Why your mobile phone is causing dark circles and how to reduce them in just three weeks

You slip, slop, slap to avoid sun damage, routinely remove your makeup before bed to protect your complexion, and fill your skin care routine with specialised products to ward off the signs of ageing, but what are you doing to protect your skin from blue light? We’re guessing nothing. (In fact, we’re guessing that most of you don’t even know what blue light is, let alone the way it can impact your skin!) Research has shown that blue light emitted from the devices that most of us are, er, glued to 24/7 can damage your skin, accelerate the visible signs of ageing and even cause dark circles. Yikes. So you really should be doing something about it ­– and starting that something ASAP.

What is blue light?

Blue light, or ‘High Energy Visible’ light, is a wavelength of light that we’re exposed to in a number of ways. Sunlight is the main source, but your television, mobile, laptop, computer and tablet can also emit blue light. And it’s these devices that have drastically increased our total daily exposure to blue light – especially at night.

How does blue light affect your skin?

You know that “quick flick” through your mobile phone before bed (that inevitably ends with you staring, bleary eyed, at the same screen half an hour later)? It’s an issue. Not only is it eating up a bunch of your time and disrupting your natural circadian rhythm (a handy internal clock that tells you when to be sleepy and when to wake up), it’s also affecting your skin.

Sleeping isn’t just a cosy way to recharge your energy (though that is the fun part), it’s also how your skin cells repair themselves. And for the first time, a study undertaken by Estée Lauder has demonstrated that blue light at night is impacting this natural repair process.

“Results indicate that exposure to blue light at night can throw skin’s natural circadian rhythm ‘out-of-sync’, causing skin cells to continue to ‘think’ it is daytime, inhibiting their natural nighttime repair process,” explains Dr. Nadine Pernodet, Estée Lauder Global Vice President of Skin Biology & Skin Actives.

But what does that actually mean? Basically, blue light is getting in the way. It’s stopping your skin cells from properly repairing themselves overnight, which can lead to an accumulation of damage, dark circles and more visible signs of ageing. Ready to throw your phone out the window, yet?

How can you prevent blue light damaging your skin?

The thought of giving up a nighttime Netflix binge or Tinder swiping session may seem impossible in this day and age (and let’s be honest, it probably is). But what else are you meant to do to protect your skin from blue light? Turns out, you do have options.

Given that the skin under your eyes is incredibly delicate (40% thinner than other facial skin, in actual fact) Estée Lauder has released the new Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Complex Synchronized Recovery - an eye gel crème that works to repair and prevent the visible impact of blue light at night, while also targeting dark circles and reducing their appearance in just three weeks.

Formulated with ingredients that work to repair, brighten and prevent damage while also providing 24 hours of hydration, this ‘supercharged’ eye gel creme is a must-have for your new tech-savvy skin care routine.

So what are the secret weapons fighting the effects of blue light? ChronoluxCB™, a clock gene technology that ensures your skin is still repairing itself at the right time, plus, powerful antioxidants that provide eight-hour protection against pollution, UV rays and blue light. To tackle dark circles, the eye gel creme also contains three algae extracts and a new 10x concentrated repair technology, which is a potent yeast extract that fights the accumulation of darkness under the eyes, working to brighten them in a matter of weeks.

And it looks like the research into blue light has paid off! Sensory testing found that 95% of women said their eye area looked less fatigued after four weeks of use* and 90% of beautyheaven triallers found that the eye gel crème improved the overall appearance of their eye area, giving the product a star rating of 4.5 out 5!^

What else can you do to reduce your exposure to blue light?

Along with using the Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Complex Synchronized Recovery, you can protect yourself from blue light by:

•  Switching your mobile to ‘night shift’ mode in the evenings
• Getting a blue light blocking app for your mobile
• Getting a blue light filter for your devices or glasses
• Avoiding devices as much as you can before bed

Do you look at your mobile before bed? Do you have dark circles?

*Estée Lauder Sensory testing on 128 women in the USA

^beautyheaven 20-person Trial Team, August 2018