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Sensitive Skin: How Stress Affects Your Skin

Sensitive Sensitive Skin SensitiveSkinBlog Stress

Welcome back to the blog!

We are on the third week of our Sensitive Skin blog series. To recap, during Week one, I discussed what sensitive skin is and discussed the different types of eczema. Week two, I discussed dry skin and several reasons on what causes it. If you haven’t checked them out, select the following links.

This week we’re going to look at another cause for sensitive skin that many didn’t realize can cause sensitive skin.

Everyone deals with stress now and then but we can all agree that we’ve been more stressed than usual. With the pandemic, the war on Ukraine and inflation, no to mention many individuals have been more angrier these days. No wonder we’re more stressed.

But did you know that stress can cause your skin to become sensitive? When we are stressed, stress hormones are released into the bloodstream; cortisol, adrenaline, noradrenaline, ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) amongst others.

When the body’s level of cortisol rises, this causes an increase in oil production, which can lead to oily skin, blemishes and increased sensitivity. One common issue that occurs when cortisol rises is acne.

Acne due to stress

Acne - Have you ever noticed that you break out more when you’re stressed? As mentioned previously, stress causes your body to make hormones like cortisol, which tells glands in your skin to make more oil. Oily skin is more prone to acne and other skin problems.Chronic stress can shorten telomeres; the protective caps on the ends of cell chromosomes, causing cells to age faster and thus exacerbate premature aging. I'm sure we all know someone or have seen someone that has aged due to stress.
Cortisol is also responsible for collagen breakdown and inhibits the skins ability to repair itself naturally and continue to form collagen and elastin to deal with damage. When the skin struggles to repair itself naturally, it can cause an issue with a skin issue trying to heal.
Stress can cause an eczema flare up

Exacerbates Skin Problems - Stress can aggravate psoriasis, rosacea, and eczema causing your skin to become increasingly itchy and inflamed.

Stress causes skin issues longer to heal

Prolongs Skin Problems to Heal - Current flare-up or wounds will take longer to heal when you are stressed.

Simply put, the way you approach stress determines how ‘reactive’ your body will be. Inevitably your body will begin to show signs of internal suffering and we can't have that! Not one person or situation is worth having stress to do this to you, period!

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    Although we can't avoid stress completely, but you can manage it by handling it better. Try these approaches:

    • Don't neglect your skin. Take care of it, even if you're tired or stressed.
    • Get regular exercise. It's good for your skin and the rest of your body.
    • Take time for yourself to do something you enjoy, even if you only have 10 minutes. Take a bath or read a book.
    • Take a walk around the block.
    • Practice stress management techniques, such as breathing exercises, meditation, or visual imagery.
    • Get enough sleep. Seven to 8 hours each night is ideal.
    • Say no. It's OK to set limits and boundaries to lower your stress.
    • Talk to someone. Seek support from a friend or a professional therapist.

    At the end of the day, we all need to manage stress better. Not only for your skin but for your overall health.

    If you're dealing with stress, I encourage you to apply some of techniques above. You are worth staying as stress free as possible. I know this as a fact!

    I hope you all enjoyed today's blog and got some value out of it. Comment below if this has been beneficial and if you have any techniques you use to relieve stress.

    Have a great week!

    Beauty Mixtress™



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