How To Protect Yourself From Blue Light Damage With Supplements & Antioxidants

In our new normal, one area that's gained a lot of attention is screen time. Given we're all spending more time indoors, reading news alerts on our phones, perhaps working remotely, or maybe teaching kids via video classrooms, this likely adds up to more screen time than we're used to. And, for better or for worse, this is just the reality of it for many of us. As much as we'd like to put down the screen and opt for face-to-face interaction, we can't yet. 

Light—from the sun, light bulbs, LED light, or our screens—contains a full spectrum of wavelengths. UVA and UVB get the most attention as we know how ultraviolet radiation can be very damaging to the skin. And recently the focus has shifted to high-energy blue light. High-energy blue light is part of what's called the visible light spectrum (meaning, you can see it, unlike UVs). The largest source of high-energy blue light is the sun, but screens also emit it—and that's why so many people are discussing it lately. 

The only studies connecting blue light and skin damage have been about blue light coming from the sun1, and thus at much higher levels than we might be exposed to via our screens and cellphones. These studies do show that blue light exposure2 can cause hyperpigmentation (dark spots), signs of premature aging like wrinkles (also known as photo-aging), and it can trigger inflammation and oxidative stress. 

You may have seen blue light protection mists popping up a lot more lately. Blue light protection mists are essentially face mists that are filled with antioxidants, hydrators, or adaptogens to neutralize oxidative stress, free radicals, and moisture loss. Inherently, these are all good things for your skin. It should be noted, though, that they do not protect your skin from blue light in the same way that SPF protects your skin from UV rays; SPF blocks UV rays from affecting your skin cells, whereas these simply mitigate or neutralize the blue light's effects.

So, that being said, if you already apply an antioxidant serum or moisturizer with these ingredients, you're already protecting yourself from the damage that might come from blue light. So in the end, it's not really about how you apply the antioxidants (mist versus serum, for example); it's just that you are utilizing plenty of antioxidants in your overall topical skin care routine. 

And as board-certified dermatologist Rachel Nazarian, M.D., of Schweiger Dermatology Group, has previously told us: With antioxidants, it's the more the better. "The more you can help neutralize unstable molecules caused by free radical formation, the longer you can salvage the health of your cells and skin," she said. "There's really no limit to how much you can protect and repair your body!" 

mindbodygreen's grass-fed collagen+ contains a host of added antioxidants to help balance the body's inflammatory response and to protect against free radicals, oxidative stress, and photoaging.* First up: Sulforaphane glucosinolate (SGS) is extracted from cruciferous vegetables. SGS activates the body's natural antioxidant enzymes, and this helps protect the skin from photoaging.* Then there's curcumin and L-glutamine, which help support your body's inflammatory response*; inflammation is one of the key triggers for free radicals in the body—and a suspected side effect of blue light damage. Finally, there is vitamin C and vitamin E, two potent antioxidants that help support skin from a variety of pathways, including managing photoaging.* 

Not to mention a few of the things that damages collagen—those vital structural proteins in the body and skin—are oxidative stress, inflammation, and free radicals. So not only are you neutralizing any damage before it starts with the antioxidants, but you are supporting your collagen production internally too.*