By: Shamiram Barooshian

Most of us don’t give much thought to light bulbs until one burns out—and even then it’s hard to get too excited to shop for replacements. However, you might be surprised to learn that each burned-out bulb is an opportunity to not only help the environment by switching to energy efficient lighting—experts estimate that there are something like 2 billion energy-inefficient bulbs in use in the U.S. today–but to inspire others to do the same. 

Try out our energy-saving selfie challenge! First, swap out your energy-inefficient bulbs with one of the bulbs described below. Then post a selfie of yourself bathed in the flattering new light and post on social media. Tag @that_helps to spread the word! Read on for quick tips to select the best bulbs.

Getting Started

First things first: Old bulbs need a lot of energy to produce light and more energy use means more greenhouse gases are released into the environment. Energy-efficient bulbs reduces your electricity use, your carbon footprint—and your bills.

To make it simple, we suggest going with LED lights. Replacing five of your most-used lights with LED bulbs can save you $75 in energy costs each year. Not to mention, you won’t have to replace them for about a decade.

Finding the Best Bulb For Your Selfie

Save money, save the environment and set yourself up for an exceptional, artificially lit selfie with LED colors and styles like these:

The Classic White: Yellowy-white lights will give images a warmer, softer feel (look for ~2700-4500K on the label). Bright-blue whites, on the other hand, are notoriously found around vanity mirrors and in the popular selfie-halo lights (look for 4500-6500K on the label).

Selfie-Tip: The bright blue lights can be extra flattering—but remember to keep the light in front of you and not above you to avoid the office-building, sterile-hospital-environment look.

Mood Lighting: Beyond different shades of white, colored LED lights can be great accents for your portraits. Some companies offer an entire color wheel in one bulb. You can always use your smartphone’s filters to adjust the color, too.

Selfie-Tip: Looking to create a dramatic mood? Opt for a blue light. If your surroundings are visible in the selfie, consider using a colored light to accent the color palette or style of the room.

Keep it Whimsical With LED Twinkle Lights: Whether you’re looking to add a festive flair or just take a cool shot, look for twinkle lights with LED bulbs. They’ll not only allow you to experiment with lights and shadows, they’ll also help you avoid the dreaded bulb-burnout that can decimate an entire string of incandescent lights.

Selfie-Tip: there are a variety of shapes and sizes for these LED lights, like long tubes to evenly illuminate a particular space, or mirror-like panels to decorate and illuminate.

Unlike avoiding plastic straws everywhere you go, with light bulbs you can can set it and forget it. So get started giving the incandescent bulbs throughout your house an LED upgrade—and share your selfie on social to start the movement.