Blue light - What it is and how it affects the skin

The sun is the indisputable life-giver of our planet. It is one of the basic natural sources of clean energy and an inexhaustible source of health and well-being for humans. It’s not a coincidence that it is the first natural element kids draw in their pictures, since its importance is part of our existence from start to finish. 

So, while the sun gifts generously our world with light and warmth, there is a side of it that is less friendly to our skin; UVA and UVB radiation. Over the past decades, several awareness campaigns regarding protection from certain radiations responsible for skin cancer and photoageing. Lately, however, a growing number of health experts caution about how important the protection from blue light radiation is too.

What is blue light?

Blue light or high-energy visible light, like UVA and UVB, is a sun light element at a 20-30% rate and is the one giving the sky its wonderful light blue colour. It has a wavelength from 400 to 500nm, making this particular radiation far more penetrating to the human body than the other two. It is directly connected with the body’s awakening process, and, during the day, it gives it the energy and vivacity it needs to meet its tasks and obligations.  

As already mentioned, violet-blue light penetrates the deeper layers of the skin and reaches all the way the fat tissue, causing damage to the composition and homogeneity of the human cells. Wrinkles, blotches, lack of collagen, pigmentation (due to the increase of melanine), rubors, and edemas are just few of the results connected directly with the excessive exposure to blue light. 

Are there any other sources of blue light?

While the emission of blue light from the sun is a natural effect, our level of exposure to it has increased due to a man-related factor, namely digital screens of electric devices, which assert or even monopolise an significant part of our day.  And while the sun limits itself with the succession of day and night, that does not apply to humans, who keep using needlessly these devices, exposing themselves to significant levels of blue light radiation, even before they fall asleep! 

You see, blue light gives the body wrong signals, tricking it into perceiving night as day and keeping us alert when in fact our body needs pampering and time to restore its cells. Still, what can be affected (possibly beyond remedy) from blue light exposure from the screens is our vision, mostly that of children, because it affects the still-developing optic nerves of their eyes. As a result, we feel constantly tired, with bloodshot eyes, often suffering from headaches, while staying exposed to the secretion of free radicals that cause oxidative stress.

How can you protect yourself from blue radiation?

If you’ve started worrying a bit after reading all that, you are on the right path.  Knowledge is power, and the good news is that we can reverse and even prevent the negative consequences of blue light on our health. So, how can you protect yourself and your family? Follow the recommendation of the international medical community (and no, stopping going out in the sun is not an option).

• Choose the right filters for the screens you use, as well as for your sunglasses. These filters trap blue light and allow only a specific amount of it to pass through.
• Reduce the time you devote to digital screens to what’s absolutely necessary. Reducing their level of brightness will also help. 
• Avoid spending your time with a smartphone before you go to sleep.  Prefer a good book.
• Welcome into your life carrots, tomatoes, spinach and plenty of fruits (like peaches and watermelons), which strengthen the eyes. Love all foods that contain vitamin C, which is a great antioxidant.
• Pick a wide-range sunscreen with antioxidant effect and special filters against blue light radiation, and use it throughout the year (and not just during the summer). Boost the efficiency of your sunscreen with an enriched face oil, which will nurture your skin and eradicate pigmentations and other skin damages.

In Parapharmacie you will find a great range of branded products and offers for pampering, proper hydration and the protection of both the body and the face.

Exposure to blue light radiation is not to be taken lightly, especially if we consider, aside from the sun, all those electronic devices we love so much and have put into our lives, at times even from a tender age.

So, since we don’t know which source emits more blue light, the sun or digital screens (tablets, smartwatches, TVs), we conclude this article with this useful advice-nudge: Limit as much as possible the use of digital screens and enjoy the sun, with respect and concern for your body, beauty and health!