HOW ‘CIRCADIAN BEAUTY’ CAN TRANSFORM YOUR SKIN

Applying the right filters and antioxidants to shield your complexion from pollution and light is key for skin longevity. So too are reparative ingredients that sync up with your skin’s internal body clock. Discover the skincare duo that offers both to optimise skin health and deliver a round-the clock glow.

Wake up. Check your emails on your phone. Set up in front of your computer for a day’s work. Indulge in a little Netflix before bed to relax. Clock in a few zzz’s (although not as many as you’d like), and repeat. Sound familiar? For most of us, our daily dose of digital pollution has reached immeasurable levels and our quantity and quality of sleep is just as dire.  On top of the health repercussions our skin is suffering too. A dull, lacklustre complexion, fine lines, wrinkles, breakouts, pigmentation and inflammation are all common concerns brought on by the onslaught of blue light emitted by our ever-present devices.

But all is not lost. The newest research suggests that for a well-rested skin glow the key isn’t simply using the right filters and antioxidants to shield skin from pollution and light. Rather, how well your skin repairs itself – a process that’s triggered by our body’s internal clock, aka our circadian rhythm - is equally, if not, more important. Here’s how it works and what you need to know for healthier, more glowing skin all year round.

What exactly is the circadian rhythm?

The circadian rhythm is our bodies’ internal clock that controls our sleep, hormones, appetite, mood, and much more. Our skin has its own circadian rhythm that operates on a 24 hour clock, too. Much like our body, our skin’s internal clock regulates the biological processes that occur within the skin that keep it strong and healthy (think collagen production and DNA repair for instance), as well as how it responds to external aggressors. Aligning our skincare practices and products with our circadian clock can be hugely beneficial to the appearance and health of our skin for the long term. During the day, this natural rhythm helps our skin adapt and respond to the amount of sun, pollution and blue light around us while at night it triggers our skin to switch into repair mode, ultimately sweeping up the old, damaged or dead ones and regenerating new ones to face the day ahead.

Can blue light disrupt your skin’s circadian rhythm?

Yes. Blue light, from the sun, but especially from screens, can de-synchronise our skin’s natural processes. It’s important to note however that a certain amount of blue light exposure during the day can help to regulate both your overall master clock as well as your skin’s circadian rhythm. The problem comes with excessive exposure, a collective problem of modern day life. Unlike UV light, blue light is not currently known to cause skin cancer, but research shows it may have a more substantial impact on skin aging since it can penetrate deeper into the skin and generate more free radicals than UV light.

Skin protection that does so much more

Here’s where you need an antioxidant-rich formula (to neutralise free radicals before they cause damage to the skin) that works on all levels of skin protection ensuring your skin’s internal clock is kept in check and your complexion properly protected at the same time. Sarah created Digital Shield Day Cream to act as your modern day skin filter. It offers a truly lightweight layer of protection against all the damaging UV rays, pollution, blue light and electromagnetic radiation that can penetrate through your SPF (many studies have shown this to be true).  This specially-formulated cream pairs Astaxanthin, a potent antioxidant that restores skin radiance, with a bevy of other skin ‘filters’: B-Circadin defends against blue light, while supporting the skin’s circadian rhythm at the same time, and CobioDefender EMR shields skin from electromagnetic radiation (which is both produced by the sun and artificially generated by our devices) while anti-pollution actives form an invisible barrier on the surface of your skin for a comprehensive approach to complexion protection. You’ll also get real visible results thanks to optical diffusers and anti-fatigue actives that work to pep up tired-looking skin. You’ll notice the formula has a beautiful sheer pink-orange tint which neturalises complexion-dulling, yellow tones for better skin radiance in an instant, too.

Does beauty sleep really exist?

Night-time is when our skin goes into a crucial repair mode triggered by our circadian rhythm. This rejuvenating phase helps to get rid of dead or damaged skin cells and regenerates new ones to replace them, boosts fibroblast production (essential for making collagen and elastin, the building blocks of smooth, firm skin) and restores skin’s hydration levels. Think of it as a nightly reset button to compensate for the daily onslaught of pollution, UV and blue light exposure, and other environmental stressors that your skin faces on the daily. The problem comes when you don’t get enough sleep. In fact, both a lack of sleep and poor sleep quality disrupt this repair process, leading not only to dark circles and puffiness but even chronic inflammation, redness and premature ageing if this process is continually interrupted. Aside from taking measures to ensure better, more efficient sleep, using the right skincare ingredients within a science-backed formula can help to restore skin’s natural nighttime repairing processes. Here’s where our original digital ageing solution, Digital Rest Night Cream, fills the skin renewal gap.

Biohack the appearance of 8 hours of sleep

At the heart of our Digital Rest formula is B-Circadin, a special ingredient that resynchronises skin cells to ensure they’re in full rejuvenation mode while you sleep. Equally important are two ingredient complexes – Lumicease and Co-Biodefender EMR, found in the Digital Shield Day Cream, too – which work on repairing and preventing damage done from electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emitted from tablets, phones, computer screens, or any other electronic device. Alongside digital defenders, there’s a bevy of ingredients that work on visibly pepping up sleep-deprived skin as well as boosting collagen production over time since stress-induced collagen loss, inflammation and skin thinning can all result from a lack of skin repair overnight (caused by an out-of-sync circadian rhythm). Similar to Digital Shield, this nighttime formula is packed with hydrators (skin is at its most permeable overnight), free-radical fighting antioxidants, brightening Vitamin C and smoothing Lanablue - which also gives the light-textured gel-cream formula its soothing colour – for both instant and long-term results.  

Better together: How to use circadian beauty for optimal results

Whether your skin goals encompass an antidote to spending your day in front of a screen, tipping into the newest skincare technology or you simply want to streamline your routine we suggest incorporating our Digital duo into your routine. Used separately, Digital Rest Night Cream and Digital Shield Day Cream are effective formulas for boosting skin health and longevity in our digital age. But when paired together they’re a powerhouse pairing. Both contain the ingredient B-Circadin so they really work to sync the skin across a 24 hour period so that the right repairing and defending processes are triggered at the right time.