From My Inbox: Cell Phones and Early Aging

“Apparently we love our own cell phones but we hate everyone else’s.” ~ Joe Bob Briggs

Believe it or not, your cell phone is aging you before your time. It really is screwing up your skin. You feel panicked without it. But, according to an article in the July issue of Cosmo, your lifeline to your friends, family, and work can be seriously screwing up your skin. The large amount of blue-spectrum light emitted can disrupt your natural sleep cycle, the touch-screen trend has caused a rise in acne in the phone zone: temples, cheeks, and chin... the dirt and bacteria that live on your screen are transferred to your skin. And  then there's the text neck—a slack, untoned neck and jawline caused by a breakdown in collagen and elastin... the constant up-and-down movement when texting or Facebooking weakens that support structure and more.  Read on for some quick fixes for these nasty habits.

1. Squinting to read the small type on your screen. Increase your phone's font size to 20 points or bigger, if necessary and up your screen's brightness. 
2. You talk long enough for your phone to get hot while chatting. A headset (or speakerphone) is your best bet.
3. You must read that last work e-mail (or tweet or text) before bed. If you have trouble shutting down before bed, dim the intensity of your phone's light, or make use of the invert-colors feature (it turns your screen black and fonts white)—both reduce the brightness and amount of blue light. 
4. Pressing your face against your phone (telltale sign: oil or makeup slicks on your screen). Use earbuds, and clean your phone daily with an antibacterial wipes.
5. Constantly looking down to refresh your Instagram feed and group-chat. Hold your phone at eye level to minimize folding, and apply a skin-firming, peptide-rich cream on your jawline and neck twice a day.

Well, there it is and research shows the artificial light from your smartphone can make you look up to 10 years older because it messes with your body's ability to produce melatonin, the chemical responsible for making you sleepy. In another case, NYC Dermatologist Dendy Engelman, M.D. stated there were a surge of 20somethings visiting his practice with crows feet and 11 lines... those vertical furrows between the brows, which he says normally doesn't show up until your 30s or 40s, wow! So be careful on your cell phones and for more fixes for these issues and more see the July issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine.