Stressed skin remedies should be known by everyone that undergoes stress on a daily basis. This is because it does not just affect one’s mental being, but also the body, and the skin.

With stress, come skincare woes of premature ageing, acne, inflammation, and dark circles. We’ve put together this blog post for you to understand that it’s all related. Stress leads to unhealthy skin leads to stress…

How Does My Body React to Stress?

Scientifically, to deal with stressors, your body goes into the fight-or-flight-response mode. This involves producing more hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones help to give the body a natural energy boost, by directing resources away from functions unimportant in that situation.

However, things are never so simple, are they? The additional hormones lead to an overproduction of oil, which we all know isn’t too good for the skin (hint: acne).

Furthermore, chronic stress leads to inflammation – the body’s way of dealing with external dangers like bacteria, and viruses. This causes a host of other skin problems.

Being the body’s largest organ, the skin is almost always involved in immune responses.

Effects of Stress on Skin – What’s Really Happening?

Now, let’s have a closer look at the ways in which your skin reacts when you're stressed.

• Dry, Flaky Skin: Perspiration is your body’s way of cooling itself down. If this loss of water is not compensated for, your skin will turn crêpey. Additionally, if you’re someone that gulps down lots of coffee and booze when stressed, dehydration problems will worsen.
  
  
• Acne: Due to hormonal imbalance and overproduction of oil, your face might start breaking out. Btw, acne is one of the most commonly experienced stress effects on skin.
  
  
• Hypersensitivity: Stress can cause all sorts of skincare issues to flare up. What used to be a little red spot, might turn into a big pimple.
  
  
• Under-Eye Bags: Not getting quality beauty sleep doesn’t just take a toll on your productivity, but also on your appearances.

Also noteworthy is the fact that a neglected skincare routine aggravates these issues.

It’s Time to Cope - Stressed Skin Remedies

While you can’t shun your job and your bills, there’s a lot you can do to manage these stresses better. Here’s a list of uncomplicated stressed skin remedies: 

Book Yourself a Massage

It’s no secret that massages are one of the best stress relievers in the whole world. And ah, it feels so damn good! Research has proven that massage lessens pain and stress, along with improving mood and sleep quality.

You could also sign up for a facial massage, and alleviate all that tension.

Drink Up

Water is literally the go-to solution for every problem that exists. Not only does it help achieve clearer skin, but it also helps the body manage stress better.

Also, note that there’s a direct link between stress and dehydration. When your heart rate is up and breathing is heavier than normal, loss of fluids from the body is more profound.

So, drink up, folks!

Sweat It Out

Regular exercising keeps a number of health problems at bay. Sweating it out does not necessarily mean hitting the gym. You could go for a jog, climb flights of stairs, or walk your dog.

In addition to easing stress, working out enables your body to flush out toxins, increase blood flow, and nourish skin cells.

However, make sure you practise skincare after working out.

Be Mindful

In a world where we’re always busy chasing goals, losing ourselves in an autopilot mode is very common. This refers to times when you’re not fully ‘present’ in the moment.

To fight stress, being mindful is more than essential. Simple practices like manually bringing your attention to something can help. When you’re crossing the road or doing the dishes, remind yourself of the activity you’re engaged in.

What might also help is shutting your eyes and focusing on the other senses you have.

Practice Face Yoga

We’ve all heard of yoga, but face yoga is a rather unpopular rendition of it. It’s simple – the muscles of our face need relaxing too. Our facial muscles (especially our brows, jaws, and forehead) are used to holding a lot of tension. Facial yoga is one of the most effective stressed skin remedies and is an expert at delaying skin ageing.

Here are simply face exercises you can put to practice at any time of the day:

1) The Neck Lift: Tilt your head to the right, and hold the position for some seconds. Make sure you can feel the stretch in your neck muscles. Then, repeat the same process by bending your head to the left side. You can also rotate your neck in the clockwise or anticlockwise direction.

This exercise helps tighten the neck and jawline and keep saggy skin at bay.

2) Eliminate Crow’s Feet

Place your hands on your forehead, right above the brows. Have your eyes wide open, as if startled. Now, with the help of your hands, pull your skin back as much as possible.

This does wonders in doing away with unwanted lines and wrinkles around the eyes.

3) Work Up Your Cheek Muscles

Close your lips and suck your cheeks in as much as possible. Release after 8-10 seconds, and repeat the exercise 5 times. Alternatively, puff out both your cheeks, and move the air in your mouth from one cheek to another. After doing this for about 6-7 times, release the air.

Practising this regularly will help lift your cheek muscles and keep them firm.

Seek Therapy

Therapy is said to be one of the most successful ways of eliminating the effects of stress on the skin and body.

We also strongly believe that just because you don’t need therapy, doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from it.

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So, the next time you find yourself emotionally drained, give these stressed skin remedies a try. And remember, you’re not alone. We’re all in this together. We could help you do away with stressed skin by personalising your skincare for you.

We’ll take note of your sleeping patterns, dietary choices, and lifestyle factors to curate the perfect product(s) for you. All you need to do is take our free skin test. 😊