Could Your Computer Screen Be Damaging Your Skin?

Question: Do you spend the majority of your working week tapping away in front of a computer screen?

Thought so.

Unfortunately, there’s a myriad of health complications that result from working a desk job—hello, bad posture!—including skin damage.

According to a recent study by Unilever Skincare Research, four days in front of a computer is just as damaging to your skin as 20 minutes in the mid-afternoon sun. Meaning that even if you're sitting out of the harsh afternoon sun, your computer screen is giving off some harmful rays of its own.

While 20 minutes in the afternoon sun may not seem too catastrophic, over time, it adds up. This kind of prolonged exposure to harmful rays can eventually lead to wrinkles, dark spots or even melanoma.

Our advice? Lather on sunscreen—always. The most important and effective anti-ageing treatment is sun protection. Using a quality, high SPF sunscreen that protects from UVA and UVBs is vital for keeping your skin sun-spot free and even-toned.

To ensure your skin is protected every day, try a multi-tasking CC cream like IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream with SPF 50+, $58. This product acts like a full coverage foundation, but also contains physical sunscreen, along with hyaluronic acid, antioxidants and natural botanicals.

Or, if you prefer to keep your sunscreen and foundation separate, Dermalogica Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF50, $99, is a lightweight anti-ageing formula that doesn’t have any kind of fragrance.

Words by Erin Cook

Main image credit: Getty

4 Member Comments

Lisa359 10 Jan 2021 11:44 AM

This does'nt sound good, I think I might use my tablet more than my desktop now.

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BeautySwan88 30 Nov 2020 3:44 PM

This was one of my fears I thought at random the other day. I can't believe it's true.

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Susmat 27 Nov 2020 9:15 PM

Who'd have thought you'd need sunscreen in the office!

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Yohanna 24 Nov 2020 4:03 PM

Not factual. Only one study? By Unilever? Control study, clinical, repeated several times with same results by different independent research clinics without conflict of interest? Which does not sell cosmetic products? If this was the case (Unilever "study" claims), my melasma would be out of control! Will never use sunscreens indoors and when/where unnecessary.