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Blue Light Skin Care Is Probably a Scam
In this extremely digital time, pricey blue light skin care products promise to protect against ‘digital aging’
In the Covid-19 era, with its tech-heavy home office setups, nightly video calls, and hours of boredom-induced social media scrolling and Netflix binges, it should come as no surprise that screen time is through the roof. In March, it was reported that smartphone use was up by 70% worldwide, while laptop usage saw a 40% increase.
The health effects of blue light — the type of light emitted from digital screens — has been a hot topic for years. Research has already shown that blue light can disrupt sleep patterns. It is also — although somewhat questionably — linked to causing eye strain. In recent years, a few studies have started to look into the potential adverse effects of blue light on the skin, suggesting that too much blue light exposure may cause visible signs of premature aging.
These studies are extremely preliminary, and at this point, dermatologists are still skeptical, but the beauty industry has already pounced at the opportunity to develop products aimed to protect against so-called digital aging and blue light pollution.
These new luxury antidotes don’t come cheap. One $150 serum claims to “shield the skin from the visible effects of blue light pollution.” Another $62 face primer says the formula’s hero ingredient, cocoa seed extract, can minimize blue light stress. It’s a high price to pay for a kind of protection experts still aren’t entirely sure we need.
“We don’t have great data on exactly what’s happening to cells when they’re exposed to blue light. The main argument [for blue light skin care products] is that blue light stimulates the production of free radicals,” says dermatologist Glynis Ablon, MD, of the Ablon Skin Institute and Research Center.
“The only thing that concerns me about blue light is the effect that it can have on sleep patterns and the eyes.”
Free radicals are unstable molecules missing an electron. To stabilize themselves, free radicals are known to steal electrons from other cells, setting off a chain…
