Computer face: screens affect our skin health

Surely you have already heard on more than one occasion that the prolonged use of screens, whether computer, tablet, or mobile, can be harmful to your visual health, causing headaches in the best of cases and loss of visual acuity in the worst. But have you heard of the dreaded “computer face”? No, it is not an urban legend; it is proven that spending many hours in front of a screen harms the health of facial skin. But don't worry, today we are going to explain the causes of this ailment of the 21st century and how to prevent it.

What can continuous screen use cause to your skin?

• Wrinkles around the eyes and on the forehead. Blue light, sometimes too intense, makes us squint and furrow our brows as a reflex action of your body to protect itself. This causes the dreaded wrinkles around the eyes and forehead.
• Sagging in cheeks and neck: This is due to the posture we adopt when working with a laptop, tablet, or mobile phone. We almost always tend to look down; if we do this for hours, it can cause sagging in these areas of your face due to the loss of elasticity.
• Oxidative stress and loss of skin luminosity. Exposure for hours to the bright blue light of screens can cause a decrease in aquaporins, molecules that help the skin maintain its hydration. Therefore, the skin would lose its ability to retain water and the result is much drier and duller skin. All this would cause oxidation similar to that caused by UV rays and, therefore, spots and wrinkles can appear.
• Lack of sleep and alterations in circadian rhythms. It is proven that ambient lighting has a clear influence on our biological cycle, potentially causing daytime sleepiness and nighttime insomnia. Did you know that 30% of the world's population suffers from chronic insomnia due to inadequate lighting? The blue light and white light from computer screens are what most alter sleep patterns when we are exposed to them during the hours when we should be relaxing. And what does insomnia have to do with your skin? Well, we are sorry to tell you that they are closely related; insomnia causes weakening of our immune system, which decreases the defense capacity against outbreaks of psoriasis, allergic reactions or eczema, acne, or dermatitis. It also decreases collagen synthesis capacity, and therefore, once again, the appearance of wrinkles is accelerated. As if that were not enough, the skin dehydrates, and a general imbalance occurs that also includes hydration levels.

What can we do to avoid all these adverse effects?

• Filters on your screens: There are many on the market, filters that block blue light, thus protecting your eyes and your skin. But also, lower the brightness as much as you can and don't forget to illuminate the room properly; if it is with natural light, even better.
• Filters on your skin. Using a good natural sunscreen with physical filters will not only help you against UV rays (which we already know are also harmful in winter, especially in the snow) but will also protect you from screen light, so do not hesitate to use SOLEÁ all year round, which thanks to its texture does not add shine and you can apply makeup afterward without problems.
• Watch your posture. If you work with a laptop, try to raise the screen so that your neck is not facing down. As with the mobile phone, raise your arms and put it at eye level; you will thus avoid contractures and the sagging we mentioned before.
• Time is important: As much as possible, from 10:00 PM it is better not to use a mobile, tablet, or computer so as not to unbalance your biorhythms and so that insomnia is not the protagonist of your nights.
• Use antioxidant creams. Good hydration is always the key: use our facial fluids that, in addition to hydrating and nourishing your skin, provide antioxidants to counteract the effects of that artificial light emitted by your devices. If you are one of those who spend more than 8 hours in front of a screen, we recommend THE ANTI-WRINKLE MOISTURIZING CREAM WITH HYALURONIC ACID, POMEGRANATE AND GRAPE.
• Fewer hours of screen time. Your mother already tells you, "Stop looking at your phone all day, this generation has gone crazy..." Well, let's agree with her. There are things that are essential, like working, but write down the hours you spend in front of a screen that could be unnecessary; surely there are more than you imagine. Let's look each other in the eye more and at our phones less!