How Visible Radiation impacts us during lockdown
It is common and indeed logical to associate the use of sunscreen with being outdoors. However, while social isolation is keeping us at home, we mustn’t lower our guard, particularly since we are spending more time in front of a screen. Where formerly we averaged nearly 11 hours on the computer or watching TV [i], the figure has climbed now we are home all day. TV viewing [ii] and Internet use [iii] are at record levels, and while experts have weighed in with warnings on eye health and mental exhaustion…. what about our skin? The artificial blue light emitted by digital devices like computers, smartphones, TV sets and tablets penetrates the deepest levels of the skin, causing skin cell damage and speeding up photoaging.
The only way to combat these harmful effects is to tackle radiation by wearing broad-spectrum sunscreen every day. One in-vitro study showed the efficacy of Fernblock®, the exclusive extract of Polypodium leucotomos and base ingredient in HELIOCARE sunscreen capsules and creams from the Cantabria Labs laboratory, in preventing blue light-induced skin damage.
Fernblock® has been proven to prevent the damage caused by the light from these devices at different levels. It:
- Prevents the cell death of fibroblasts (cells essential to preventing skin aging).
- Prevents oxidative stress (which induces aging, among other damage to the skin).
- Prevents alterations in the morphology of mitochondria (the main source of cell energy).
- Significantly reduces melanin production (prevents dark skin spots caused by artificial light)
And what about visible light?
Screens are not the only enemy of our skin while we are at home. We also need to protect it when we settle down to work from home or read close to a window. Ultraviolet radiation type A (UVA) can cross it and the visible light that allows us to see, which comes not only from solar radiation but lamps, too. A recent clinical study determining the efficacy of Fernblock® capsules in protecting us from visible light is important. Specifically, it analysed the skin of seven volunteers [iv], comparing three samples: one without treatment; a second one exposed to a direct dose of visible and infrared radiation; and a third sample where the skin was exposed to radiation but after taking Fernblock® capsules for 21 days. The results showed that this technology of a natural origin can reduce the formation of matrix metalloproteinase MMP-1 (collagen-destroying enzymes) induced by visible and infrared light.
In conclusion, both HELIOCARE topical sunscreen and capsules from Cantabria Labs are a great help since they protect the skin from all the forms of solar radiation to which it can be exposed both inside the home and outside on decks.
About Fernblock®
Fernblock® is the base active ingredient of HELIOCARE. It is an exclusive standardised extract of Polypodium leucotomos, a tropical fern native to Central America that in its transition from aquatic to terrestrial life developed mechanisms of self-defence and repair against the sun. Thanks to an exclusive extraction method that ensures its efficacy, Fernblock® has been proven to have a powerful protective, antioxidant and repair action which works both topically and orally.
[i]Empantallados.com: Estudio sobre el impacto de las pantallas en la vida familiar (Study on the Impact of Screens on Family Life) (2019, Fomento de Centros de Enseñanza).