How your laptop and phone are causing your skin long-term damage

If you work in an office, are a Netflix fanatic or even just own a smart phone, it's likely you get plenty of screen time.

It's not really something you can avoid as it's such a part of modern life but it could be damaging your skin in the long-term. The blue glow from your screens, otherwise known as HEV (high energy visible) light, has been shown to affect pigmentation and could cause what look like sun spots. "HEV light is just as damaging, if not more so, than UVA and UVB," facialist Kate Kerr told Byrdie. "This blue light infringes on the transportation of minerals in and out of the cells, causing irregular cell function and leading to DNA damage and premature ageing." She explained that the cells in your skin which produce melanin (the pigment that causes skin to darken) go into overdrive when exposed to HEV and UV light. "If you are one of the unlucky ones who has an erratically behaving melanocyte (melanin producing cell), it may deposit melanin upwards or downwards, or in an irregular fashion, leading to non-specific discolouration." As most of us won't realistically be able to do without our phones and computers, is there any way to offset the effects of HEV light on our skin? Kate says the usual things we use to protect our skin, like consuming Vitamin C and using SPF, are helpful. Try to go hands-free when you're taking calls too as holding a bright phone screen against your face can cause HEV damage.