HOW TO PROTECT SKIN FROM ALL THOSE SCREENS

We’re spending more time than ever looking at our phones, computers and TV screens. We know it’s bad for our sleep, but what about our skin?

Otherwise known as high-energy visible light, blue light is mainly emitted from the sun but, as we now know, it’s also produced from digital screens. Since we’re getting significantly more blue-light exposure than we used to from the sun (Australians spend at least 9.4 hours in front of a screen every day, which has increased since the pandemic), there’s been increasingly more research invested into what the side effects may be – particularly when it comes to our skin.

So, we asked the experts for the lowdown. If physics is your jam, then you’ll know it’s all in the wavelength. Blue light can be used in LED-light therapy to help treat acne and inflammation, but on a different wavelength (380nm to 780nm) it’s considered damaging.

“The effects of blue light are largely dependent on the amount and wavelength, and can be toxic at wavelengths shorter than 453nm, however they are non-toxic at lower levels,” explains Dermalogica’s Emma Hobson. “Research has found that blue light from the sun is considerably higher than that from digital-screen exposure.”

According to Hobson, blue light can really mess with our skin. “It has the ability to penetrate the skin all the way to the lower fatty layer and has been deemed to be a source of oxidative stress, hyperpigmentation and collagen breakdown,” she says.