Skin Health Magazine Issue #11 / Spring 2019 | Page 6

SCREEN TIME
How Blue Light is Affecting Your Skin
By Shari Shallard
I
f you’re a regular reader of this mag-
azine, you already know that we’re all
about putting down the electronics and
focusing more on the real world around us.
Too much time spent online — particularly
on social media — tends to leave us worse
off mentally and physically. But how about
this for another reason to power down:
The blue light from your devices might be
damaging your skin.
Why worry about blue light?
Blue light, also known as high-energy visible
light (HEV), is a colour in the light spectrum
that’s visible to the human eye. The sun has
always emitted blue light — just like it emits
UVA, UVB, and other types of rays — but
now we don’t even have to go outside to catch
those HEVs.
Blue light is coming at us from our phones,
laptops, iPads, gaming systems, and, well,
pretty much any other screen you can think
of. (Some blue light is actually healthy and
necessary, but the sun has that more than ade-
quately covered. We’re still getting too much.)
Perhaps it’s no surprise, given the nearly-con-
stant closeness of these HEV-emitting devices
to our faces, that the skincare industry is taking
the risk of HEV-induced damage very seriously.
There isn’t definitive data regarding how much
is too much when it comes to blue light emitted
from our devices, but those who are passionate
about skincare aren’t taking any chances.
Who’s doing what?
A number of products have recently come to
market that are designed to protect and repair
the skin from damage caused by the screens
we’re facing all the time.
Hydropeptide tackles blue light head-on with
a mist specifically designed to protect skin
during screen time. “The blue light emitted
from your phone, laptop, and overhead lighting
has been linked to premature skin ageing,” the
company states, but “fear not because with
just a spritz of our brand new Somnifera Root
Mist, your skin will be protected for up to two
hours.” Somnifera, by the way, is also known
by the name Ashwagandha and is an ancient
medicinal herb long heralded for its healing
properties. Who knew an ancient herb would
one day be called upon to battle the most
modern of risks?
Medik8 blends protection from blue light into
their Advanced Day Total Protect, an SPF30
multitasking formula that hydrates, provides
antioxidative protection, and fights wrinkles and
pigmentation. Along with UV protection and
anti-infrared technology, according to Medik8,
the day cream includes “superior blue light
defence which maintains a buffer of antioxidant
protection against blue light from screens.”
ISSUE #11 | 2019 | SkinHealthMagazine.com 6