Let’s talk about stress baby! Let’s talk about the struggle with quarantine, jobs, pollution, and just everything around us! Needless to say, our mind doesn’t react well to it and neither does our skin.
Moreover, our skin doesn’t know the difference between the different types of stress, so whether it’s serious or not, it will react negatively to it.
So how does stress affect our skin and how can we treat it? We asked Dr. Costi for some explanations.
What is the impact of stress?
Elevated levels of the hormone cortisol, produced when you feel stressed or anxious, can have negative effects on the skin. It can really make us break out, and make our skin flare up, whether it’s acne or rosacea.
This increase in cortisol can cause inflammation in the skin but it can also affect your immune system, and slow down the skin’s natural healing processes.
Notice how when we feel stressed or overwhelmed, we often experience spots, rashes, or itchy skin?
When your body thinks it’s under attack (because of stress), it’s going to form inflammatory cells to help treat that attack.
When these inflammatory cells increase in number, it can trigger flare-ups of any skin conditions people may be predisposed to, leading to break-outs, psoriasis or eczema.
What’s more, under stress your digestion slows down, impacting the bacteria and natural balance of your gut, which triggers a cascade of inflammation in your body.
How does it affect our skin?
1.It can dry it out.
If you have dry skin, or eczema, or have sensitive skin, you may experience more rashes or irritation than usual.
Whenever our body feels it’s under stress, our fight-or-flight response kicks in, causing a spike in adrenaline and cortisol.
An increase in adrenaline causes us to sweat more which will cause us to become dehydrated. Your skin will keep trying to cool itself, and you’re going to dry out if you don’t replenish with water.
2. It can make it oilier.
If you have oily skin with a tendency to experience breakouts, oil production may increase, increasing the appearance of acne (blackheads), too.
That shift in hormone levels especially cortisol can also be a contributing factor to acne breakouts.
As the brain is stimulated to release stress hormones, these hormones rev up activity of sebaceous glands in the skin, leading to higher than normal levels of oil, blockages in the pores and acne breakouts.
3.It can trigger existing conditions.
If you already have some pre-existing condition such as psoriasis or eczema, symptoms can worsen under stress.
The theory is that the immune system is directly affected by stress.
Adrenaline increases the heart rate and elevates blood pressure, and cortisol increases sugar in the bloodstream. Thus the immune system is weakened, causing inflammatory responses like an eczema or psoriasis flare-up.
What can we do about it?
Of course, you must try avoiding the stress! But when it can’t be helped, try these tips. Managing stress is a multifaceted effort: diet, sleep and a good skin routine all must come into play.
After adding fresh fruits, good fats and nuts to your diet, the first thing Dr. Costi recommends is getting a good night’s sleep, at least 7 hours. And if you can’t fall asleep easily then try a melatonin supplement.
Along with a regular exercise routine, just to improve circulation and increase your breathing, another good technique is to get a few minutes of meditation at the start of each day, to get your emotions in check and decrease the cortisol level.
Combined with a good intake of water, that will be a good step to feel less stressed.
Moreover, a good skin routine with natural products will help heal your skin.
Cleanse with a gentle product to remove bacteria and dirt, which is very important to regulate excess oil production. Then treat your skin with brightening anti-oxidants that will help repair it. A favorite of ours is hyaluronic acid that can bring your skin back to life. To hydrate, avoid any comedogenic products that could block your pores and add to the problem instead of solving it. Look for a product that will attract water and keep it at the skin’s protective barrier to help fight the signs of stress.
It’s all about keeping yourself happy really, because when you make a little time for yourself, you are making yourself a priority, and that should make a huge difference with time.
Just like stress can accumulate over the years, taking care of yourself can become your best weapon to fight it. So what are you waiting for? Book your appointment right now and become a skin warrior!
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