Love a selfie? You might not after reading this.
Turns out the 'blue light' emitted by your smart phone screen, tablet or computer – known as High Energy Visible light (HEV) – is probably ageing your skin.
When London blogger Mehreen Baig, who takes up to 50 selfies a day, heard that her phone could be the root cause of "freckles on my cheeks to larger pores than usual to dark circles under my eyes" she decided to see a dermatologist.
Dr. Simon Zokaie, a cosmetic dermatologist at the Linia Skin Clinic in London, explained that "There are three main factors… that lead to skin damage: pollution, sun damage and HEV light damage."
These three factors "cause heat and inflammation under the skin, slowing down the skin's ability to heal and protect itself," he explained.
He also confirmed that the new pigmentation, freckles and the brown spots on Mehreen's cheeks were a direct result of light from her computer screen and mobile phones.
So what can you do to combat the side effects of HEV? Well, sunscreen won't help, if that's what you're thinking.
But Dr Zokaie does recommend that you use an antioxidant serum during the day and an antioxidant cream or gel at night.
The effects of HEV on sight and sleep have long been reported, but this is the first time we've heard it could be affecting our skin too. On that note, Apple's IOS 9.3 update, which was released today, features Night Shift, which reduces the amount of blue light and makes your phone's screen show warmer tones when it's nighttime.
Bibby was ELLE's former Digital News & Features Editor.
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