Stress and Your Skin

Stress is something we all deal with throughout our lives. Whether it’s stress from our job or stress from family life or relationships, we all experience stress. While stress is common, it can have a major negative impact on your health. So many things can be affected by stress, from our immune system and blood pressure to our mental health and physical health. Stress is no friend to the body and your skin is no exception. Stress can affect your skin just as much as it affects the rest of your body.

At Tamjidi Skin Institute in Chevy Chase and Vienna, we offer a variety of services to help your skin look and feel better! With our medical and cosmetic skincare services, along with our spa services, we can help reduce your stress and give your skin the fresh and healthy look you want. In this blog, we are going to talk about how stress can affect your skin. Read on to learn more and take some time today to destress and unwind! Contact Tamjidi Skin Institute to schedule an appointment today.

When we become stressed, our brain secretes hormones that cause the release of cortisol, which is the stress hormone. Our skin has receptors for this stress hormone, meaning that when they are activated, it can result in a variety of effects on our skin. Stress can lead to increased inflammation, as well as an impairment to wound healing abilities and resistance to infection.

Worsens Conditions

Due to an increase in inflammation caused by stress, skin conditions can actually worsen when we are stressed. Some of the skin conditions that stress can aggravate include psoriasis, acne, eczema, and rosacea, among others. A flare-up of these conditions could cause more stress, leading to continuously worsening skin conditions.

If you have any of these skin conditions and notice they have been getting worse lately, you may want to think about the stress in your life and work on reducing it! Our team at Tamjidi Skin Institute can help treat a variety of skin conditions and ensure that you know what to do during a flare-up.

Increases Oil and Sebum Production

The production of cortisol causes a part of your brain, called the hypothalamus, to produce a hormone called corticotropin-releasing hormone, or CRH. CRH is believed to stimulate the sebaceous glands around your hair follicles to release oil. When these glands produce excessive oil, it can clog your pores, which can lead to an increase in acne.

While only a few studies have been done, they found the stress was a factor that often worsened acne. While there are many other factors that can worsen acne, de-stressing is a great way to keep acne at bay.

Causes Rashes

Since stress can weaken the immune system, it can also lead to rashes. When your immune system is weakened, the bacteria in your gut and skin, known as dysbiosis, can become imbalanced. When this imbalance occurs on the skin, it can lead to rashes and redness. Since stress also worsens different skin conditions that may cause rashes, such as psoriasis, eczema, and contact dermatitis, you may notice an increase of rashes when you are experiencing more stress.

Leads to Dry Skin

The outer layer of the skin, called the stratum corneum, contains protein and lipids that play a critical role in keeping your skin cells hydrated and acts as a barrier that protects the layers of skin underneath. Stress may impair the function of the stratum corneum, which can lead to your skin becoming dry and itchy.

Causes Bags Under Eyes

While stress may not directly cause bags under your eyes, stress does affect your sleep. Stress can make it difficult to get a good night of sleep, which can be frustrating for a number of reasons. Sleep deprivation can cause the skin to look older and increase signs of aging. One thing that sleep deprivation can cause is a reduction of elasticity, which can cause sagging skin, especially under the eyes, making the bags under your eyes appear worse.

Increases Wrinkle Formation

While we just mentioned that stress can lead to a lack of sleep which can cause early signs of aging, that is not the only way that stress can increase the formation of wrinkles. Stress can cause changes to the proteins in your skin, which can reduce its elasticity. When the elasticity in your skin is reduced, fine lines and wrinkles will begin to form. Stress can also lead you to constantly furrow your brow, which can cause wrinkles between the eyebrows.

Stress is something that is generally unavoidable, but it is extremely beneficial to do what you can to keep your stress at bay as much as possible. Not only will it help your skin look and feel better, but it can also help you feel better emotionally and physically.

If you find that your stress is causing your skin issues, be sure to get in contact with our team! We offer medical and cosmetic dermatology services, as well as spa services, to help you relax and give your skin the TLC it needs! Contact Tamjidi Skin Institute today and schedule an appointment at our Chevy Chase or Vienna location.