If you're reading this, it's too late… Unless you're wearing anti-blue light glasses and specially-concocted serums for blocking them, millions of particules of High-Energy Visible (HEV) light have already left the screen of your phone, iPad, or laptop, and penetrated your skin, where they start their nefarious work, decomposing the collagen and elastaine necessary to fight against wrinkles and keep the skin supple.
The gravity of this phenomenon depends on the amount of time you spend under the glare of this HEV light — and to your stage of aging in general and the importance you place on beauty regimes.
But HEV light (more simply blue light) does not only affect the skin. As well as giving you eye wrinkles while you scroll Twitter, scientists have been long warning of the harmful effects on sleep and eyesight, among other things.
At the risk of exposing yourself for another few moments, take some time to read the following to understand what blue light is, why it's harmful, and how you can project yourself from this danger, typical of our digital era.
What is blue light?
Light waves carry in different colors; every wave frequency corresponds to a specific color, and each color has its own effects. The screens of our phones, computers, and tablets emit blue light, which has harmful consequences for sleep, the skin, and mood.
The reason for this? Hormones. Increases and decreases in hormones such as cortisol generate a circadian rhythm which gives us energy during the day and helps us to unwind in the evening. But a specific type of blue light, between 420 and 480 nanometers, which are found in artificial appliances such as phones, disturbs natural cycles of cortisol, sapping our energy during the day and exciting us in the evening.
Blue light is also capable of penetrating deep layers of the skin, producing free radicals and inflammation which lead to hyperpigmentation and brown spots. Certain studies indicate that blue light also damages the eye's retina, causing a chemical reaction which can be toxic for retinal cells.
Optical protection
While a strict digital detox is still the best way to reestablish your circadian rhythm, several products are available on the market for those who cannot (or don't want to) stay away from their screens.
Anti-blue light glasses are perhaps the most effective solution against the effects of blue light. Among the various models which exist, the most renowned are the Australian BLUblox glasses, designed as a sort of optical sun screen against HEV light.
Various BLUblox models are available, from a more serious ‘nerdy' modelto a pair of aviators for a statement look. Three types of glass can be integrated in the models: transparent glass which reduces fatigue and headaches, yellow glass which regulates the mood, thanks to color therapy, and the blue lenses physically block HEV light rays which disturb melatonin and sleep.
Rely on natural light
Andy Mant, founder of BLUblox, developed the glasses after suffering from sleeping problems which led him to academic artices on melatonin. He discovered that HEV light disturbs the production of melatonin, therefore affecting sleep and general well-being. “Every biological process of the body, from our digestion to how we feel, depends on the type of light we decide to expose ourselves to” he explains to Vogue.
“We have created hundreds of artificials suns with our smartphones, our televisions, our home lighting, cars, and other appliances”, Andy Mant continues, highlighting that each of these light sources affects our natural circadian rhythm. In addition to protective glasses, he recommends reintegrating the sun into our daily lives. “Seeing the sunrise is the best way to synchronize your circadian rhythm, which also boosts seratonin and dopamine levels. Having three to five ‘sun breaks’ every day can help to maintain our hormones at an optimal and balanced level.”
Sun creams and serums
And of course, we have another problem for the skin. If the aging effects of blue light worry you and you don't want to take the risk of exposing your skin to natural sun rays, you should arm yourself with a little more than a pair of anti-blue light glasses.
HEV light works in the same way as UVA and UVB rays, penetrating even the deepest layers of the skin. It goes beyond the eye zone, decomposing collagen, increasing pigmentation, and can even lead to the appearance of melasma. (Fortunately, HEV light does not induce DNA mutations, and therefore does not present the risk of cancer).
In good news, an HEV sun screen is available from several skincare ranges, from Royal Fern to Suzanne Kaufmann. According to Dr Jessica Weiser, a dermatologist based in Manhattan, sun screen containing iron oxide can protect from blue light, often found in beauty products made with botanicals, such as marine algae, sustainably-sourced cocoa, and plankton extract. “You should apply products containing antioxidants at least every morning to combat oxidative stress" advises Dr Weiser. "As it's impossible to avoid screens in our technological world, we should be proactive in avoiding harmful consequences they lead to."
Serums are another possibility. Annee de Mamiel, who began her career in finance, made a tour of the world by boat during the Round the World Yacht Race, before turning her attention to clean beauty after chemotherapy ravaged her skin. “An excess of blue light leads to a slow but serious degradation of the skin's structure”, explains Annee de Mamiel, who possesses a diploma in anatomical physiology, and who meditates in front of every bottle of her eponymous line before it leaves her farm in England. “Our Elixir Intense Nurture Antioxidant is formulated with quercetin to protect from oxidative stress, and with malachite, which removes impurities and pollutant substances.”
Other serums are on the market, such as the Infusion Micro-Liquid Serum from African Botanics, which relies on marine biochemistry and African adaptogen remedies to fight HEV light. Suzanne Kaufmann's Pollution Skin Defence System feeds the skin with a cocktail of antioxidants, including ecotine, Q10, and vitamin C.
Good news, then: it's not too late to act. In the same way you can sunbathe while protecting yourself from UVA/B rays with a good sun screen, you can equally continue to surf the Twittersphere and devour your favorite series with adapted protection.
Translated by Ella Jones
