How stress affects the skin: mechanism and methods of recovery [expert opinion]

Says clinical psychologist Anita Dmitrieva.

Stress is the body’s response to a strong stimulus. This ancient mechanism activates the fight-or-flight program that has helped humanity survive for thousands of years. Stress also has a negative side, the result of which affects not only general health, but also the skin of the face and body. How stress affects the skin and what to do about it? Let’s break down the facts.

How does stress affect the skin?

We will not delve into a detailed presentation of the types and mechanisms of the effect of stress on the skin, as well as its consequences, but it will be useful to learn something even for readers far from neurophysiology.

Stress is the mechanism of action

You are stuck in a traffic jam, you are nervous – and now stress hormones have begun to be produced in the brain network: glucocorticoids, including adrenaline and cortisol. The heartbeat quickens, energy is released in huge quantities, full mobilization is turned on … And then the body returns to its usual rhythm. In fact, he should return. What can go wrong?

Anita Dmitrieva

Clinical psychologist

“Adaptation to temporary stress (stimulation of the immune system, increased brain activity, muscle tone, including the heart muscle) is beneficial for the body, but it cannot be maintained for a long time. If stressful influences do not stop, the cortisol production control system fails and leads to many negative consequences for the body as a whole.

Constant stress is a mortgage, noisy neighbors, worries about loved ones, fatigue and burnout at work, lack of sleep, that is, everything that most of us face. The skin of the face and body together with us reacts to severe stress of a one-time or chronic nature. And now we already see a stranger in the mirror: poor thing, how she has aged from stress!

The skin and stress are interconnected: the nervous system sends alarm signals to the skin cells, which in response produce their own stress mediators. Against this background, the protective barrier does not cope with its tasks.

The result is obvious

And here’s what we’re seeing:

  • Is rising sensitivity, skin negatively reacts to the smallest irritants.
  • Stress stimulates dryness и dehydration skin, since transepidermal moisture loss increases by 30%.
  • The condition of the vessels worsens, they become more fragile, as a result, rosacea and rosacea become aggravated, local redness appears.
  • Through damage to the epidermal barrier, microbes penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin, provoking exacerbation of acne or single inflammations.
  • The tone of the face becomes dim.
  • Wrinkles appear, the density and elasticity of the skin decreases, which is associated with the inhibitory effect of stress on the production of skin hyaluronic acid, collagen and elastin.
  • Free radicals freely destroy skin cells, accelerating the aging process.

Fortunately, the effect of stress on the skin is well understood. As a result of numerous studies and experiments, scientists have found that its effects are reversible.

Skin Recovery Tips After Stress

How to restore the skin after stress and cope with nervous tension? Let the approach be comprehensive – this is the main principle of anti-stress.

Council number 1. Restoring the epidermal barrier

Look for a treatment specifically designed to restore and maintain the skin’s barrier function. This is how Minéral 89 probiotic concentrate works.

It contains mineral-rich volcanic thermal water, high concentrations of natural hyaluronic acid and a probiotic fraction. Together, these components accelerate skin regeneration, strengthen local immunity and the protective barrier of the skin, and prevent transepidermal moisture loss.

For oily skin, a breach in the skin’s protective barrier can manifest itself in the appearance of imperfections. Corrective care against imperfections Normaderm Phytosolution dual action contains a probiotic extract, it not only strengthens the skin’s protective barrier, but also reduces imperfections, blackheads, blackheads and acne marks thanks to its composition with salicylic acid and kaolin.

Council number 2. We combine care with self-massage

Create your own beauty ritual: for a few minutes in a calm and relaxed atmosphere with pleasant music, distribute care along the massage lines of the face.

Council number 3. If it is impossible to reverse the course of events, we change our attitude towards them.

The most effective way to get stress under control is to change your assessment of the situation so that it is not perceived as stressful. Another useful feature of the human mind is the ability to switch.

Anita Dmitrieva

Clinical psychologist

“Plan your time, reflect on your values ​​and strengths, and practice relaxation techniques like deep breathing, square breathing, and more. Keep a diary of difficult emotions to identify triggers, write down gratitude (every day, event, loved ones) and learn to let go of what is beyond your control.

Council number 4. We increase psychological stability

There will always be stress, and you need to put up with it – but do not give up. Proven ways to increase psychological resilience during difficult periods of life:

  • Maintenance of circadian rhythms (The level of stress hormones increases when the circadian rhythm of sleep and wakefulness is disturbed).
  • Relaxation treatments (bath with soothing extracts, knitting, reading).
  • Diverse leisure and recreation (try new things, alternate between active and passive rest).
  • Walk outdoors (even the park closest to the house can become a place of tranquility and solitude).
  • Finding pleasure in the little things (joy is brought by the simplest things: a favorite dessert for tea, a dance to a popular hit – while no one sees, a drop of new perfume on the wrist).
  • Psychologist’s consultations (especially if you feel that your strength is no longer enough).

Council number 5. Switching to gentle salon procedures

Cosmetologists note that beauty injections – the most popular way to slow down the processes of premature aging – show little or short-term results under stress. And the skin can respond to salon acid peels with serious irritation. The following cosmetic services will work much better now:

  • Massage.
  • Spa treatments.
  • Ultrasonic cleaning.
  • Microcurrent therapy.

They will help restore youth and beauty to the skin. And what is especially important, they will not aggravate the condition of the thinned epidermal barrier.

Loss of firmness can be counteracted at home with products that contain collagen-boosting ingredients and provide antioxidant protection. Cream with peptides that activates the production of collagen in the skin Liftactiv Specialist increases skin tone by 52% after the first application, and with regular use makes facial contours more defined, reduces wrinkles and pigmentation. A highly effective anti-aging formula with biopeptides, vitamin C, eperulin and VICHY thermal water helps fight the effects of stress, which literally deprives the skin of youth by suppressing the synthesis of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid.

For a comprehensive skincare approach, add LIFTACTIV SPECIALIST B3 Anti-Pigmentation & Wrinkle Comprehensive Serum with Vitamin B3 to your home care routine. Thanks to the complex of active ingredients, the serum significantly reduces the visibility of age spots and prevents their reappearance, reduces wrinkles, evens out skin tone. Already after 8 weeks of use, age spots are reduced by up to 71%, and wrinkles by 10%.

They will help restore youth and beauty to the skin. And what is especially important, they will not aggravate the condition of the thinned epidermal barrier.

Council number 6. Controlling work stress

Leave work questions outside the door. How to do it? Start by turning off work chats in the evenings and weekends.

During difficult periods, solve problems as they come and remember that multitasking has its limits.

Anita Dmitrieva

Clinical psychologist

“Break each of the tasks before you into small, manageable chunks, and then focus on one without trying to do it all at once. These and many other activities can help control stress at work.”

Council number 7. Learning to Meditate

It is not at all necessary to study the works of Buddhist adherents and take intricate poses. You can sit on the sofa and lean back or lie down on the bed. Then close your eyes and drive away the intrusive thoughts. Concentrate on the muscles of the body: relax them one by one, watch your breath. Just 10 minutes a day – and the stress will recede.

Tip #8. Looking for Zen in motion

Physical activity is a reliable source of endorphins, hormones of happiness. You need to select exercises very individually: someone puts on brand new sneakers and runs away from stress into the street, someone is more suitable for the regularity of yoga.

Workouts at home are just as effective as in the gym. The secret of success is not in expensive simulators or personal trainers, but in the regularity of classes.

Tip #9. We observe the diet

Rigid diets are another source of stress, since a poor diet deprives the body of substances valuable for the nervous system (and for the skin): B vitamins, magnesium, phosphorus and antioxidants.

Doctors recommend eating 3-4 times a day in small portions. The diet should include cereals, liver, fish, all types of cabbage, eggs, kiwi, sweet peppers, nuts, vegetable oils, legumes, green leafy vegetables, poultry, berries.

Tip number 10. Rethinking our circle of friends

Sometimes it is impossible to exclude “toxic” people from our lives, for example, if we are related to them by family or professional relations. And yet, you need to distance yourself:

  • Reduce contact with unpleasant people.
  • Don’t take hurtful words to heart.
  • Be honest about your feelings.
  • If the person close to you is not going to correct the behavior, politely avoid contact with him in the future.

Only ten steps – and the resources of the nervous system and skin will be replenished. Make an anti-stress program your habit and get an online diagnosis from VICHY experts: a personal protocol with recommendations for skin care under stress awaits you.

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