OCEAN ELEMENTS

Blue light, also known as HEV light (high energy visible light), is part of the visible light spectrum. It is present in natural sunlight, but high amounts of this HEV light are also emitted by electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptop screens. That is why an increased amount of screen time throughout the day can lead to blue light damage. Compared to UV rays, blue light is capable of penetrating even deeper into the skin, where it causes oxidative stress that can damage healthy cells and thus lead to premature skin aging and wrinkles.

Not only can prolonged exposure to blue light lead to premature skin aging and the formation of wrinkles, it can also damage the eye’s retina and disrupt your natural sleep-wake cycle. Here are our tips on how you can protect yourself from blue light in everyday life:

1. Are you working an office job? There are special glasses that can block the blue light emitted by digital screens and protect your eyes in the long run.

2. Make sure you eat a healthy, balanced diet with plenty of antioxidants to prevent damage from blue light exposure.

3. By using blue light-filtering screen protectors or enabling Night Shift mode, you can reduce the amount of HEV light emitted by your smartphone or tablet.

4. Blue light can affect the quality of your sleep and cause insomnia. Switch to warm light sources before bed to make it easier to fall asleep.

5. Taking a break from all screens, including smartphone and laptop, can be a very relaxing experience – for your body and soul.

Oxidative stress is caused by an excessive amount of free radicals in your skin. Free radicals are unstable oxygen molecules that have lost an electron. In order to stabilize themselves, they then steal electrons from other molecules in proximity, creating more free radicals in the process. That is why it is important to stop this chain reaction (i.e. by using antioxidant skincare products and leading a healthy lifestyle).

HEV light is not the only factor that can contribute to the creation of free radicals and premature skin aging, however. Environmental pollutants and lifestyle factors like excess alcohol consumption, smoking or a stressful daily life can also lead to oxidative stress and cause the skin to age prematurely.

Your body needs antioxidants (so-called free radical scavengers) to counteract the imbalance of free radicals missing an electron that causes oxidative stress. Oxidative stress can harm healthy human cells, like skin cells or the connective tissue. Antioxidants, however, work to prevent this oxidative damage by giving up an electron “voluntarily” to stabilize free radicals. That is how they stop the chain reaction of free radical formation and how they can reduce or even prevent oxidative stress-induced effects like cell damage.

We capture the benefits of this knowledge by formulating our products with marine-based ingredients like algae and a special kind of plankton that are particularly rich in antioxidants.

In addition to using antioxidant skincare products, eating a healthy diet also plays an important role in preventing oxidative damage. Many foods contain high levels of natural free radical scavengers. Fruits and vegetables (like carrots, broccoli, dark berries and salad), oils (for example sunflower oil and coconut oil) and nuts are all especially rich in antioxidants.

As you can see, intact skin is a combination of many factors that we can unfortunately only partially control. However, living a balanced lifestyle and using suitable skincare products can still promote healthy skin. The OCEAN ELEMENTS products are rich in maritime antioxidants to protect the skin from oxidative stress and premature skin aging, while supporting the skin’s own defense mechanisms. Blue light filters in our leave-on products complete the overall concept to encourage stronger skin in the long term.