We are part of a generation and a decade when surviving without our digital devices, or we could say smartphones seem next to impossible because why not? We practically carry our memory inside these digital boxes and keep it safeguarded for the rest of our lives.
The safeguarding of memory would mean that our contacts, passwords to various social media handles, and other stuff have been recorded in these smart devices. We rely on technology, and we won’t be able to go back from here anymore. Our lives’ fast pace is divided between surfing our phones and working like robots for the next 8-9 hours a day.
It is not unusual to hear when someone says that our technologies have become our destruction because it has crippled us from enjoying nature around us or looking into our health more consciously. There have been studies, and various observations by experts and scientists about the health conditions we are not aware and they are probably due to the screen devices we own and use in everyday life.
The experts have said that now these screen devices emitting the light are harmful to one’s health, but it can severely affect the skin’s health because our face is the only part where the light approaches the maximum number of times.
Earlier, the doctors have mentioned that our skin was only exposed to the UVA and UVB rays emitting from the sun, but now it has another agent added to the list, which is our smartphones. These emitting lights are blue lights, which are visibly harmful and are only a fraction of what sunrays are emitting.
Doctors say that these blue lights have become the trending reason behind early aging because they indulge in their different digital devices, especially smartphones. Blue light is a fraction of light visible to us from the sunrays and is in another indoor lighting apart from sunlight, such as our digital or electronic devices.
The effects of Blue Light on Your Skin Health
The Blue light visibly emitted from the screen of our electronic devices or smartphones are high lights that have caused many health issues in individuals from the past few years. When these lights are blocked on our skin, it could cause skin conditions; one might be unaware of.
Experts have said that the spectrum from these blue light could travel at the wavelength between 415 and 455 nanometers through the cornea and lens to the retina. It could then cause diseases such as dry eyes, cataracts, etc.
Moreover, there is less evidence supporting how blue light visibility on the skin could damage it from the insides? However, certain studies and paper reviews have left some clues to work on and extend this research to understand better and solve this condition. A small study was published in February in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity about this connection between blue light and skin health.
The study mentioned that there had been a connection found between “blue light exposure and the production of free radicals in the skin, which have been linked to the accelerated appearance of aging.”
One researcher has also mentioned from a study conducted that when blue light rays penetrate through the skin cells, “it can cause reactive oxygen species” that leads to damage of DNA and then breaking down collagen and elasticity of the fibers in our skin.
Though these studies pointed to a possibility that sudden changes in skin quality such as pigmentation, redness, swelling, etc., indeed is a sign of blue light harming the skin, a dermatologic surgeon and director of aesthetic dermatology at Yale Medicine, Kathleen Suozzi, says that there lacks evidence to support that blue light is the only fundamental reason for skin damage presently.
It does incite harmful effects on skin conditions. Still, it could not be said confidently as dermatologists use blue light to treat various skin conditions such as acne, so saying that blue light harms the skin without concrete pieces of evidence would not be right.
Ways you can protect your skin from these Blue Light.
Although there is no evidence to prove that blue light is for sure harming our skin and making it reach the early aging process, it is a must to remember that no matter what electronic gadgets affect us negatively and the lights emitted from them could never be right or harmless.
The best way to help or prevent your skin from these high lights’ visible spectrum is to cut short the usage of your screen devices. Try using your cell phones as little as you could so that the lights do not affect you, or use headphones while listening to music and keep your device as far away as possible not to let your skin come into direct exposure with the blue light.
Dermatologists suggest using sunscreen when going outside as sunscreen with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide helps block the UVA and UVB rays along with the blue light spectrum. The sunscreens with other chemicals are unable to block these blue lights.
The other way to treat or protect your skin from harmful blue lights is to go for serums or creams with Vitamin C antioxidants in them or iron oxide. It could reduce hyperpigmentation by lessening the oxidative stress on your skin and making your skin less sensitive to blue light.
For now, experts believe that solar lights are one reason for skin damage, and no concrete could be given to say that the rays from electronic devices are damaging our skin health and cause early aging on our skin.
