Do EMF Stickers Work?
Answer: No. Companies that produce stickers or charms that claim to block electromagnetic fields (EMF) are simply playing upon the ignorance of the average person with regard to their understanding of basic principles of physics.
It is not physically possible for a small device or multilayered metal sticker to effectively shield you from EMF while using your cell phone or laptop. Physics just does not work that way.
If your entire phone is covered by a protective shielding sleeve, it might be beneficial to your health by protecting you from harmful radiation. Just using a sticker will not help block out mobile phone radiation.
Any positive benefits users report are the results of a placebo effect, where the user is convinced that they are receiving benefit, have a more positive outlook, and generally feel better about their use of electronic devices. There is no scientific evidence that any of these stickers produce any effect or have an impact on exposure to EMF.
A few companies which use sandwiched layers of silver, gold, or rare earth metals claim that their devices “remodulate” EMF emissions to transform them into less harmful forms of radiation. These claims, however, cannot be verified by standard physical tests and are more akin to homeopathic solutions that do not induce any known physiological mechanisms.
Your body cannot be shielded from cell phone radiation by just sticking a small sticker on it.
Mobile phone radiation is a complicated issue that can have serious effects on your long term health. Your smart phones and other devices emit harmful EMF radiation that can pose a health risk, and exposure to cell phone radiation can never be completely avoided.
Your wifi router, your laptop, and your cell phone all have an electromagnetic field that results in dangerous radiation. However, stickers are not the way and will definitely not work against the electromagnetic emissions around you.
So, is there anything that actually does work?
If you are concerned about EMF exposure, there are products which do block EMF. This can be beneficial to your health in the long run, and can even help prevent cancer and other diseases.
These products are all forms of shielding and come in two general categories: device covers and clothing. Below we review products with valid laboratory data to support the claims of the manufacturers.
The way device covers work is by using a protective shield around your device, blocking out a majority of the radiation. This cuts off the cellphone radiation at the source.
The way clothing works is by protecting your body by not letting the electromagnetic waves reach you. This promotes human health by acting as a preventive measure around your body.
Device Covers (Cell Phones and Laptops)
Generally, cell phone device covers reduce EMF by 90% if used with the case closed. This is an important means of using device covers that most people do not know about, because of low awareness in EMF protection products.
This is mainly because the average person does not understand how electromagnetic fields work. It is, therefore, the responsibility of manufacturers to ensure they state that the device covers must be used closed to properly confer protection to the user.
In fact, use of cell phone EMF covers when folded behind the phone as most soft folding cases are used can boost EMF exposure by reflecting radiation typically emitted through the back of the phone and away from the user.
Shielding effects are also affected by proximity to the cell tower. The closer a user is to a cell tower, the stronger the signal received and the greater the strength of the return signal from the phone.
The best means of reducing your EMF exposure is distance. Remember your high school physics: electromagnetic radiation follows the inverse-square law, where intensity of a radiative source diminishes quickly over distance by a factor of one over the distance squared.
Another means of limiting EMF exposure is to use a headset, preferably a wired or air tube headset, not a Bluetooth radio headset. As these devices work extremely close to your head, they can cause different types of cancer in the long run.
If you feel you require additional EMF protection, here are some tested products that do in fact block significant amounts of EMF if used properly. This range of products can reduce the effects of EMF on your body and provide proper phone radiation protection. They are:
DefenderShield
Their products can be purchased at the link above and include laptop pad to protect your lower extremities (retails for $99), several different cell phone cases (from $65-76), and high-quality air tube headphones ($70).They provide effective EMF protection at a reasonable price.
WaveWall
Their WaveWall Flip Phone cover was independently tested by Sporton International Labs (Taiwan) which reported 83% reductions in EMF. Their products can be purchased at the link above and include flip phone cases ($50), regular cell phone case ($40), and laptop pads ($95).
SafeSleeve
Their products can be found at the link above and include cell phone cases ($16-35), tablet cases ($50), and an anti-EMF pregnancy girdle ($50).
Vest
Their products can be found at the link above and include cell phone cases ($16-35), tablet cases ($50), and an anti-EMF pregnancy girdle ($50).
Brink
Waves Protect
Their products have been tested by US Tech (Alpharetta, Georgia) and have demonstrated the ability to reduce EMF by up to 96%. They produce cases for any brand of phone.
RadiArmor
The phone cases they make are manufactured with “vegan leather”. No independent testing has been conducted on these products.
EMF Clothing
The other approach for EMF protection involves clothing designed to act as a form of Faraday cage, shielding you from electromagnetic radiation. We have reviewed EMF clothing manufacturers before with mixed results.
There are a variety of companies out there that claim to produce EMF protective clothing, often incorporating silver into their fabrics to act as a shielding agent. Among the clothing manufacturers we reviewed previously, we find the following two companies produce quality garments that actually do what they profess to do: shield your body from EMF.
Lambs
Lambs produces beanies ($49), underwear ($45, less in bulk), and soon will produce a line of T-shirts that blend silver fibers (42% of the total fabric weave) with cotton into their garments to block up to 99% of EMF.
These products have been tested by MET Labs, an NRTL laboratory with global presence in North America, the UK, Switzerland, and southeast Asia. You can find their products at the link above.
OurSure
OutSure is another maker of quality EMF garments with a very broad product line such as maternity wear ($80 and up), underwear ($65-70), and T-shirts ($180). They use two different silver-nylon blends in their products (50% and 100%), depending on the level of EMF shielding you desire.
OurSure products have not been independently laboratory tested to our knowledge. However, customers have independently tested their garments with RF meters and have reported that their products to perform as advertised.
Final Word
Every wireless device around you that connects to the internet or to other devices using wifi, bluetooth, or any other form of modern technology, emits EMF radiation. This includes your mobile phones, your laptops, and your bluetooth devices.
To protect your body from the effects of mobile phone radiation and other types of harmful radiation, some companies have released anti-radiation stickers that claim to reduce the exposure to EMF. This is simply not true, but there are several other products that can help. If you are interested in similar topics, please feel free to check out our other articles, as well!
