Aside from ruining your posture, it can also have an adverse effect on your skin
We have all heard about how smartphone addiction is a serious concern and can lead to a number of health issues. Studies suggest that excessive use of the cellphone can ruin your skin too, even leading to early ageing. Constant use of the phone causes people to look down much more than usual, thereby affecting one’s posture. As a result neck muscles tend to be shortened, increasing the gravitational pull on the skin, which results in droopy skin and formation of lines. Other issues of prolonged use of mobile phones include skin allergies and phones which have nickel and cobalt in their body can cause cellphone dermatitis.
MANY HEALTH CONCERNS
Dr Amrapali Patil, beauty expert and founder of Trim N Tone explains, phones are useful but at the same time people can suffer from severe health and skin disorders. “I have seen people who are suffering from skin cancer, sleep loss, depression, skin allergy, neck pain, back pain, psychological disorders etc. Smartphones cause facial strain around and between the brows which may cause premature wrinkles on the face. Cellphone dermatitis is also a common skin issue. Excessive use can lead to dullness of the face and hence one needs to be careful to preserve their beauty.”
WRINKLE ALERT
Excess use of gadgets like smartphones, tablets etc forces users to bend their necks, sit in poor postures or lie in awkward positions. It also causes regular squinting especially if you are staring at a device in the dark. All these things cause wrinkles on the neck and lower part of the face as well as eyes, says Dr Bindu Sthalekar, dermatologist. “Most of the fine lines and wrinkles that appear on our skin are dynamic lines that are a result of a movement that happens regularly. For example, the crow’s feet around the eyes are a result of years of squinting and laughing. Over time, the lines that are initially temporary become permanent. Additionally, people addicted excessively to devices are often found to be sleep deprived. They keep staring at their gadgets long past the right time to sleep and end up with dark and hollow eyes. Rather than spending some quiet time reading or meditating before sleeping, they are busy replying to WhatsApp messages. Lack of sleep and relaxation is a major cause of early skin ageing. Some people also complain of itching and redness because of the heating of the phone. This happens when used for long hours continuously,” she adds.
POSSIBILITY OF SAGGING SKIN
Dr Siddhi Chavan, dermatologist, Dermatherapie Centre, says studies have shown that excessive use of cell phones can affect the skin too. “Often referred to as ‘Tech Neck’, it is usually associated with the posture one assumes while using the phone. One constantly looks down and forward for hours causing the neck muscles to contract, thereby increasing the pull on the facial skin particularly over the jowl area. This increases the formation of wrinkles, possibility of skin sagging and also leads to a double chin. Prolonged use can also lead to skin allergies which starts with an itchy rash and can lead to hyper-pigmentation over time,” says Dr Chavan.
To reduce the adverse effects, one should -
Improve the posture, avoid the constant head down position
Hold the phone at a higher level so that the chin is parallel to the ground
Radiofrequency-based skin tightening can be used to tighten the neck area
Skin boosters such as Restylane Vital can also be used to improve the appearance of the neck.
—Dr Siddhi Chavan
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