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Your office job may be killing your soul and trying your beauty.
A self-described “corporate girly” has gone viral for documenting her “office air theory,” arguing that the office grind can turn feeling cute into looking haggard by EOD.
“It became obvious to me once I started working full-time four years ago,” Noa Donlan told People.
“I’d leave the house feeling put together, but when I looked in the office bathroom mirror at 12 p.m., my skin would be dry, my (now oily) hair would be flat, and I just wouldn’t feel like myself anymore!”
Even after changing office locations several times, Donlan said the daily downward spiral persisted.
“I brought this up to friends and family who work in offices or spend the majority of their time indoors, and they immediately knew what I was talking about, even if they didn’t have a name for it.”
What’s the root cause of this workday decline?
For one, experts note that the fluorescent lighting favored in office environs is as damaging as it is unflattering.
“Many fluorescent lights will emit small amounts of UV radiation, or it can leak out,” Dr. Ross Levy, chief of dermatology at Northwell Northern Westchester Hospital, told The Post. “UV is a major cause of aging of the skin as well as being a major contributor to skin cancer.”
And then there’s blue light — the kind emitted by LED bulbs and electronic screens like your phone, tablet or computer.
“[This] has recently been recognized to damage DNA and promote oxidative stress, worsening hyperpigmentation and accelerating skin aging, especially in those with darker skin types,” he said.
While garish lighting certainly plays a part in the office uglies, Donlan says poor air circulation and sedentary behaviors also negatively affect our physical and mental health, which comes through in the midday mirror check.
Disturbed by what she was seeing reflected, Donlan began documenting her experience on social media.
“I figured I can’t be the only one experiencing this, and that’s when I started creating content about it.”
Her posts follow a before-and-after framework; in one video, Donlan films herself looking bright at 9 AM, describing her visage as hair clean, skin clear, and face not puffy. She then shows herself at 1 PM that same day with the update: “hair oily, eye bags dark, face puffy.”
Donlan’s online documentation of office air theory has been met with a compassionate chorus of those who relate to looking like hell by the halfway point of their work day.
“I was shocked to see how many others were — unfortunately — experiencing the same exact thing,” said Donlan.
“I look like a sick Victorian child by lunch,” lamented one commentator, “Being at work makes me ugly and I mean it,” added another, “I go home and I’ve aged like 10 years by just working,” said a fellow sufferer.
Bolstered by the online support, Donlan is hoping to deepen her understanding of office air theory and perhaps find a cure or at least a few key preventative measures.
“I think it may be time to start asking, ‘What is happening/causing these issues?’ and ‘What can we do about it?’,” she said.
As The Post previously reported, there are small ways to combat the negative effects of spending time in the detrimental environs of the modern office:
- Get enough sleep.
- Stay hydrated.
- Eat a balanced diet rich in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, fermented foods, and fish.
- Exercise regularly.
- Wear tinted mineral sunscreen with iron oxides, even inside.
- Incorporate tretinoin, hyaluronic acid and vitamin C into your skincare routine, along with the occasional facial or chemical peel.
- Get outside.
Meanwhile, if you want to know exactly how ugly your job is making you, skin experts have devised an online calculator that reveals whether your job is causing you to age prematurely.
The “Aging Jobs Index” can allegedly tell how wrinkles and saggy skin can be caused by aspects of work life, including “shift patterns, regular hours, working location, stress levels, and physical activity,” per the site.
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