Yes, you still need to wear sunscreen indoors—to protect you from your screens

Apart from harmful UV rays, it seems we have to protect our skin from the light of our screens

Photo by The Creative Exchange on Unsplash

Blue light is the latest threat against your goal to achieve perfect skin. Here’s the 411 on blue light: It’s a high-energy visible light that penetrates the skin deeper than other lights because of its longer wavelength, according to Dr. Marie Hayag, a New York-based cosmetic dermatologist.

It’s the light emitted by our screens that disrupts our circadian rhythm—the internal process that regulates sleep—and it turns out that it’s posing danger to our skin. How grave of a danger? Well, the thing is, science isn’t settled on its effects on skin. But some of its effects include prematurely aging your skin by destroying collagen through oxidative stress and causing hyperpigmentation in medium to dark skin.

[READ: New skincare tip: Use your phone less]

As expected, many skincare products allegedly formulated to prevent and repair blue light damage are cropping up in the market. But do we really need them?

Not really. If you ask Dr. Hayag and other dermatologists, the solution may just be as simple as wearing sunscreen, but not just any kind. Mineral sunscreens with iron oxides are ideal if you are constantly in front of the screen, according to a 2019 study. Look for those formulated with high zinc oxide or titanium dioxide content, which deflect blue light away from the skin so it doesn’t cause damage.

The thing with this kind of sunscreen though is that it tends to leave a white cast especially on people with darker complexion. Thankfully, it is the year of the Lord 2021 and products have more or less addressed this. Here are some of our recommendations.