Getting hooked on gadgets might damage your skin
MANILA, Philippines - It seems like there’s no escaping UV rays in today's modern world. Your only hope? Foolproof protection anytime, anywhere.
Aside from UV exposure caused by the reflection from your favorite gadgets, new studies reveal that UV rays continue to work major damage to your skin even at night - hours after sun exposure.
The sun has long been the ultimate cause of skin aging. Smog, pollution, and greenhouse gases has been depleting the ozone layer, allowing the sun’s UV rays to penetrate more. UVB causes sun burn and darkening, while UVA, which penetrates deeper, causes cellular damage in the skin and many kinds of dark spots.
Unbeknownst to many, whether it’s sunny, cloudy, cold, or warm, so long as there is sunlight, you still get UV exposure.
When you’re in the shade, UV rays still bounce from surfaces like windows, mirrors, roads, and water right to your skin. An alarming finding by a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology is that your electronic devices also reflect UV rays of the sun. The study used a mobile phone, laptop, tablet, and an e-book reader for the experiment and measured the amount of UV ray exposure from the reflection of these gadgets from 11 a.m. to 12 noon. Exposure to UV rays were found to increase by nearly double—85 percent—in the use of these gadgets. At night, even when you’re not exposed to the sun, is when further damage even happens, as new studies reveal.
How this affects your skin
Skin cells called melanocytes distributed in the lower layer of the skin produce melanin when exposed to the sun’s UV rays or when they detect skin inflammation, which is their protective response and trigger. Excess production causes hyperpigmentation.
If you think Filipinos are less prone to dark spots, you’re wrong.
“People who tan easily or with brown skin are more prone to developing discolorations with sun exposure,” says board-certified dermatologist Dr. Noemie Ramos. While hyperpigmentation doesn’t choose skin tones, it runs more frequent with darker skin because of its naturally higher components of melanin.
A more effective solution
"We can prevent these discolorations by minimizing or avoiding sun exposure, wearing protective clothing and wide-brimmed hats, seeking shade and using umbrellas, and proper and regular application of sunscreen. Skin lightening agents, coupled with proper sun avoidance practices, must be used to treat these discolorations,” adds Dr. Noemie.
It’s important to go for products that normalize pigment transferring in the skin while delivering lightening and brightening effects from the cellular level.
Infused with pro-vitamin B3, the Pond’s White Beauty line works on preventing melanocytes from delivering pigments to the skin cells while lightening millions of dark skin cells. Its day cream, also features an advanced SPF 15 PA++ formula that gives the recommended sun protection you need throughout your work day. Non-oily and applies smooth, it’s the perfect day cream for a matte complexion or for wearing under your regular makeup. Used with the White Beauty facial foam, gel, or scrub, and the White Beauty toner, the effects are intensified, addressing the needs of pigmented skin and preventing spots for occurring and recurring throughout your lifetime.
THE SKIN EXPERT IS HERE. Learn more about skincare, consult the experts, address your every beauty concern, and future-proof your skin with the help of #TheSkinExpert. Watch out for the opening of the Pond’s Institute pop-up store this February! For more information, check out our Facebook page www.facebook.com/PondsPhilippines.
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