Terrible News: Your Selfie Obsession Could Actually Be Ruining Your Skin

How many selfies do you take a day? One, two, 50?

It’s probably fair to say that most of us have a fair few front camera snaps stashed on our camera roll, and why wouldn’t we? If you’re feeling good, then we reckon you should absolutely go right ahead and document it, but here’s the kicker: according to dermatologists, taking regular selfies can have a detrimental effect on your skin.

It’s all down to the electromagnetic radiation that’s emitted by smartphones and with continual exposure, this radiation speeds up ageing and over time may cause wrinkles and skin damage.

Dr Zein Obagi, a dermatologist at Obagi Skin Health Institute confirms it: “ Your cell phone will damage your skin,” he tells The Telegraph. “It’s not documented, but in my clinical observation, I can tell whether someone uses their right hand or left hand to hold their phone. You start to see dull dirty looking texture that you cannot identify on one side of the face.

He continues: “This magnetic field is altering the minerals in the skin. A sunscreen will not protect you,” and just like sun damage, this exposure can lead to premature skin ageing.

So what can you do to minimise the effects?

You have two options: you can either take selfies less often or you can heed Dr Obagi’s advice, which is to saturate your skin with anti-oxidants.

Yeah, we think we’ll choose the latter.

• Beauty
• selfies