Stress Can Seriously Mess With Your SkinHere’s How to Fix It – NewBeauty Magazine

If stress is causing your skin to freak out, youre not alone.

Everyone experiences stress in their lives, and in the midst of a global pandemic, youre probably experiencing more stress than usual lately. While stress can manifest itself in many ways in our body, one of the most common physical reactions is on our skin. Whether its a sudden increase in acne or a particularly bad eczema flare-up, stress can take a serious toll on your complexion. Here, well break down exactly how stress affects us and how to treat it.

Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension thats a reaction to any event or thought that evokes feelings of frustration, anger, or nervousness. But its not only a single troubling event that can affect your stress levels, cultural stressa topic thoroughly investigated by Dr. Howard Murad, one of the pioneers of modern wellnessplays a major role in our physical and mental wellbeing, too.

Cultural stress, which is the stress of modern living, is caused by the pressure to keep up with endless emails, extensive work demands, a constant digital connection and even just increased traffic. Cultural stress can lead to less time with loved ones, causing many of us to feel isolated and provoking feelings of low self worth.

When you experience stresswhether thats a singular stressful event or everyday cultural stressyour brain tells the adrenal glands to release the hormones adrenaline and cortisol as part of your fight or flight response. Adrenaline is responsible for your pounding heart and sweaty palms, while cortisol releases sugar into the bloodstream, regulating blood pressure, and shutting down activity in nonessential systems like digestion. Although adrenaline drops back to normal levels within 15 minutes, cortisol can remain elevated for hours, and long-term cortisol can ultimately have damaging side effects.

Theres a profound connection between how were feeling emotionally and how our skin behaves thanks to cortisol. Heightened levels of cortisol from stress can create visible reactions on our complexion. The rush of stress hormones causes inflammation, which can trigger bumps, rashes, and breakouts. Stress also causes our sebaceous glands to pump out more of the oil that bacteria thrive on, which leads to clogged pores and increased acne.

But thats not all, cortisol causes a decrease in the production of keratinocytesthe primary type of cells found in the epidermiswhich leads to dullness and rough texture. It also causes a decrease in fibroblastthe cells that make collagenproliferation which causes expression lines and crows feet.

Stress can even physically age you faster than normal. Heres why: Stress shortens our telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of our chromosomes that affect how quickly our cells age. As our telomeres get shorter, our lives tend to get shorter. One study even found that women with high levels of perceived stress have shortened telomeres that are equal to about a decade of accelerated aging, meaning stress physically aged these women by 10 years.

Before attempting to fix your skin on your own, see a licensed Murad provider to determine the best way to treat stressed skin. Your provider will first do a skin and lifestyle assessment to determine the best course of treatment for your particular concerns. If stress is your biggest skin trigger, theyll likely recommend the Murad Retinol Dual Phase Power Peel Treatment, which is a no-downtime peel that works to exfoliate away dull, dry skin in order to renew skin tone and texture with Murads proprietary Retinol Tri-Active Technology. Since cortisol causes a decrease in keratinocyte proliferation, which leads to dullness and rough texture, this kind of gentle-yet-effective exfoliation is key for removing dead keratinocytes that have accumulated on the skin.

For at-home care post-peel, choose a gentle exfoliator like the Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser, which uses salicylic, lactic and glycolic acids to encourage cell turnover. Because inflammation is another major issue in stressed skin, its vital to soothe the irritation with a hydrating product. The Murad Revitalixir Recovery Serum uses a blend of neuropeptide, cannabis sativa seed oil, and niacinamide to refine texture, boost softness, moisturize the skin, and reverse signs of stress. Caffeine within the product also minimizes puffiness and re-invigorates the skin tone.

You should also look for ingredients like vitamins B and E to alleviate dryness and add extra moisture to the skin. Lightweight formulas like the Murad Nutrient-Charged Water Gel are a good option for those looking to soothe their complexion.

Ultimately, its important to remember that you should attack the root of your skin issuesstressif you want them to clear up permanently. With this in mind, its probably a good idea to discuss your higher-than-usual stress levels with a health care provider or therapist. By reducing those stress levels and adopting a solid skin-care routine, your complexion certainly wont be showing signs of stress for much longer.

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Stress Can Seriously Mess With Your SkinHere's How to Fix It - NewBeauty Magazine