Office air with low humidity can dry out your skin and make your hair look dull.
Poor ventilation can lead to a buildup of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, causing fatigue, headaches, and drowsiness.
Dermatologists say you can support your skin barrier with a gentle cleanser and moisturizer, and use a portable humidifier at your desk.
Office air might be the reason you feel tired and look less vibrant by midday. This viral theory suggests that the office environment can dry out your skin and hair, leaving you feeling drained.
What Is the ‘Office Air Theory’?
TikTok creator @noadonlan gained attention from office workers by sharing videos of her appearance changing throughout the workday. In one video, her hair and skin look fresh at 9 a.m., but by 1 p.m., her hair appears oily, and her face looks puffy.
“Office spaces often use air conditioning or heating systems and create low-humidity environments, which can disrupt the skin barrier and lead to increased water loss,” Marisa Garshick, MD, FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology and an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Cornell – New York Presbyterian Medical Center, told Verywell in an email.
This environment can dry out the skin, make hair dull and static, and worsen conditions like eczema, she added.
Research shows that spending as little as six hours in an indoor environment with low humidity and high heat, such as an office during the wintertime, can leave skin looking red, rough, and more wrinkly. Long-term exposure to this type of environment may even accelerate signs of aging.1
Poor Ventilation Is Partly Responsible
Besides dry air, many offices suffer from poor ventilation, leading to a buildup of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Heating systems can emit carbon monoxide, while carbon dioxide accumulates from people breathing in shared spaces.2
If your office doesn’t have good airflow, these gases can irritate the eyes and airways and cause headaches, fatigue, and drowsiness. Before “office air theory” went viral, this phenomenon was known as “sick building syndrome” or “building-related illness.”23
Even if an office was originally designed with proper ventilation, that can change as the company hires more people, said Peter Orris, MD, MPH, a physician who specializes in occupational environmental medicine at UI Health.
Not everyone will notice these effects, which can make the issue harder to identify.
“Different individuals would have different sensitivities, so you might only have one person complaining of headaches on a floor,” Orris said.
Spending All Day at a Computer Doesn’t Help
Beyond the air itself, how you work can also affect how you feel in the office. Spending hours at a computer can lead to eye strain, back pain, and anxiety. If you sit for too long, it may also impair your memory and attention.45
Working in an office doesn’t necessarily reduce screen time. Many employees still spend much of the day in virtual meetings, even when they’re on-site, said Angela T. Hall, JD, PhD, an associate professor in the School of Human Resources and Labor Relations at Michigan State University.
You might even fixate on your appearance during virtual meetings, which could make you think you look worse than you actually do. Research has also shown that spending more time looking at yourself during video calls can dampen your mood.6
“There’s kind of a distortion there—we look different via technology than what we would look at if we were looking at a mirror,” Hall said.
How Can You Deal With Office Air?
Between dry air, poor ventilation, and long hours at a computer, it might feel hard to counter the effects of “office air.” However, you do have some control. For your hair and skin, Garshick recommends keeping a hydrating facial mist at your desk, using a lightweight leave-in conditioner, avoiding touching your face too much, and trying to stay hydrated.
“Supporting the skin barrier at home is key. This includes using a gentle cleanser, applying a moisturizer with ingredients like ceramides and hyaluronic acid, and incorporating a humidifier,” Garshick said.
For the more mentally draining aspects of work, you may need to lean into your office friendships. Research suggests that having small talks with coworkers, while somewhat distracting, can improve your well-being at work.7
“Even though work is work, and we’re there to work, we’re also social human beings,” Hall said. “We need to take time to engage with other folks, not necessarily in a digitally mediated way. Take two or three minutes to say hello to your neighbor, go into the break room, or take a walk during your break with one of your co-workers. All of those things will go a long way in making people feel better.”
