Do You Have Netflix Face?

How your phone, laptop and tablet are coming for your skin.

- Samantha Silver

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? If you’re anything like me, you hit snooze, then check your socials, WhatsApp and, 15 minutes later, you get up. We’re a generation reliant on our phones – be it for work, to shop or to pay a bill. But what if I told you that every time you scroll through Twitter you’re being exposed to the most silent skin aggressor of all? Blue light.

“Blue light is becoming our biggest skin enemy,” says Noella Gabriel, founder of skincare brand Elemis. “Our lifestyle habits are changing; we spend less time outdoors in the sun and more time inside staring at a screen than our parents did. Evidence suggests exposure to blue light on a daily basis causes long-term ageing; so adapting our skincare is essential.”

We know that protecting our skin from UVA and UVB rays is an absolute must, but little thought has been given to blue light, otherwise known as HEVL (high-energy visible light), until now. Emerging as the new beauty buzzword, some experts say the impact of blue light could be akin to the ageing effects of sun damage, and scientists are racing to develop ingredients to tackle it.

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