Is your skin paying the price for exposure to blue light from electronic devices?
It’s no secret that light throws our body clock, or circadian rhythm, out of whack. Not only does sleep suffer, but research shows it may even contribute to some pretty nasty diseases, think as cancer, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.
However, different coloured light has other effects. Blue light, for example, is beneficial in daylight hours as it boosts our mood, reaction times and attention. Come night, though, and it’s a different story.
Blue light is thought to cause more disruption at night than other kinds of light. And energy-efficient lighting and extended use of electronic devices, such as smartphones, iPads, and laptops, are increasing our exposure to this seemingly benign light.
Risks from night lights
Although studies have linked exposure to light by working the night shift to the diseases listed above, it is unclear why. However, we know that light suppresses melatonin, the hormone that influences our circadian rhythm. It is also clear that artificial light deprives people of sleep, increasing the risk of depression, diabetes and cardiovascular problems.
Although any coloured light can suppress melatonin secretion, blue wavelengths at night will hide the hormone twice as long as the green light and shift circadian rhythms for twice as long.
So how does this have anything to do with skin damage?
Penetrating blue light
High-energy visible light (blue light) from electronic devices is thought to speed up skin ageing, although more research needs to be undertaken for conclusive evidence.
Blue light penetrates down to the dermis, the second layer of your skin, much further than the sun’s UVA and UVB rays. Therefore, radiation from the blue light reaches our collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid and may produce more hyper-pigmentation than UVB radiation.
SM Collaboost Marine Hydrolyzed Collagen contains optimized collagen peptides – essential components for supporting healthy skin.
BD Collamatrix, or Hydrolyzed Collagen, is developed to promote bone health, increasing bone density and reducing degradation processes. Products, including FORTIBONE®, appeal to the elderly and physically active consumers interested in maintaining good health.
Nano Hyaluronic Acid can be incorporated into formulations for the skin, acting as an antiaging, promoting wrinkle filling and moisturizing action, as well as on chemically treated hair, where it reduces the porosity, making the hair strands brighter, hydrated and improving their elasticity.
Although we are all exposed to blue light from the sun, the prolonged exposure to blue light through the proliferation of digital devices that are causing scientists to sit up and take notice of its potential to damage our skin.
Immediate protection we can all apply includes:
- Dimming the screen light.
- Covering the screen with a blue light filter.
- Using a blue light filter app.
Informed consumers seek solutions that offer total skin protection without affecting their activities. Using cutting-edge technology, DSM Personal Care has developed an innovative concept to fight against blue light damage, which you can add to your skincare formulas.
More Trulux raw materials are available at our shop. Click here.
Parsol Max – UV filters to block blue light
Parsol Max by DSM is a photostable UV filter that breaks through the boundaries of UVB and UVA to continue into the blue light spectrum. It can be added to your skincare formulation during the water phase or at the end of the emulsion process.
Image courtesy of DSM Personal Care