Jakarta (ANTARA) – It cannot be denied that during this time we have been exposed to a lot of “blue light” or blue light emitted from the screens of digital devices such as televisions, laptops, PCs, smartphones, tablets, and gadgets other.
Blue light apparently has a number of bad effects on skin health.
“Blue light damages the retina and reduces melatonin excretion, thereby disrupting your sleep cycle,” said Michelle Henry, a dermatologist in New York, quoted by Gulf News, Wednesday.
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The closer we are to a gadget that emits blue light, the more impact it will have. For example, a television will expose less blue light than a computer because it is quite far from us when watching.
“And there’s more light from your phone than your computer because your phone is so close to your face.”
While ultraviolet light damages cell DNA directly, blue light destroys collagen through oxidative stress.
Chemicals in the skin called flavins absorb blue light. Reactions that occur during absorption produce unstable oxygen molecules (free radicals) that damage the skin.
“They go in and basically and poke holes in your collagen,” Henry said.
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Blue light exposure is more problematic for skin of color. In a 2010 study published in The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, it was shown to cause hyperpigmentation in medium to dark skin, while leaving lighter skin relatively unaffected.
The medical community categorizes skin color based on how it reacts to UV light. Type 1 is the lightest color with the highest UV sensitivity.
“This is Nicole Kidman’s and Conan O’Brien’s skin type,” says Mathew M. Avram, director of the Center for Laser and Cosmetic Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The scale goes up to Type 6, which is the darkest and least likely to burn.
In a 2010 study, Type 2 skin was exposed to blue light but did not experience pigmentation. Meanwhile, colored skin will darken, and that darkness lasts for several weeks.
Even though it damages the skin, blue light can actually treat acne.
The simplest way to protect skin from blue light is to reduce exposure to blue light.
Use night mode on your device which makes the screen warmer in color. Replace LED bulbs with ones that emit less blue light.
If desired, apply a tinted sunscreen, which usually contains iron oxide.
Topical antioxidants are supposed to help tame the free radicals that blue light produces, but science doesn’t recommend them.
The best advice is to consume vitamin C. Vitamin C molecules are small enough to penetrate the skin.
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Translator: Ida Nurcahyani
Editor: Alviansyah Pasaribu
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