Can Blue Light From Your Phone Damage Your Skin?

Social media is awash with suggestions that ordinary daily behaviours may damage your skin. It also promotes and advertises products said to shield it.

Blue light emitted by our devices has now become the latest target of these concerns.

But can spending time scrolling on a phone genuinely harm your skin? And can creams or lotions offer any protection?

Here is what the research currently indicates, and where our attention should be directed instead.

What is blue light?

Blue light sits within the visible light spectrum. The sun is by far its most powerful source. Electronic devices, including phones, laptops and televisions, emit it too, though at intensities 100-1,000 times lower.

Given how much time many of us spend on these devices, questions have been raised about how blue light may affect health, including our eyes and sleep.

Researchers are also finding out more about what blue light may do to the skin.

How does blue light affect the skin?

Research into blue light and the skin is still developing, although several findings are worth noting.

1. Blue light may increase pigmentation

Research indicates that blue light exposure can encourage the production of melanin, the natural pigment responsible for skin colour.

In theory, excessive blue light could therefore aggravate hyperpigmentation - an overproduction of melanin that causes dark marks on the skin - particularly for people with darker skin.

2. Blue light may cause wrinkles

Some studies indicate blue light could harm collagen, the protein that is vital to the skin's structure, and may therefore speed up wrinkle formation.

One laboratory study found this may occur after holding a device just one centimetre from the skin for as little as an hour.

For most people, however, keeping a device more than 10cm from the skin cuts exposure by 100-fold. That makes any significant effect far less likely.

3. Blue light can disturb sleep and, in turn, affect your skin

Dullness or puffiness around the eyes can easily be attributed directly to blue light. Yet because blue light is known to affect sleep, these are more likely to be visible effects of sleep deprivation.

Blue light is especially effective at suppressing melatonin production. This naturally occurring hormone usually tells the body when it is time to sleep and helps control the sleep-wake cycle.

When blue light suppresses melatonin before bedtime, it interrupts this normal process, making sleep more difficult to achieve and potentially lowering sleep quality.

The stimulating material on screens can disrupt sleep further. Social media feeds, news stories, video games and even work emails may keep the brain engaged and alert, making it harder to move into a sleep state.

Persistent sleep difficulties may also make existing skin conditions worse, including acne, eczema and rosacea.

Sleep deprivation can raise levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that breaks down collagen, the protein that gives skin its firmness. Too little sleep may also impair the skin's natural barrier, leaving it more vulnerable to environmental damage and dryness.

Can skincare protect against blue light?

The beauty industry has seized on concerns about blue light, selling a variety of supposedly protective mists, serums and lip glosses.

In practical terms, blue light from devices is probably only a concern for people with the more difficult form of hyperpigmentation called melasma.

With this condition, the skin needs continuous protection from all visible light. The only completely effective options are products that block all light: mineral-based sunscreens or certain cosmetics. If you cannot see the skin through the product, it will be effective.

However, non-opaque products have not been rigorously tested outside laboratory settings. As a result, it is difficult to establish whether they work or whether they are worth incorporating into a skincare routine.

How can I minimise blue light exposure?

These straightforward measures can reduce blue light exposure, particularly in the evening, when it may interfere with sleep:

• Use your device's "night mode" setting, or a blue-light filter app, to lessen evening blue light exposure.
• Reduce screen use before bed and establish a calming bedtime routine to avoid the sleep disruption that can affect skin health.
• Keep your phone or other device away from your skin to reduce blue light exposure.
• Wear sunscreen. Mineral and physical sunscreens containing titanium dioxide and iron oxides provide broad protection, including against blue light.

In brief

Blue light exposure has been associated with certain skin concerns, especially pigmentation in people with darker skin. Research is continuing.

Skincare designed to protect against blue light appears promising, but further testing is required to establish whether it is effective.

For now, make good sun protection the priority by using a broad-spectrum sunscreen, which protects not only against UV but also light.

Michael Freeman, Associate Professor of Dermatology, Bond University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.