We’ve all been there, the day before a huge presentation or event a rather large and pustular-looking breakout decides to set up camp on your face. You’ve been stressing about this particular day for weeks, why does your skin have to choose now of all times to let loose?
If you suffer from other skin disorders such as eczema or psoriasis, have you noticed that they tend to rear their head just before a big event that you’ve been anxious about as well? Perhaps, all of these frustrating flare ups have one thing in common; stress.
It’s been proven over and over again that our mental state and stress levels play a huge role in our physical health and how our body functions. Now, although stress doesn’t directly cause that huge breakout, it does give a decent helping hand!
When you are anxious or stressed about something, your body secretes a hormone called cortisol. In small amounts cortisol is absolutely fine, but when you are stressed and an above-average amount is released into your system, that’s when things can start to go haywire. An abundance of cortisol increases inflammation as well as sebum production in the skin, this then clogs up your pores, bacteria breeds and you’re left with that wonderful breakout or acne flare up. This in itself is quite stressful, resulting in more cortisol being released and the whole cycle starting up again.
So, how do we stop this vicious circle in its tracks? Well, there are a few ways:
First and foremost, find ways to cope with your stress. Perhaps exercise will help, or speaking to a life coach, whatever works best for you. Learning and putting into practice, coping techniques is your first step to reducing your stress levels and therefore, minimizing excessive cortisol secretion in your body.
Make sure that you are cleansing your skin properly and with a cleanser best suited to your skin type. If you are prone to acne and breakouts, changing your daily cleanser to our Gentle Creamy Cleanser with Apple Cider Vinegar will help your skin fight inflammation and irritation. It sounds bizarre but Apple Cider Vinegar is anti bacterial so it works hard to keep those acne causing bacteria at arm’s length, plus it is also a great natural exfoliant which also helps to lessen breakouts.
While we’re on the topic of exfoliators, if you are fighting breakouts, a chemical exfoliator is a much better choice than a physical one. Why you ask? Well, a physical exfoliator has the potential to spread the acne-causing bacteria around your face, plus it can also aggravate the breakout. A chemical exfoliator generally works deeper into the skin, unclogging the blocked pore but without causing any further inflammation.
So, the next time that you feel your stress levels rising, put your coping mechanisms into place, rev up your skincare regime and stop that cortisol from making your skin go crazy!
