How Stress Affects Your Skin
Nurturing happy, healthy skin begins with using the best products to cleanse, moisturise and rejuvenate – but it doesn’t stop there. The truth is, caring for your skin can be a battle, and stress can be a major factor.
None of us are immune to stress. It can sneak up quietly. Other times it charges at us head-on. But how does stress affect your skin?
In times of duress, our bodies produce a steroid hormone called cortisol which, aside from the sparking the ‘fight or flight’ mechanism, increases your skin’s natural oil production cycle. This can allow bacteria to breed, resulting in breakouts.
When you’re under attack from stress, you need a strategy to help relieve it – the first step is to consult your healthcare practitioner.
Next, here’s what else you can do.
Listen to your body
Stress triggers can be difficult to pin down, especially when you’re busy. If you’re feeling tired, having trouble sleeping, experiencing changes in appetite or finding it hard to focus, ensure you take time out to do the things that make you happy and promote relaxation.
This might involve getting back to that book you never finished, catching up with friends or settling in for a well-timed Saturday nap.
Maintain your skin care ritual
Work stress often scrambles our priorities, so keeping up routines like your skin care ritual can help you feel more balanced. Proper cleansing is also a lovely way to slow down and spend some quality time pampering yourself after a long, hard day. Treat your daily cleansing ritual as an opportunity to indulge in some much deserved you-time, using a cleanser with natural ingredients that’s suited to your skin type and won’t cause irritation.
Relax, reflect, rejuvenate
While an effective skin care ritual is key to keeping skin clear and healthy, addressing the causes of stress is even more important. Always consult your healthcare professional as a starting point.
Identifying situations that make you feel anxious or overwhelmed, recognising but not engaging with present emotions, and gradually changing your response to them can help you better manage stress over time, in positive ways.
Recognising the physical and emotional experience of stress when it arises, accepting its presence, and practicing deep, abdominal breathing also helps neutralise anxiety.
Talking through issues with an attentive friend or trained professional can help liberate stress and make sense of the big picture. Otherwise, meditation and massage are also great ways to slow down and reconnect with what’s truly important – you and your wellbeing.
Stress is a part of modern life, but it doesn’t need to rule yours.
* The content displayed on this webpage is intended for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as medical advice. Please discuss mental health issues with your healthcare professional.
