acne is effective. It can improve skin lesions and enhance patients' quality of life, without increasing the risk of adverse reactions, which is worthy of clinical application.