Been feeling stressed lately?

Chances are, your skin has been feeling the same. However, even once you’ve managed to lower your own stress levels, your skin will continue to suffer from the excess cortisol (otherwise known as the stress hormone) that will be running through your body.

How do you know if your skin is feeling stressed? More importantly, what can you do about it?

Here’s everything you need to know…

Is Your Skin Stressed?

If you’ve been feeling stressed, then the answer is a resounding yes, your skin is feeling stressed too.

However, it’s not only your mental state that can stress your skin. Environmental factors play a key role too – everything from pollution to sun exposure to a poor diet can leave your skin feeling stressed and depleted.

It will show this in a number of ways, with the most common being:

• Increased and prolonged acne breakouts
• Flare-ups in eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea
• Increased redness and sensitivities
• Excessive dryness
• Hives and rashes

Symptoms of stressed skin are extremely varied. This means that many don’t actually realize that stress is the culprit behind the recent skin problems that they have been experiencing.

Identify Your Triggers

The first step to dealing with any skin concern is to identify the triggers that cause flare-ups.

In this case, we already know that stress is the cause, but let’s dig a little deeper…

What type of stress is your skin reacting to?

Some of the forms of stress that affect your skin are:

• Mental stress
• Environmental stress (sun exposure, pollution, etc.)
• Physical stress (injuries, poor diet, etc.)

How can you work out which type of stress is damaging your skin?

By keeping a stress/skin journal. Simply make a note of when your skin issues flare-up, and also jot down what you were doing and feeling around the time.

After a few flare-ups, you should be able to spot a pretty clear pattern in your journal that will help you to accurately identify your skin’s stress triggers.

Stay Hydrated

You’re probably wondering how hydration and stress are related…

Well, not only does stress quickly dehydrate the skin, but skin that is dehydrated is unable to function properly. This makes it more susceptible to any future damage caused by additional stress, leading to a vicious cycle that’s difficult to escape from.

It’s important to stay hydrated both internally and externally.

Drink plenty of water, as well as herbal teas and water-rich foods. This will keep your skin cells hydrated from within.

You should also be hydrating them topically with moisturizing serums and creams. Look for skin care products that contain humectants – these wonder ingredients draw in moisture from the air around you and deliver those molecules to your dehydrated skin.

Treat Your Skin to a Face Mask

Face masks have two very important benefits for stressed out skin:

• They deliver a strong concentration of nutrients that helps to calm and strengthen the feel of the skin
• They encourage you to relax for 15 minutes, helping you to clear your head of mental stress so that your skin can start to properly repair

These days, face masks are available in all shapes, colors, and sizes. You may be tempted to whip up your own DIY mask, but, when dealing with stressed skin, leave the skin care formulations to the professionals.

When stressed, skin is so much more reactive and sensitive – getting your homemade mask wrong could have disastrous consequences.

For the ultimate indulgent pamper, give the Diamond Rejuvenation Facial and Eye Mask a try. Yes, it actually does contain real diamond powder, along with a special blend of ingredients designed to leave skin feeling soothed and calm.

Sleep Better

Do you sleep well each night? 

It’s not only the number of hours that you sleep for that matters – quality of sleep is just as important. This means that the time you spend in bed is actually spent sleeping, rather than constantly tossing and turning, frequently waking up in the middle of the night.

Why does this matter?

Well, think about it…

If you’re feeling stressed and then end up dealing with night after night of sleep deprivation, what’s this going to do to your mental state?

The same pretty much applies to your skin. Good sleep is a must in order for your skin to de-stress.

Fortunately, there are several steps that you can take to improve your sleep quality, such as:

• Reduce your exposure to blue light in the evenings
• Avoid alcohol or caffeine in the evenings
• Minimizing light and noise in your bedroom
• Setting your bedroom up to be the perfect temperature
• Make sure that your bed, mattress and bed linen are as comfortable as possible

Improve Your Diet

If your diet is lacking, then you probably already know this.

In a way, it’s understandable. Life gets a little crazy, and all of that packaged, pre-made, and highly processed food is just so much more convenient than cooking a meal yourself.

However, your skin is unlikely to be quite as forgiving…

A poor diet will really stress your skin out. It will lead to increased inflammation, which then contributes to a variety of different skin problems.

Luckily, a poor diet is easy to rectify, so long as you’re willing to commit to making positive changes.

Again, you probably already know that your diet should consist of plenty of whole foods, including fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and grains.

Try to think of ways to make healthier choices at mealtimes that aren’t too inconvenient. For example, you could try challenging yourself to eat a new ingredient every week, or try to experiment with healthier ways of cooking some of your all-time favorites.

Protect Your Skin

Sunscreen is something that everyone should be wearing throughout the year, but this becomes even more so for those who have noticed that the sun seems to really stress their skin out.

Whether the sun has been leading to redness and inflammation, dark spots, or enhancing your fine lines and wrinkles, sun protection is a must in order to de-stress your skin and return it back to a healthier state.

Learn a Few Facial Massage Techniques

Facial massages are usually key components to professional facials.

However, with the Covid-19 pandemic restricting so many to their homes, more and more people are now turning to DIY facials at home, learning how to give themselves a facial massage.

This is beneficial for a number of different reasons:

• It reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
• It increases circulation to the skin, resulting in a healthy glow
• It helps to relieve sinus pressure, which minimizes puffiness under the eyes
• It rejuvenates the skin cells, encouraging them to function better
• It helps to treat scar tissue

There are plenty of videos online that will teach you the moves for various facial massages.

Once you’ve learned a few, you can then start to incorporate them into your skin care routine. Simply set aside a little more time than you usually would, and gently massage your favorite skin care products into your face. The Morganite Reinforcing Cream is great for this!

Take Some Time Out

If you’ve been feeling stressed and overwhelmed, then all of that mental stress will be damaging your skin.

The best way to de-stress your skin would be to de-stress your mind.

This is easier said than done, but, for many, taking some time out from their busy schedules is usually a great start.

What should you do during this time out?

Find something that you really enjoy! Take up a new sport, teach yourself a new skill, or simply sit back, relax, and read that book that you bought last year and never got around to reading.

Happiness is so important when it comes to stress relief. Feeling happy triggers your body into releasing certain hormones that help to counter the stress hormones in your body. So, find something that makes you smile, laugh, and truly feel happy.

Sip on Some Herbal Teas

Herbal teas not only benefit your own mental state of mind, but they also have de-stressing effects on the skin.

How?

For starters, many herbs are known for their therapeutically calming properties. Your skin could really do with these when it’s feeling stressed!

Herbal teas are also packed with vitamins and antioxidants that repair and reinforce the skin. This then allows your skin to better deal with its stressors in the future.

Wondering which herbal teas are best for de-stressing your skin?

Brew up a cup of the following:

• Green tea or matcha
• Chamomile tea
• Hibiscus tea
• Jasmine tea
• Licorice root tea
• Ginger and turmeric tea

Want to double up on those herbal benefits?

Look for skin care products that contain herb-derived ingredients. For example, the Lionesse Opal Sheer Shield contains green tea extract and aloe vera extract, both herbs being potent when used topically.

Give Your Skin Some Consistency

You probably already know how stressful it can be to deal with inconsistency. Well, your skin feels the same way.

Your skin will thrive when given a regular and consistent skin care routine. 

If you know that you’re guilty of not following a regular skin care routine, now is the time to make some changes.

Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that you need to be spending large amounts of time pampering your skin every evening (although doing this once in a while is very beneficial!).

Skin care doesn’t have to be complicated. A simple skin care routine can consist of just a few steps:

• A cleanser
• A serum
• A moisturizer
• SPF during the day

If you can find a quality moisturizer that also contains SPF, then that’s a bonus, as it saves you one extra step in your morning routine.

Get Active

Stress can make your skin feel dull and sluggish.

Fortunately, there’s a way to overcome that pretty much instantly.

The answer is exercise. Each time you get your heart rate up, your skin receives a greater amount of oxygen and nutrients. This then gives it an immediate glow, while also allowing your skin cells to function more efficiently.

If you already have a regular exercise routine, then keep at it!

However, for everyone else, you really are missing out on so many health benefits by not exercising more. You may think that you don’t have enough time, but it’s really easy to add more exercise into your day without it seeming like a chore.

How?

• Always take the stairs instead of the elevator
• Stand up more, such as when you’re watching TV or you’re on the phone
• Sit on the floor and keep your posture straight when watching TV or reading a book
• Walk for a few extra minutes each day
• Dance around your house while brushing your teeth in the mornings
• Find a sport that you enjoy, such as swimming, tennis, or hiking
• Clean your house (ok, so this one may feel like double the chore!)

Simply make the effort to include something active into every single one of your days, and you’ll soon be seeing major improvements in your skin.

De-Stress for Happy Skin

Short bursts of stress are nothing to worry about, but, these days, more and more people are experiencing long-lasting chronic stress. This is what leads to those serious skin changes, which is why it’s important to do everything that you can to keep both yourself and your skin de-stressed and happy.