﻿Can Blue Light from Screens Damage Your Skin?
A few days ago, there was a lot of controversy about internet personality ‘Valkrae’s’ product
launch of a new essentially sunscreen that blocks Bluelight from your PC. Which Is just so funny to
me, because someone in the marketing department was asking themselves what they could sell to
gamers, blue light googles? Nah already been done, Gamer fuel, so they can stay hydrated during their
intense finger workouts, nah. Why don’t we sell skincare to gamers? Gamers don’t use skincare,
yeah but what if we market it as ‘gamer skincare’ for bluelight protection. *fin*
While I am taking the piss at the absurdity of the situation, it’s not entirely snakeoil and
does have some scientific backing to it. Skin is a protective barrier that serves to lock in moisture
and water, while simultaneously blocking the entry of any hazardous material including harmful light
rays. This makes the skin particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress which is directly associated
with premature aging. The signs of aging are first evident through the visible changes on the skin
such as wrinkling through loss of elasticity, or hyperpigmentation in the form of sunspots.
While we have covered extensively the concerns for skin in regards to UV light and sundamage,
the bluelight emitted from your electronic devices is just a less powerful cousin of that
very same damaging UV component. They are afterall both on the electromagnetic spectrum.
Concern for the effect on the skin is particularly over the safety of
blue light ranging from 400-490 nm emitted from most common electronic devices.
Studies have reported that exposing the skin for only one hour to blue light emitted from
screens such as mobiles and laptops, can result in the formation of reactive oxygen
species that can initiate cell death by cellular apoptosis and necrosis. The pathogenesis for
this is very similar to UV damage, where UV rays create free radicals in the skin
which are highly reactive, and much like that one bad friend from your hometown, they ruin
everything they touch. This results in loss of collagen and can lead to premature signs of aging.
However, the long-term effects of blue light on the skin are still under investigation.
Researchers have suggested that a global change in the spectrum of light emitted from all daily
use devices can minimize the adverse effects of blue light on both skin and eyes.
Blue light is commonly used in dermatology as phototherapy to treat various conditions,
including but not limited to, acne, rosacea, psoriasis, superficial carcinomas and even sun
damage. Evidence from older studies has stated that blue light can be a helpful tool in treating
skin cancer due to its ability to induce cytocidal effects. But more recent studies have linked blue
light to an overall negative impact on skin. Sunscreens in general advertise their ability to
provide protection from electromagnetic radiation, including UVB AND UVA, which range between
290 nm to 400 nm. Blue light falls instead under the visible light spectrum of 400 nm to 700 nm.
Visible light accounts for 50% of the light emitted from sunlight and is also emitted by
most device screens. There is some reasoning for why a product like RFLCT would exist,
but are the effect serious enough to warrant adding a new product to your routine?
Sunscreens are used for photoprotection, but their ability to block visible
light is debatable. Multiple studies have found that most marketed sunscreens are not effective
against visible light as only non-nano-sized inorganic UV filters possess visible light
filtering properties whereas organic filters confer zero protection against visible light.
Meaning that you’re going to need a new product for visible light,
as one product cannot protect from both. Instead, tinted sunscreens that produce a visible shine
on the skin when applied may protect against visible light, including blue light BY 93 to 98%.
Tinted sunscreen contains a mixture of iron oxides and Titanium oxide pigments,
which can absorb visible light. Iron oxide may appear yellow, and yellow Fe2O3 can protect the
skin from visible light induced pigmentation and oxidative stress. A study comparing the efficacy
of non tinted sunscreen versus a sunscreen containing iron oxide and titanium oxide
found that Fe2O3 containing sunscreens had an overall better protection against visible
light induced pigmentation as per expert grading and analysis with colorimetry.
Many cosmetic brands have started promoting themselves by advertising claims that their
products can provide photoprotection against blue light. 100 Thieves co-owner and YouTuber Valkyrae
recently started a controversy by claiming that the products from her new skin brand RFLCT provide
protection against blue light. The website for RFLCT vaguely names BLPF™ (Blue Light Prevention
Factor) and RE3™ (Rice Extract) as the active ingredients that work against blue light.
The only recent study on Purple Rice Extract by Junji Tanaka et al was conducted on mice. The
study found that the major anthocyanidins derived from purple rice bran extract
could possess some protective effects against blue light by suppressing photoreceptor degeneration
induced by it on the retina. However, this study was not done to evaluate the
photoprotection of the skin against blue light, and it was also not conducted on humans.
RFLCT also lists more ingredients on their site, but none of them have any concrete scientific
backing regarding protection against blue light, just bits and pieces. That’s not to say however,
that I don’t believe it won’t work. There just aren’t any direct clinical trials of
their products. Much like how skincare brands quote ‘made from clinically proven ingredients’
but no trials of the actual product itself. The photoprotective potential of sunscreens
against blue light may be instead enhanced by adding antioxidants to sunscreen products.
More than half of the oxidative stress on skin is by the direct actions of visible light exposure.
Adding antioxidants to sunscreens may reduce oxidative stress by up to 2.4 fold.
Hawasatu et al found that application of topical sunscreen containing antioxidants
reduced both pigmentation and redness after exposure to visible light and UV light.
Other modalities to provide protection against blue light can include usual
sun avoidance techniques such as the use of photoprotective clothing, sunglasses,
seeking shade, and wearing wide brimmed hats. Tinted sunscreens are the only concrete
science-backed ways to provide some degree of protection against blue light from your mobile,
laptop, and television screens. In a sense, RFLCT is just a tinted sunscreen, being marketed as a
groundbreaking new product. Most people have never even heard of such a thing existing,
and are used to sunscreens that go on white and clear. My recommendation would be that if you
do have the disposable income to buy and use such a product long term, because using it for
1 day and quitting isn’t going to give you any form of long-term protection, then go for it,
why not, but understand you’re paying a heavy premium for it, the influencer premium.
Alternatively, you can purchase generic tinted sunscreens containing Fe2O3 or TiO3 to protect
against blue light. You could also heavily redshift your PC output to minimize blue
light emittance. Most Windows versions have a night-light mode to do just that.