From The Straits Times    |

Photo: Instagram

Just going to throw it out there: I am thoroughly ashamed that my day starts, and ends, with my eyes glued to my phone. I wake up in the morning jabbing at the snooze button on my iPhone, and doze off at my nightly IG scroll-through. The bulk of my day (if not every single minute) sees me staring at my computer screen, and on my commute home, I catch up on social media on – you guessed it – my phone. 

Essentially, I’m always looking at screens. And that’s not good for the eyes (eye strain is so prevalent among working executives, my optometrist warns me). What’s worse though, is the insidious pollutant from these screens that harms your skin: Blue light. 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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For the unacquainted, blue light is light that’s emitted by electronic devices with screens. That means phones, computers, televisions, etc. It’s able to penetrate even deeper into the skin than UVA/ UVB rays to cause pigmentation, wrinkles (and other signs of ageing). While it’s relatively easy to protect your skin from the conventional sun rays, what with the plethora of sunscreen choices at our disposal, protecting your skin against blue light just isn’t that straightforward. Your skincare products need to have certain ingredients that are able to reflect or scatter blue light in order to properly shield your skin from it.

The sad truth is, exposure to blue light is inevitable, and excessive. I mean, as a 24-year-old millennial, I literally wake up and fall asleep to blue light. 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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That’s exactly the big concern that the founders at local skincare/supplement brand Crystal Tomato wants to solve. They’ve come up with an all-in-one protection sunscreen that protects against UVA, UVB, and blue light. It’s called the Beyond Sun Protection sunscreen, and it’s the only sunscreen that’s clinically proven to offer 54.1 per cent protection against blue light. 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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This blue light protection value, according to the founders, is a medically-proven rating that’s extremely difficult to achieve. And according to Crystal Tomato, the rating needs to be high (above 50 per cent) in order for the product to actually be effective in protecting skin against blue light. This explains the brand’s five-year-long crusade for sunscreen perfection – to keep the protection levels at a good standard, and for a luxurious “skincare” texture. The founders’ biggest difficulty laid in nailing a satisfactory texture for the Beyond Sun Protection sunscreen; they wanted a rich, yet lightweight texture, but with a blue light protection that high, most labs can only produce sunscreens with sticky finishes. 

It won’t cut it for the founders. And it certainly won’t cut it for consumers, too. And I speak from a consumer’s POV – We’ve come too far in sunscreen advancement to accept a product that shows even the slightest bit of technology regression. So, with great hope (and money), the formula went around the globe, from France to Switzerland, before the “perfect” product was birthed. 

A sunscreen that’s clinically-proven to shield your skin against blue light, and has a beautiful texture to boot. Crystal Tomato also claims with prolonged use, the sunscreen will help to reduce pigmentation spots, too. 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Now, it’s not possible for me to prove the blue light protection claim – but I do feel safer using a sunscreen that has that benefit. Crystal Tomato reports that the sunscreen-perfection process involved testing it on 22 human volunters, measuring the pigmentation caused by regular blue light after an hour of exposure, and the level of protection the sunscreen provided.

Well, my skin will thank me in the future. What I can test though, is the texture of the sunscreen. 

 

via GIPHY

The sunscreen has a creamy, moisturiser-like texture. As you massage it into the skin, it’s quickly absorbed, given how well it glides on your face. Then, it sets to a velvety finish with a “dry touch” – no tackiness, no greasiness. It did help to slightly balance out my skin tone too, bringing out the rosiness in my cheeks. On good skin days, I can get away with just the Beyond Sun Protection sunscreen, and concealer. On days with heavier makeup, I found that the velvety finish acts as a good base for foundation; my skin looks smooth even without a blurring primer.

I daresay it’s a sunscreen that gets you hooked on first try. At $78.80, it may possibly be the priciest sunscreen you’d ever try – but as a piece of investment skincare, you won’t regret it.

Beyond Sun Protection is sold at A.A. Aesthetics, Aesthetic & Medical Clinic, Dermacare Aesthetic & Laser Clinic Singapore, Prive Clinic, Woffles Wu Aesthetic Surgery & Laser Centre, and online at www.beyondsunprotection.com.sg.

ALSO READ: THIS IS WHY YOU NEED A SUNSCREEN THAT PROTECTS AGAINST BLUE LIGHT