We all love a quick selfie to not only show off the cool places we frequent, but also to capture our most ‘photogenic’ side. 

After all, who knows your best side like you do? Strangers have this awful habit of making us look - let’s just say - less than ideal. 

Isn’t it ironic then, that the tens of selfies we tend to take before we find the perfect one could be making our skin look older with every snap?  

Recently, the blue light from the devices that have become so commonplace in our lives have taken centre stage. 

HEV light emitted by our computer screens, laptops and that device we just can’t go two minutes without staring at, our smartphones have been shown to disrupt our health - inside and out. 

HEV stands for High Energy Visible light and has been shown to disrupt sleep - because let’s be honest, many of us fall asleep staring at our phones - which was thought to be what promotes premature ageing of skin. 

However, studies have suggested that it plays a more direct role. Potentially even more damaging than UVA and UVB light. 

The reason for this according to the research is that ROS (reactive oxygen species) is created at the same rate as both UVB and UVA rays combined. In layman’s terms, this is terrible news for your skin as it prevents repair and leads to ageing. 

It gets worse, the science showed that HEV light penetrates the skin deeper than UV lighting as well as impacting DNA. 

If you suffer from acne, HEV exposure to the area will mean that your breakouts take longer to disappear as well.

Besides chucking away these devices that have become so ingrained in modern day life, is there something more realistic that we can do to protect ourselves? 

He advises using an antioxidant serum during the daytime. Serum penetrates the pores skin more effectively than your regular creams. Antioxidants will also slow down and potentially regress the ROS (reactive oxygen species) process.

Nighttime skin care is a different ball game, however. 

'Though we sleep at night, ROS doesn't sleep.', says Dr Zokaie

He continues, “we must protect our skin for 24 hours of the day. Depending on the age of my patient, I recommend either using a double antioxidant (younger skin). Older skin would be better off using a triple antioxidant for protection from HEV.”

Ultimately, decreasing your selfie game and picking a method of dozing off that is less stressful on your skin will be the best protection. But, for those of you who can’t stop-won’t stop, then follow Dr Zokaie’s advice may just save your skin.