How Stress Can Affect Acne

Stress seems so unavoidable that it’s easy to underestimate its effect on your skin, especially once you’re out of your teen years. Believe me, I know how stressful life gets when you’re managing a career, a household, and a social life. As hard as it is, though, finding ways to ease that stress is critical to curing adult acne.

So how does stress affect your skin? 

In 2002 Stanford University School of Medicine conducted a study that found students who experienced higher stress levels before exams also had more severe breakouts during these times.

Our body was naturally designed to protect us in stressful situations by producing hormones that set off different responses to keep you safe and alive.

Unfortunately nowadays  we face chronic stress that keeps our hormone levels elevated for unnaturally long periods of time — and that’s when the health and skin problems start to arise.

Under stress, your adrenal glands produce cortisol and androgens, both of which are steroid hormones. These hormones stimulate your sebaceous glands to produce more oil. Ever notice that your skin seems oilier on some days than on others? The main reason could be changes to your stress levels.

Stress hormones also tend to trigger inflammation. Put these two responses together, and you can end up with a pretty severe breakout.

The easiest way to determine that stress is likely a factor when someone is getting inflamed, red papules rather than ordinary little whiteheads.

So why should you reduce your Stress?

Because stress is often involved in most people’s life, eliminating adult acne can’t always be done with topical treatments alone. If you are serious about clearing up your skin one of the first steps you have to take is reducing stress in your life. I can’t emphasize enough how important lifestyle factors are for healthy skin.

Here are some tips on how to reduce stress in your everyday life:

1. Eating a healthy diet will help your body to better cope with stress, so be mindful of what you eat. …
2. A few minutes of meditation a day can help ease anxiety.
3. Reduce your caffeine and sugar intake. The temporary energy you receive from consuming  caffeine and sugar often end with a crash in mood and energy. …
4. Avoid cigarettes, alcohol and drugs. Although these guilty pleasures may ease your mood temporarily the long term effects on your body are irreversible.
5. Try to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep. Sleeping will help balance your hormones and reduce your breakouts.

Remember, no matter how busy or stressful your life is, always take a couple of minutes at the end of the night to take care of your skin.

Help your skin repair itself at night by washing with a gentle cleanser such as PoreInfusion Sensitive Skin Wash  and then apply an exfoliating toner and your acne medication. In the morning, the last step in your skincare routine should always be a sun protection. A high-quality non-comedogenic SPF such as SolarxMD Matte Zinc will protect your skin from sunlight, pollution, and other stressors.

Remember, managing your stress will help tremendously, but for achieving completely clear skin, you also need to follow a skin care routine that’s appropriate for your skin type.

If you are suffering from acne and still could not find a solution to clear up your skin, Envision Acne and Skin Care Center has a proven Acne Free Skin Program that will clear up your skin in 90 days.

Do you need expert skin care advice from a licensed esthetician/acne specialist? Schedule your appointment for a consultation to get the personalized advice on products and treatments that are right for you.

© 2016 Nikolett Ivanyi, Envision Acne Center; For more information go to www.envisionacnecenter.com

Please note that all blog posts and content created by Envision Acne and Skincare Center are not intended to be used as medical advice or as a substitute for it and are designed for your information and educational awareness only. We always recommend that you consult with a medical practitioner regarding any health or skincare issues you have, as they may wish to carry out a full health assessment before recommending you to a licensed aesthetician and acne professional.