Have you looked in the mirror and started to notice some fine lines around your eyes or your mouth? You know laying in the sun isn’t good for your skin, but you want to do it anyway. You love your tan, but you have that nagging feeling that maybe it’s a bit too much.
Skin damage from the sun is a well-known fact, but what about HEV Blue Light? HEV stands for High Energy Visible Light. When there are no clouds, this is the light that shows us the beautiful blue sky, and it also can damage your skin. The sun isn’t the only place we find HEV Blue light.
What is HEV Blue Light?
Light from the sun is measured in wavelengths. The measurement used is called nanometers. The wavelengths emitted by the sun range from 390 nm to 700nm. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter.
The UVA and UVB light from the sun are invisible to us, but cause skin damage like sunburn and loss of firmness, when we are in the sun too long.
This comparison of wavelengths gives you an idea of length in terms of damage to the skin:
Ultraviolet light causes damage to unprotected skin. And damage from HEV light isn’t far behind.
So where else do we find HEV blue light?
HEV Blue light is emitted from televisions, computer screens, your tablet, smartphones, and fluorescent bulbs. Unlike UVB and UVA light, HEV blue light doesn’t stop when the sun goes down.
This light is around us all day and all night. If you work on a computer all day you can be exposed to more than 10 hours of HEV light which is way more than the exposure we used to get just from the sun.
How does HEV blue light damage your skin?
Sunlight can be good for us. It gives us our Vitamin D. But too much sun is damaging to our skin.
HEV light penetrates deeper into our skin than UV light. HEV blue light reaches down into the hypodermis and sunscreen can’t stop it!
Free radicals and inflammation can be triggered with concentrated exposure to HEV blue light. What this means is like UVA rays, HEV light rays generate free radicals that cause your skin to lose its youthful appearance. This causes the skin to photoage which is aging prematurely because of too much sun exposure.
UVA, UVB and HEV light can cause hyperpigmentation which leads to age spots or as they’re also called, sunspots. Signs of photoaging shows up in wrinkles, loss of elasticity and dryness.
It’s interesting to note that skin cancer and sunburn are not associated with HEV blue light. Only pigment changes and wrinkles can be caused by HEV light and other skin damage. Which is bad enough! Spending 8 hours a day in front of a computer is equivalent to the same amount of energy of 20 minutes in the mid-day sun. We all know that mid-day is the worst time of day to spend tanning. You’ve read the labels – Avoid sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
How to avoid HEV blue light damage
Wear sunscreen
Choose a sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher. This can block 97% of UVB rays. Sunscreen can’t protect you from HEV radiation, but it will help with your anti-aging routine.
Tinted moisturizers with zinc oxide can work great too. These can be used as a makeup foundation. They have antioxidants to stop further skin damage and they also lessen the appearance of wrinkles.
Add a blue light shield to your tech!
Did you know there is a blue light shield you can use to cover your smartphones and computers?
This protection should be something everyone should use. Cover your phones and computers with a blue light shield always. It’s an easy fix.
It’s a cheap way to lessen the worry about exposure to HEV blue light.
Some smartphones allow you to disable blue light. If you have this feature in your settings use it all the time. It’s a great anti-aging method. If you don’t have this feature, get a blue light shield.
Use topical antioxidants
Topical antioxidants are an absolute must!
The HD Replenish Advanced HA Lift provides antioxidant protection from visible signs of aging caused by the environment and screen emitted HEV light protection.
Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables will also give you the antioxidants you need to protect your skin from the harmful exposure of the sun and your devices.
You don’t have to apply any topical antioxidants if you’re watching TV before bed. If you’ve applied your topical antioxidant during the day, it will create an antioxidant ‘depot’ on your skin. Which means it will still be doing it’s job even after you’ve washed your face at night.
Here are some products we recommend to fight blue light damage!
The HD Perform Multi-Complex Cream is a firming and brightening moisturizer. This cream contains a unique double-action antioxidant. This helps provide protection from free radicals and damage from HEV blue light. Peptides and brighteners visibly improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and age spots.
Our HD Perform Multi Complex Eye Gel. targets crows feet and dark circles. It also helps protect your skin from environmental toxins.
The HD Perk Lip Treatment is a healthy antioxidant and vitamin infused lip plumper. It infuses in Vitamin B and firming peptides. It also protects your lips from harmful environmental toxins that cause lip thinning, wrinkling and loss of color.
HD Defend is a broad spectrum SPF 36 tinted moisturizer. It protects you from UVA/UVB rays. Antioxidants and peptides prevent future damage to your skin. This product may be used as a makeup primer or a lightweight foundation.
HD Defend Chemical Free SPF 30+ is a tinted moisturizer with zinc and titanium plus antioxidants to protect against damaging UVA/UVB rays. Anti wrinkle peptides help to firm skin.
If you’re serious about protecting your skin from aging it seems that UVA and UVB protection is not enough. It’s time to take the necessary steps to protect your skin from HEV blue light too. As more and more people are attached to their phones, computers or Netflix, we’re getting more exposure to blue light than we used to just from the sun. Do all you can to help protect your skin. Whether it’s starting to use topical antioxidants, eating more fruits and vegetables, watching less TV, or spending less time on your phone if possible. Try to protect yourself against HEV light to help keep your skin youthful in appearance.
