Stress, Cortisol and Your Skin Problems

Over the last few years, most people in the world have experienced much higher levels of stress than usual. Covid, lockdowns, covid again, war, cost of living, fires and now floods. It’s been a lot. When your body is under stress, its natural response is to produce extra cortisol.

What is cortisol exactly? Cortisol is a hormone that helps the body when you’re severely stressed. It helps find the energy you need to get out of trouble, like run away from danger… but it’s only meant to occur for a short period of time. It doesn’t magically give you more energy, it cuts back the function’s of other less necessary areas of your body. Causing some serious negative effects when it continues over a longer period of time. When produced in excess by the body, it can be detrimental to your skin (and organs), causing conditions like acne and other inflammatory problems. Here is how your stress hormone cortisol damages your skin layer.

When you are stressed, your body can respond in many different ways, and in terms of skin, you may observe that you have increased pimples, dryness, irritation, or redness. These symptoms stem from the release of varied hormones once the physical body encounters stress, particularly the cortisol stress hormone.

 

How cortisol affects your skin

Cortisol can change into an enemy of your skin if it remains excessively over an extended time frame. Those who are susceptible to high stress over long durations will sustain high degrees of cortisol, that may negatively affect your skin in a variety of ways:

1. Acne

You might observe that during periods of high stress, you may have more pimples. High cortisol levels prompt the skin’s sebaceous glands to create more sebum (oil). The excess oil clogs the pores resulting in the development of bacteria and inflammation resulting in acne. Unfortunately it’s often exacerbated by nervous actions, like touching your face or picking at acne. While you’re calm it’s easy to say ‘don’t do that’ – but while you’re stressed this is very difficult.

2. Skin conditions

Beyond acne, stress can magnify other skin disorders such as example eczema, rosacea or psoriasis. Many people who have chronic skin disorders tend to observe that their symptoms flare up when their stress levels are elevated. You also have impaired wound healing abilities, so your body struggles to regain balance, so it can be a downward spiral.

3. Ageing

Cortisol can accelerate the ageing process as it breaks down elastin and collagen. Moreover, when you’re stressed, you also make certain facial expressions that can cause wrinkles, especially on the forehead. When you keep doing this, the skin cannot bounce back, leading to permanent wrinkles. Cortisol also offers the energy to accelerate your skin’s growing older, enhancing common unwanted ageing signs like lines and wrinkles rapidly, age spots, and skin dullness.

4. Redness

Your blood flow increases when you are overly worried. This can lead to expanded capillaries—something that can cause your face to turn red and puffy. For those with a skin concern like rosacea, should try to keep their cortisol levels in check.

5. Dryness

When your body starts producing excess cortisol, it loses its ability to retain water. This is what leads to dehydrated skin, where your skin lacks moisture, in the absence of which your skin starts to turn flaky and irritated. Worse, dry skin often accelerates the appearance of dark spots and wrinkles.

6. Thinner skin

Over time you can also have thinner skin, which means you might see your veins more easily underneath. It can also be more more easily bruised, burned from the sun, and damaged in general.

 

Keeping stress in order

Stress is definitely likely to be an inescapable part of living. However, there are several simple and effective methods to help your body (and skin) better cope with stress:

• Work to get rid of unnecessary stress-inducers from your own life.
• Eat well-balanced meals and drink plenty of water.
• Exercise regularly.
• Incorporate a time into your entire day to do something nice for yourself. Stress lowers your mood, so being nice to yourself is imporant.
• Try stress relief techniques such as example yoga, breathing exercises, mindfulness and meditation. Anything that slows your body and heart rate down, even for a short time.
• Get a lot of sleep every night – try and remove your phone, TV or tablet from your bedroom (so hard, but it helps!).
• Create a sound support system where you can discuss your stress with your friends, family and GP. You might find you have more support than you realise.

 

How exactly to treat your body in times of increased stress

Beyond practising stress coping techniques, there many great cosmetic treatments that help your skin cope with stress and reverse any unwanted effects. Great stress-fighting treatments include:

1. Lactic Peels

Topically applied, lactic peels revitalise your skin by turning over dead skin cells, strengthening the epidermal barrier, hydrating the skin and promoting an all over healthier skin. Lactic peels develop a fresh appearance and a smoother skin surface.

2. Micro-Needling

A forward-thinking skin rejuvenation treatment spurs the production of new collagen and elastin fibres that thicken your skin and decrease the appearance of wrinkles, acne scars, sun damage, and stretch marks.

3. Facials

You can expect several different forms of facials to leave your skin feeling refreshed and renewed. Facials can be carried out to cleanse, exfoliate, and rehydrate your skin. Not only are you boosting your skins coping mechanisms, you’re also resting your body!

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

Everyone has high cortisol from time to time. It’s part of your body’s natural response to threats of harm or danger. But having high cortisol over a longer period of time can have lasting effects on your health.

If you are very concerned about your stress levels, and have high cortisol symptoms, it’s best to see your doctor and start with a blood and/or urine test to see how high your cortisol level is. Based on your results, a doctor can narrow down the underlying cause and help you get your cortisol back to a safe level. There are a few causes of high cortisol other than ‘being stressed,’ such as certain medications, Cushings Disease and other hormone issues, so seeing your doctor is always a wise idea if you are concerned.

 

Best skin care options while you’re stressed

Gentle, hydrating, skin strengthening products are recommended when your skin is showing signs of stress, and here are our recommendations that are suitable for all skin types and concerns:

• Osmosis Rescue. This serum will literally rescue your skin. Complete epidermal repair to calm and strengthen your skins’ barrier.
• Osmosis Catalyst AC-11. This is one of the best age reversal serums available. It combines vitamin C and amino acids to rebuild, treat and prevent pigment, stimulate collagen and give your skin antioxidant protection and is gentle enough for those with dry, sensitive skin.
• Aspect Dr Soothing Kit. This contains everything that you need initially to get you started on repairing your skin if it is dry, red and impaired. All the products will re-hydrate and strengthen your skins’ protective barrier.
• Aspect Probiotic Sleep Mask. in times of stress, a mask can feel like a luxury spa experience, and this mask is one of the best. Apply at night to wake up to plump, smooth skin.
• Societe Rejuvinating Peptide Mask is a sheet mask filled with moisture for plumping and peptides for collagen stimulating. There is nothing nicer than taking 15 minutes out of your day to lay down with a soothing sheet mask on!

 

 

 

 

 

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