The real reason you should be wearing sunscreen indoors

It’s especially important not to skip the sunscreen indoors if you’re sitting next to a window, whether you are at home, or in an office. New York dermatologist at Mount Sinai Hospital Joshua Zeichner emphasized to Allure, “UVA light penetrates right through window glass. So sunscreen is definitely useful even if you’re inside. If you’re sitting near the window at work, or are next to a window at the gym, you are actually exposing yourself to UVA light, which is responsible for premature aging and skin cancers.”

Wearing sunscreen indoors doesn’t just protect you from UVA ray exposure, it also shields you from blue light, the glow emitted by all your electronic screens, from laptops, to tablets, to smartphones. There isn’t enough research out there to show exactly what blue light might do to our skin, but there are indications showing blue light can also damage our skin’s collagen. If anything, blue light already impacts our skin indirectly by suppressing our natural melatonin production, and preventing us from getting a good night’s sleep — and we know what that does to our looks.

Skin experts say you won’t go wrong if you use SPF 30 to protect yourself from light damage when you’re indoors. And if you are sitting near a window, you’d need to put sunscreen on every two hours, just as you would be doing if you were outdoors.