The influence of stress on skin and hair

Stress, everyone experiences it from time to time. When we talk about stress, we can distinguish two types. Eustress and distress. Eustress is stress that drives us, it is short-term stress that ensures that we can perform when we have to. It is the stress you experience before a presentation, important appointment or exciting moment. Eustress comes and goes, our body is perfectly able to recover after a period of eustress.

It becomes a different story when we talk about distress. Distress is prolonged stress that does not pass quickly. It is caused by chronic stressors: a very busy job, difficult relationships or emotional matters. Stress like this should always try to be remedied, because it has a negative effect on our body. You can read about the effects of too much stress on your skin and hair in this blog. That way you at least have enough reasons to make sure you relax every now and then to escape the stress and its negative effects.

Cortisol

Also called the stress hormone. Cortisol plays an important role in the body, it has an anti-inflammatory effect, ensures the sleep-wake rhythm and plays an important role in metabolism. Together with adrenaline, it provides action, where necessary. When the body is in a stressful situation, this hormone allows it to perform. Standing in this mode for a long time only has a detrimental effect, which exhausts the body: so does our skin and hair.

Influence on the hair

Whether your hair can fall out from stress? Unfortunately yes. When the body experiences too much stress and adrenaline, this builds up in the sebaceous glands at the level of the skin. This can cause excess lactic acid to be produced and this lactic acid is what causes hair damage. It affects the natural protective layer of the scalp, which results in less strong hair and hair that falls out easily.

Influence on the skin

Too much stress can cause increased sebum production in the skin, which increases the risk of blackheads, pimples and oily skin. Excessive amounts of cortisol alter the moisture balance of the skin, which can lead to dehydrated skin. Too much cortisol can also cause the breakdown of collagen, which makes the skin less firm, can look dull and there is a faster chance of fine lines and impurities.

Tips

There is only one tip: avoid too much stress. Of course this sounds simple and in practice it is a lot more difficult, but it is extremely important to avoid too much stress. First of all, it is important that you admit that there is stress, because sometimes this is difficult to admit. Try to find out which factors in your life trigger the stress and try to address them. Try to schedule moments of relaxation for yourself and the most important tip: tell others how you feel. Feeling stressed is not a taboo, talking about it with people can help!

Have you already planned a relaxing day? Check here all the cool beauty and skincare stuff YOSMOcan offer you in support of your relaxation routine.