In recent years, the cosmetics industry has marketed many products that are supposed to fight against the harmful effects of exposure to blue light from screens on the skin. Adverse effects that remain to be scientifically proven, proof that this is more of a commercial opportunity.
Previous studies have pointed to the potentially devastating health effects of prolonged exposure to blue light. Scientists have already shown that this blue light can disrupt sleep and promote myopia, especially in young people. Last July, an American study showed that it attacks the retina of the eyes that can make you blind, especially the youngest.
Blue screens flood our daily lives
“In our modern societies, we are really flooded with blue light, up to 6 hours a day on average in France”, underlines Catherine Grillon, researcher in skin biology in a CNRS laboratory in Orléans. Smartphone, tablet, e-reader, computer screen… sources of blue light have invaded our daily lives.
Significant and chronic exposure “can be deleterious” also for the skin, leading to “oxidative stress” contributing to skin aging, admits the researcher. However, in small doses, blue light is not harmful: it is even used as therapy against skin diseases such as acne, eczema or psoriasis, and even certain dental diseases.
A flourishing business
In recent years, cosmetics players have seized the commercial opportunity represented by the fight against the harmful effects on the skin of exposure to blue light. Many SMEs have rushed into this new business while large groups have not yet shown any strong interest.
However, when the Uriage laboratory began to dig into the question in 2014, “there was really very little” on the subject in the scientific literature, recalls Luc Lefeuvre, director of research and development for the company.
Scientific reality or business opportunity?
It makes you wonder if this business opportunity is based on real scientific evidence. “It is certain that on skin models, as we want to see differences and the action of our products, we maximize the dose so as to trigger an effect on the skin”, recognizes the researcher. “I know that my product is effective against blue light, but I still have trouble making the correlation between the exposure of my model and reality,” he summarizes.
To go further, “we would have to put ourselves in real life conditions. But as it is a much less aggressive radiation than ultraviolet rays, the impact of blue light will appear perhaps after a few months, a few years, or even much later”, adds Luc Lefeuvre.
The discovery of scientific evidence promises to be difficult
Some suppliers of cosmetic active ingredients have started clinical trials in order to obtain concrete answers. There again, they are limited since they relate to only about ten volunteers addicted to screens and who are only followed for a few weeks. “As UV rays are not very far from blue light in the spectrum of wavelengths, it is not necessarily easy to differentiate” their respective effects on the skin, notes Catherine Grillon of the CNRS.
“There is a marketing effect, that’s for sure, like any other excuse to sell a cream”, confirms the researcher. Tatsu Kurebe, a Japanese entrepreneur in the cosmetics industry, confirms this trend. “In Japan, some companies also market anti-blue light products, but this is not a hot topic. There is no evidence to support” their claims, he sweeps.
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