Blue Light Skincare: futureproof your face with And Mirai cleansing and lotions
We hope you’re not staying up too late reading this blog post. Staring at the screen, scrolling to infinity, instead of getting some sleep. Aren’t you kinda tired? Look, we don’t wanna be bossy or act like your parents, or anything. But that much screentime could turn out to be bad for your eyes and face.
If you’re gonna keep reading anyway (and thanks for reading our blog btw!), then we’ll tell you about some Japanese skincare products formulated to help.
The light at the end of the tunnel… it’s blue
And Mirai’s a specialist range from J-beauty brand Fancl. ‘Mirai’ (未来) means ‘future’. ‘And Future’ as a name for skincare? Yeah, the present and future of your skincare routine.
The range claims a very specific aim: countering the negative effects of blue light on your face and skin. Both now, and in future – after 5-10 more years of checking your social feeds every day.
Google it sometime (when you’re avoiding going to bed), and you’ll easily find articles claiming blue light’s bad for you. Along with some saying it’s got benefits.
Blue light helps set and regulate your body clock – which is why too much of it at night can stop you sleeping. Blue light’s a good source of vitamin D – but it’s gonna wreck your eyesight if you’re not careful.
In some countries, like the UK (where a company got slapped with fines for misleading ads), it’s not as easy to blame health/sleep problems on blue light. But we’re talking about Japan. Not just a different country on the other side of the world, but one where people are glued to their phone screens.
And Mirai offers a cleansing and moisturising routine tailored to scroll addicts and screen junkies. It’s all been created to fight the current and potential impact – the future impact – of exposure to blue light.
Older you is gonna thank you, eventually
To save the future, first And Mirai looked into the past.
They did a survey of Japanese women in their 20s now, and women who were that age 20 years ago, asking about their overall skin condition. Seems like today’s 20-somethings feel like their skin’s less elastic and resilient, compared to the older generation.
Yeah, maybe there’s truth in that. Using computers, phones and tablets has changed our lifestyles and our habits. We stare at those screens all the time – at our jobs, on the train, relaxing at home, waiting in line.
And Mirai points out the ‘dangerous connections’ between your smartphone and your skin.
1 – the ‘bathing in blue light’ lifestyle habits: checking your phone whenever and wherever, doing desk work on a daily basis
2 – the ‘always looking expressionless’ lifestyle habits: staring at your phone with a blank face like you’re in a daydream, always looking down when you’re checking for new messages
That bit about blank faces isn’t a ‘blue light’ problem, fair. But it’s still a problem – if you’re not using your face muscles, they’ll get weaker. How are you gonna smile for selfies when your mouth doesn’t move?
We also get warned about using our smartphones at night. Say you’ve done your evening skincare routine, taken all your makeup off, and you wanna browse a bit before going to sleep. You’re directly exposing your bare skin to blue light that way – a habit And Mirai wants us to quit.
How much more are those habits gonna change over the next 20 years?
‘Up’ your skin’s moisture and protection levels
From launch, there’s been a selection of And Mirai products to choose from:
- Skin Up Cleansing Oil
- Skin Up Wash
- Skin Up Gel Cream
- Skin Up Lotion I
- Skin Up Lotion II
If you’ve ever known ‘skin up’ to mean something else… this is gonna be awkward.
In Japanese, ‘up’ gets used to mean ‘upgrade’. Giving your skin a boost.
Use the cleansing oil, and it’ll do more than wash off makeup and dirt. It’ll stop blue light from drying your skin out, thanks to the ‘fermented sakura charge’. There’s some evidence that cherry blossom extracts can improve skin collagen and creatine levels.
When you’re rubbing the wash onto your skin, it’s gonna feel like an exfoliation gel. It contains both microbeads and ‘konnyaku balls’ for the deep pore cleanse. Yeah, konnyaku – the chewy jelly stuff.
The 4-in-1 gel cream works as a barrier when it sinks in, so blue light rays bounce back off your skin. It acts like a beauty essence, milky lotion, face pack and makeup base all at once.
And the 2 lotions are for different skin type needs. One’s watery and refreshing and sinks in fast (the red bottle), the other’s a moisture-packed gel that melts into your face (the yellow bottle).
Right now was the future, a minute ago…
The whole And Mirai skincare range is out online. Order from Japan in English with DEJAPAN, and you won’t pay a service fee or commission on items.
If you’re into Japanese skincare, makeup and beauty, maybe you’ll like reading some of our other blog posts:
