Increased screen time has “negligible” impact on skin health

Beiersdorf has poured cold water on claims that exposure to the artificial blue light emitted by laptops, tablets, and smartphones can have a detrimental impact on skin health.

Fears about blue-light harm, which have grown during the Coronavirus pandemic as a result of increased screen time, were totally “unfounded,” the cosmetics giant has claimed.

The amount of artificial blue light emitted during conventional use of electronic devices was “nowhere near enough to trigger harmful skin effects,” the Beiersdorf research team said.

An entire week in front of a monitor uninterrupted at a distance of 30 cm from the screen, would be the same as just one minute outside on a sunny summer day in Hamburg at midday, Beiersdorf’s chief photobiology scientist Dr Ludger Kolbe said.

“Compared to the emissions of the sun’s natural blue light, those of artificial blue light are virtually undetectable.

“The much-feared negative impact of increased screen use due to the coronavirus, for example, as a result of more online meetings or increased use of smartphones, is therefore scientifically untenable.

“The effect on the skin is negligible, which means concerns about negative impacts on the skin are unfounded,” Kolbe added.

However, discussions surrounding artificial blue light should not distract from the actual danger of exposure to the sun’s natural direct blue light which posed “a very high risk for the skin,” Beiersdorf warned.