Blue light, screens, and skin care: do consumers even care?

15-Aug-2018 - Last updated on 15-Aug-2018 at 08:59 GMT

Consumers are not concerned about the impact of blue light onto the skin, and count sun damage, air conditioning, dust and diet among factors they believe have more of an impact on skin’s appearance.

This is according to the latest market report from Mintel, market research firm.

“Exposure to heavy blue light/high energy visible light (HEVL) from electronic devices such as computers and smartphones has become a daily occurrence for many consumers,” explains Roshida Khanom, Associate Director, Beauty & Personal Care at Mintel.

Consumers are right to be a bit skeptical, the analyst suggests, as there is currently little definitive proof that HEVL exposure can impact the appearance of skin.

However, Khanom notes that scientific studies as recent as this year suggest such exposure may accelerate pigmentation changes and add fine lines and wrinkles.

“It is clear from our research that most consumers are unaware of the damage HEVL is capable of doing to our skin,” she says.

“Brands have an opportunity to rewrite the traditional anti-ageing narrative, and advocate a new set of pro-health skin solutions that are driven by blue light protection.”

While many Brits are virtually inseparable from their mobile devices, there is little awareness that electronic devices may be damaging our skin too (5%).

Not so smart - mobiles' impact on skin

Rather than blue light from mobile devices, consumers in Mintel’s research, carried out by Lightspeed among 1,008 female internet users aged 16+ in May 2018, picked out other factors that they worry are impacting on their skin’s appearance.

When it comes to internal influencers, for example, sleep is considered to have the biggest impact on the appearance of skin for 62% of female facial skincare users, rising to 67% of those aged 55+.

Meanwhile, diet (54%) and water consumption (46%) round up the top three internal factors women believe are impacting the appearance of their skin.

In terms of external factors, one in five (21%) facial skin care users believe air conditioning is having a negative impact on their skin; meanwhile, 11% believe dust is taking its toll.

Finally, while Brits are quick to pinpoint a whole host of influencers on the wellbeing of their skin, a quarter (24%) of facial skin care users say they are resigned to the fact that genetics hold the key to looking good.