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The Effects of Everyday Stressors on Your Skin

Stress is a common human condition that nearly everyone experiences at some point in their life. Stress is hard to avoid, whether caused by family, school, job, money, or unfortunate life events. Most people consider stress to be solely a mental state, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth. Stress can affect your entire body, including the health of your hair, nails, and skin.

Here, double board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. W. Marshall Guy explains the impact that stress can have on the overall health and appearance of your skin, as well as some ways to help your skin during stressful times.

How the Mind and Skin Connect

Your body is programmed to respond to your psychological state as much as it is programmed to respond to any physical stressors. Thus, conditions like stress, depression, and anxiety can cause new skin issues to develop or existing skin issues to suddenly flare-up.

The reason for this is when you begin to feel stressed, your sympathetic nervous system releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline into your body. Cortisol causes increased oil production into your skin glands, which leads to clogged pores and acne breakouts. When chronic stress leads to constantly increased levels of these hormones, it can negatively affect your skin.

How Stress Affects the Skin

There are many ways stress can physically affect your skin:

  • Stress releases a hormonal called cortisol that leads to an overproduction of sebum (oil) in the skin glances, which can lead to acne breakouts
  • Stress impacts your immune system, causing your skin to be more reactive and sensitive to rashes, hives, and redness
  • Stress can also make you feel nervous, which leads to anxious activities like picking at acne or scratching your skin until it becomes red or breaks.

Tips to Keep Your Skin Stress-Free

You can take many steps to help manage your stress and keep your skin clear, including:

  • Maintain a skincare routine every morning and night, even on days where you feel too tired or anxious. Take a shower and do your skincare to help relax your whole body before bed. Dr. Guy offers a prestigious skincare line to help you solve your skin issues with the best and most effective ingredients.
  • Always wash off any makeup or sunscreen before going to bed. Makeup, sunscreen, plus the access oil produced throughout the day can cause your skin condition to become much worse.
  • Exercise regularly. Exercise releases the feel-good hormones that will help improve your energy, mood, and outlook.
  • Eat a healthy, balanced diet with plenty of vegetables and fruit. Try to avoid processed sugar, alcohol, and caffeine as these can contribute to stress and inflammation inside your body.
  • Get plenty of sleep. Sleep gives your body the time it needs to rest and heal. Sleep can also help you manage and deal with stressful situation making them far less stressful.
  • Talk to a trusted friend, family member, therapist, or psychiatrist to help you find healthier coping methods when stressful situations arise.
  • Seek help from a skincare professional. Our team at Dr. Guy Facial Plastic Surgery can help identify the underlying causes of your skin issues and help create an effective plan from our wide variety of med spa and facial plastic surgery treatments to address both external and internal skin issues.

SkinCare for Stressed Out Skin in The Woodlands, TX

For more information on skincare treatments to help keep your skin fresh and clear, even during stressful times, call Dr. Guy Facial Plastic Surgery at (832) 956-1040 or contact us online to schedule your consultation today. Dr. Guy and our team of friendly experts look forward to seeing you soon!