Rachel Staggs, owner of Rachel Staggs Aesthetics, writes an article for us today on the detrimental impact smartphones might have on our skin; blue light.
We all spend a tremendous amount of time on our devices. In this time of Covid Crisis our use of mobiles and computers has increased dramatically leaving us with consequences that may go far beyond the current lockdown. The problem is they produce a blue light which has the same affect on your skin as the daylight that wakes you first thing in the morning which is why we struggle to sleep when using devices before bed.
More and more research suggests that overusing your mobile phone could be damaging your mental health but what if I told you it could also be damaging your skin?
Blue light (also referred to as High Energy Visible or HEV light) poses potential skin harm via free radical production. The blue light has the capability to penetrate our dermis and affect our fibroblasts and collagen production producing premature ageing in the same way as UVA and UVB rays do…..resulting in lines and wrinkles.
Blue light is also thought to contribute to ageing, by stimulating the cells that induce pigmentation, and of course by disturbing our beauty sleep by keeping our mind too active, resulting in poor quality or too little sleep.
There is new research that suggests that using your phone later in the day can throw the skin cells out of sync, causing them to think it’s still day time – and not allowing them to repair as they should do at night time.
What can we do
- Antioxidants are a must – they help to neutralise the free radicals that build up on our skin through overuse of many external factors, and the blue light is one. Look out for my blog post about more on this subject coming shortly.
- Get yourself a blue light shield.
- Most mobile phones have the ability to switch off the blue light and emit a softer light (usually this is the night-time mode)
I am not going to suggest you throw your mobile phone under a bus immediately but maybe we could all consider our usage and the impact it is having on us. – I have recently researched this subject a lot and will be starting a mobile phone detox on 1st May to reassess my relationship with my mobile devices.
If you want to join me I will be running this through my FB group Skin School by Rachel Savage, so pop over see what it’s all about…
