We’ve started an ‘Ask Me Anything’ to help answer the questions we hear most often. There have been a lot of questions around computer and "zoom fatigue" for your skin.   What is blue light, and why should I be concerned? To put it simply, blue light is a high-energy visible light that comes from the sun and from our digital devices. Anything from cell phones to computers, TVs, even our LED lights emit blue light. You may have heard how blue light can interrupt your sleep cycles by reducing the amount of melatonin your body naturally produces. However, in recent years there has been an increase in studies around the effects of blue light on our skin. In this article we’re going to dive into how prolonged exposure can be damaging to your skin barrier and how to protect your skin from premature ageing and hyperpigmentation.  What are the differences between UVA, UVB and Blue Light? It’s 2021, it’s safe to say everyone knows UV rays are harmful to our skin and that wearing sunscreen is a must all year round. UVA and UVB rays are the invisible wavelengths emitted from the sun and are responsible for causing skin cancer (affecting 1 in 5 Americans before they turn 70) and premature ageing. Blue light can penetrate even deeper into the skin than UVA and UVB rays, however blue light doesn’t cause sunburns in the way UV rays can. Because we don’t see the immediate effects of blue light on our skin, we’re blindsided to the damage caused by prolonged exposure. How does Blue Light damage my skin? Although the sun is technically the biggest source of blue light, it’s not as much of a concern because of its proximity. When we talk about blue light damage, proximity is key. When we hold our devices close to our face for hours on end, this is when damage begins to occur. The blue light from our digital devices penetrates deep into your skin and causes oxidative stress and creates unstable free radicals in your cells’ DNA. This leads to brown spots, hyperpigmentation, and the breakdown of collagen. Collagen is a protein that gives your skin elasticity, so when it’s at risk of deteriorating (a process that also happens with age), you start to see visible fine lines and wrinkles, and skin sagging. The sensitivity to blue light is even more apparent in people with sensitivities to the sun and those with darker skin tones. Our exposure to blue light continues to rise and with the average American spending about 11 hours per day looking at screens, scientists and dermatologists still do not have a definitive answer on the long-term effects of blue light exposure. How can I protect my skin against Blue Light? There are 3 ways to help protect your skin from blue light exposure: 1) Just like you would wear a hat at the beach, you can dim the amount of blue light you expose yourself to from your digital devices. For example, if you have an Apple device, you can enable Night Shift and Dark Mode to help dim your screen. 2) Wear a broad spectrum UVA and UVB sunscreen with iron oxides or minerals that reflect blue light. 3) As mentioned above, blue light creates oxidative stress and unstable free radicals in your cells’ DNA. So by incorporating antioxidants in your skincare routine you can help reverse damage. Antioxidants like Vitamin C can help penetrate deep within your cells and repair the DNA damage. Which Beyou products protect against Blue Light? Our goal was to make it easy to incorporate antioxidants into their daily skincare routines to ensure they could protect their skin from blue light damage and environmental impurities. Instead of having a single product with antioxidant power, we’ve formulated our entire line with antioxidants to help protect your skin from blue light and environmental impurities.  Top 3 products to kickstart your skincare routine A Vitamin C Cleanser is an antioxidant rich formula that is gentle on your skin. We’ve formulated it with lemon and orange peel oil, creating a high concentrate of antioxidants. A Caffeine Eye Cream is a hyaluronic acid-boosted formula to help brighten and illuminate the entire eye area, minimizing dark circles and fine lines. We’ve added caffeine to give it its antioxidant power to help protect your skin from blue light damage and environmental impurities. A Retinol Night Serum is a concentrated serum with pure retinol to improve the appearance of visible signs of aging. Formulated with turmeric root extract, you will get your nightly dose of antioxidants to help repair damage from blue light. At the end of the day, there’s no escaping blue light exposure unless we suddenly give up our smartphones and computers. We hope we’ve informed you on the effects of blue light and how you can incorporate a daily skincare routine to help minimize the damage from free radicals and oxidative stress. Our entire skincare line has been formulated with antioxidants, which has proven to reverse damage done to your cells’ DNA from environmental pollutants and blue light exposure. Stay safe and unleash your inner glow ✨