Today I thought I'd talk about something that is affecting me at the moment, and wreaking havoc with my skin, stress! A seemingly harmless reaction within the body can have a huge impact on the skin. I'm fortunate enough to have relatively well behaved skin, but I'm currently in the process of buying a house, throw into the mix changes at work, a hectic lifestyle and lots of travelling and my skins gone crazy. Cue dry, flaky skin, sensitivity and big patches of breakouts, which certainly don't help my stress levels at all.
So, why do these changes occur as a response to stress? the main contributing factor is stress hormones. As soon as the body becomes stressed it kick starts the Adrenal Glands into producing Cortisol, which in turn stimulates the Sebaceous Gland (where oil is produced). If this process occurs in the ideal conditions it can soon lead to adult acne. These include;
- build up of dead skin cells
- bacteria presen
- inflammation
This response to stress is one of the most common with 54% of women over 25 suffering with some form of acne (Journal of American Academy of Dermatology).
In order to determine whether your breakouts are a result of a stressful lifestyle make a note of where you tend to get them. Most adult acne sufferers see pustules and breakouts on the lower half of the face, specifically around the mouth, jawline and neck.
Another common skin response to stress is sensitivity, again this is stimulated by the increase in stress hormones producing a neurogenic reaction within the nervous system and the skin. You will commonly see inflammation, slow wound healing and itching in sensitized skins. The skin's natural protective barrier (Lipid Barrier) can also become impaired throughout prolonged periods of stress allowing common irritants into the skin far too easily, but also allowing the skins hydration out, resulting in dry dehydrated skin like mine.
You may also find your skin becomes sensitized to products you have used happily for years as it can no longer protect itself effectively. In this instance you need to rebuild the lipid barrier by replenishing the essential fatty acids that it is made up of, and rehydrating the skin. Which is why you really need to keep drinking plenty of water!
So there you have it, the importance of controlling your stress levels; I think I've suitably justified booking that long awaited massage!
*If you are suffering with adult acne I will be doing a full post on this topic next week, so don't forget to check back in!*
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