BLUELIGHT IS CAUSING YOUR SKIN TO AGE PREMATURELY January 31, 2021 – Posted in: Beauty – Tags: , ,

Spending more time staring at a screen at work and even during leisure times?

Besides experiencing eye strain and fatigue, you are also exposing your skin to blue light (a type of high energy visible light, or HEV), which emits from computer monitors, mobile phone screens, fluorescent lamps and the sun.

We all know that UV rays can cause skin damage and aging. Do you know that blue light can penetrate deeper than UVA rays and also lead to premature skin aging, dark spots and hyperpigmentation?

Dr. Marie Hayag, a medical and cosmetic dermatologist based in New York City, tells CNET that blue light can potentially damage skin in a number of ways*:

– Induces oxidative stress, which can lead to inflammation and collagen degeneration

– Disrupts activity of melanocytes, which leads to uneven and excessive pigmentation

– Contributes to photoaging, or skin aging induced by light waves (the same thing that happens when you spend time in the sun)

– Weakens the outermost layer of your skin and delays its recovery from daily skin stressors

Another thing to consider is that blue light can interfere with your circadian rhythm and disturb sleep. It’s well-known that sleep deprivation can cause changes to the skin, including dullness, swollenness, redness and the ever-dreaded dark undereye circles.

And according to a recent study by Unilever, 60 per cent of people are now spending more than six hours a day in front of a digital device, and five working days can have the same impact on the skin as spending 25 minutes in the midday sun without any protection.

Oh no! How can we protect your skin from blue light? The obvious answer is to spend less time in front of screens but we have other tips for you too:

  1. Wear blue light blocking glasses to at least protect your eyes and the delicate skin surrounding your eyes.
  2. Keep night mode enabled on all of your devices at all times to reduce blue light emittance in favour of gentler yellow or orange light. You could also purchase a blue light shield for your computer.
  3. Wear SPF daily. Sunscreen is your best protector against photo-aging and skin damage, because the sun is the most significant source of light and radiation.

Chemical sunscreen ingredients aren’t known to block HEV light. Pick sunscreens that have a broad spectrum to protect your skin. Physical sunscreen with titanium dioxide and zinc oxide help reflect light rays to offer broad protection against UV and high-energy visible light (HEV).

Sunscreens with tint can add another layer of protection because they typically contain iron oxides that cover the blue light spectrum.

Click here to explore our specially curated line-up of physical sunscreen that can help to protect you against the damages caused by blue light: https://store.juneberries-haven.com/product-category/skincare/sun_care/

 

Note *: https://www.cnet.com/health/does-blue-light-damage-skin/