Stress is not just a mental health issue; it can be a physical one as well. Most of the time, if you consider what stress can do for your body, you’ll probably think about headaches, ulcers, high blood pressure, perhaps even heart disease. What you might not think about is the fact that stress can have a direct and negative impact on your skin too, and on your face in particular. This is because you release hormones when you are stressed, and these will often have a visible effect on your skin. On top of that, stress can lead to bad habits, including lip biting or grinding your teeth. 

The good news is that by reducing your stress levels, you can also reduce the skin and facial issues you might be suffering from, and this is just one reason why reducing stress is a good idea. In the meantime, if you’re not sure whether you’re suffering from the physical implications of being too stressed, read on to find out what some of the ways stress can manifest in your face are. It might turn out that you are stressed and you weren’t even aware of it because it has been a part of your life for so long. 

Acne 

For teenagers, acne is simply something they have to live with and get used to. As their hormones change, their skin can break out into spots and pimples. However, as they get older and their hormones balance out, this issue tends to disappear. If you’re an adult and you notice that you’re getting acne again, it might be a sign that you’re stressed. 

This will be down to the fact that the body is producing too much cortisol, otherwise known as the ‘stress hormone’. When you have high levels of cortisol in your body, not only will you feel more stressed, but you’ll also produce excess amounts of corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), which is responsible for stimulating your sebaceous glands to produce more oil, hence the acne. 

Bags Under Your Eyes 

If you’ve ever looked at yourself in the mirror and been shocked at the puffiness and swelling under your eyes – the ‘bags’, in other words – you won’t be alone. The older you get, the more likely it is you’ll find these bags under your eyes because the muscles around your eyes are getting weaker and are unable to support the skin in the way they used to. Plus, you’ll be losing your elastic, another reason why your eyes or the skin around them might sag.  

However, stress can also lead to bags under the eyes for a wide variety of reasons. Stress can cause a lack of sleep, which leads to puffy eyes. Stress can also lead to the body producing less elastin, and bags can form, as we’ve mentioned above. Assuming this is not a natural age-related situation, if you can reduce your stress, those bags should reduce. 

Dry Skin 

Many people suffer from dry skin when they are stressed, and it is often one of the first signs that stress is becoming an issue in their life. Although dry skin can manifest anywhere on the body, you’ll most often notice it when it is on your scalp and face. 

The reason you’ll develop dry skin when you’re stressed is that your hydration system stops working effectively. The protein required for keeping your skin hydrated is found in the skin’s outer layer, known as the stratum corneum, which doubles as a protective barrier. When you are stressed, those proteins stop working and dry out the skin cells leading to dry, flaky skin. Reducing your stress levels will fix this issue, but in the meantime, you can use Dermol to reduce the irritation and soothe the skin. 

Wrinkles 

When you are stressed, the proteins in your skin can change, as we’ve noted above, and among the many ways that this change can manifest is the fact that the skin can lose elasticity. Of course, this leads to wrinkles, and you may look older than you are if you suffer from high levels of stress. 

Also, stress can cause you to furrow your brow repeatedly, often without even noticing you’re doing it. The more you do this, the more wrinkles will form. 

Rashes 

Stress can weaken your immune system – it’s why you can become unwell when you’re stressed about something. It’s also why you might develop a rash when you’re stressed. If your immune system isn’t working in the right way, the bacteria in your gut which normally helps to keep you functioning correctly can become imbalanced, and that can cause rashes on your skin. 

If you have an existing condition such as contact dermatitis, psoriasis, or eczema, this can be exacerbated by your stress due to this issue which is called dysbiosis.