If you’re tethered to your devices, new research shows your skin is at risk of ‘digital ageing’. Blue light can add years but a powerful crop of skincare is emerging to help you fight back. It’s time to digital detox – the beauty way…

Here’s a mind-blowing stat: 60 per cent of people are now spending more than six hours a day in front of a digital device*. Whether that’s a marathon Netflix session or hopping from Zoom to Instagram, it seems we’re spending more time on our phones, laptops and tablets  than we are sleeping. And let’s not sugar coat this – the blue light emitted from those screens is going to wreak havoc on your skin.

Fine lines, inflammation, pigmentation and a loss of firmness are just a few of the signs that blue light (or high-energy visible light) is having a negative impact. Terrifying much? You can blame the fact that these rays are able to penetrate far deeper than UVA and UVB – right to our dermis, the beating heart of healthy skin, where our collagen and elastin live.

“Our skin is photosensitive,” explains Debbie Thomas, laser expert and founder of the D.Thomas Specialist Skin Clinic. “This means blue light from our electronic devices can trigger reactions in our skin after just 60 minutes of exposure. Some of these reactions include the shrinkage and premature death of our skin cells, which we know promotes ageing,” she continues. But it’s not all doom and gloom. ‘Digital ageing’ is the modern malady that high-tech skincare is currently eyeing up, so there are plenty of smart new products ready to rush to our defence.

Night Light

Making the bedroom a tech-free zone is integral, too, as blue light can impact your sleep cycle and suppress the ‘sleep’ hormone melatonin. But that’s not all: Estée Lauder scientists found that blue light can also disrupt the skin’s circadian rhythm. “Results indicate that exposure to blue light at night can cause skin cells to continue to ‘think’ it is daytime, impacting their natural nighttime repair process,” says Dr. Nadine Pernodet, scientific spokesperson for The Estée Lauder Companies. Indeed, cell renewal – a vital process for sprucing skin up – is eight times faster at night than in the middle of the day. Well, providing it’s not thrown out of whack. Estée Lauder has solved that problem with its reformulated Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Multi-Recovery Complex. This smart serum boosts cells’ own natural renewal and collagen-producing mechanisms that kick in overnight. Or try Dior Capture Totale Super Potent Rich Creme, which contains plant extracts to re-energise skin cells for self-repair.

Beat The Blues

First you might want to rethink your daily screen time: “Without downtime, the nervous system never shuts down – it’s in constant fight-or-flight mode,” explains Thomas. “We’re wired and tired all the time. That adrenal fatigue, coupled with high cortisol levels, shows up as dull, dry skin and irritation.”  In the same way that any cleanse worth its Himalayan salt purifies and heals, doing a digital detox can reset your skin as well as your phone/life balance. While it sounds counterproductive to use your Smartphone in order to become less dependant on technology, Space App helps you to understand your usage and set daily limits. A good jumping off point is to create what environmental psychologist Lee Chambers calls a ‘digital sunset’ by “shutting down your devices at a set time each evening and storing them away.”

Zoom Fatigue- Fighters

Those six hours of screen time during the day can also stir up trouble. New research shows that a week in front of a computer is as bad for your skin as 25 minutes in the midday sun without protection. As Dr. Mona Gohara, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine explains it, blue light creates free radicals. “These little particles wreak cosmetic havoc in the skin by binding to collagen and weakening elastin, causing wrinkles and sagging.” Another way blue light might be ageing us is by causing pigmentation. “Visible light activates melanin production,” says Gohara. “I’m even seeing a new pattern of pigmentation on the sides of the face that could be where patients are holding their phone.”

Given that both sunlight and digital devices emit blue light, we need to take an indoor and outdoor approach. Research consistently concludes that antioxidants tip the balance back in our favour. Gohara is a vitamin C and E acolyte – “they’ve got the most science behind them,” she says. “Apply a product containing both in the morning as they are stronger when used in tandem, and switch to vitamin A at night.”

Free radicals don’t stand a chance against the expertly crafted SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic serum. Try Paula’s Choice Retinol to shore up collagen reserves while you sleep. It isn’t just free radicals you need to address, though. The same study also linked 30 hours of blue light exposure to a 40 per cent increase in inflammation. The Ordinary Niacinamide 10 per cent + Zinc 1 per cent serum is designed for those SOS moments, using niacinamide to take down redness.  The ultimate protection, however, arrives by way of SPF. “Blue light can only be effectively blocked by iron oxide-containing sunscreens,” says Gohara. Layer Drunk Elephant Umbra Tinte Physical Daily Defence SPF30 over a serum as part of your a.m. regime. In addition to skincare, cover your computer with a blue light shield and switch your devices to ‘night shift’. And remember, even computers know when to reboot – perhaps we should too.

From Harper’s Bazaar Saudi’s Spring 2021 Issue

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