5 ways in which stress is wreaking havoc on your skin and hair

From work to relationships, anything can cause stress. In simple words, stress is basically your reaction to a threat or a challenge. Stress also causes your body to release hormones that make the brain more alert and raise your pulse. In the short term, these can be helpful. It is stress that might help you meet a tight deadline or even help you steer your car away from an unseen obstacle on the road that could have caused an accident.

However, long-term stress can wreak havoc on your body. In fact, more and more research is pointing towards just how badly stress can harm your physical health. Your skin is also severely hit by it.

In fact, here are five ways in which your stress is spoiling your skin:

1. Fine lines and wrinkles
Stress causes our body to produce a hormone called cortisol. In fact, it is often termed as the stress hormone. Cortisol breaks down elastane and collagen, which leads to the formation of wrinkles. A study published in the Dermatology Online Journal observed that psychological stress can manifest in the form of fine lines.

2. Acne
When you’re going through a stressful time and think it can’t get any worse only to experience a breakout, it might make you feel like the universe is out to get you. However, stress is the real culprit here. In fact, according to a study published on PubMed Central, cortisol causes an inflammation reaction throughout the body. This causes us to have breakouts.

3. Flaring up of existing skin conditions
Many people who suffer from skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis often report that a stressful event causes the problem to get worse. Given the inflammatory response of our bodies to stress, it might also cause conditions you already have to flare up.

4. Dull skin
Another thing to note about stress is that it takes away the motivation for taking care of your skin. When our minds are preoccupied with something that has been stressing us out, we tend to skip on the important steps of skincare such as exfoliation, moisturisation, and sunscreen. Over time, this neglect reflects in the form of dull skin.

5. Hair fall and scalp issues
If you want beautiful hair, then your scalp needs to be healthy. However, stress can have two types of effects. It can either dry out your scalp or make it too oily. Yes, ladies. Either your sebaceous glands go into overdrive or sweat glands rev up only to make you sweat in excess and cause dehydration. In either case, it leaves you open to a host of problems ranging from dandruff and itchiness to hair fall.

So, now you know ladies that stress has the capability to manifest itself in the form of skin and hair troubles. Hence, it is very important to learn how to manage stress. It doesn’t take a long-drawn plan; rather a few simple changes can help. It could range from spending an hour each day watching something you like or taking a walk. The key to stress management is taking a break and concentrating on yourself rather than what troubles you.

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