This is the reason your skin’s nOT HAPPY
Feeling drab but not sure why? Sarah Cooper-White reveals the surprising reasons your complexion could be looking less than perfect and how to get your glow back
Ever look in the mirror and wonder where those lines or cluster of pigmentation have appeared from? Or maybe there are days when your skin is dry, spotty or oily and just won’t behave. It turns out there is a host of stealth skin stressors that could be causing your skin woes, robbing you of a healthy complexion. From overuse of your iPhone and taking solace in the biscuit tin, to the weather and constantly worrying, science is proving there’s a whole lot more to our skin issues than just getting older. Read on to find out how you can take your skin from drab to fab. Stress is one of the biggest skin agers out there. But the experts have discovered it’s not intermittent stressful episodes that have an effect on our skin, but chronic stress – the kind that niggles away constantly day by day, week by week. “Chronic low-level stress has worse long-term consequences than occasional stronger, shorter bursts,” explains dermatologist Dr Stefanie Williams (eudelo.com). “Chronic stress will age our skin prematurely. One way it does this is by elevating the level of cortisol – our major stress hormone.” This boost in cortisol can play havoc, breaking up collagen and elastin in the skin, and speeding up sebum production, which can cause blocked pores and spots. It also inhibits the body’s ability to produce hyaluronic acid, which creates dryness and even inflammatory skin conditions, such as eczema.
While it’s virtually impossible to stay stress-free all the time, there are plenty of ways you can reduce those feelings of anxiety. If you can relax, the whole body will benefit, including your skin. One way to find inner calm is to make time for a dedicated beauty >>
ritual a few times a week, at least. Run a bath and choose products packed with soothing and calming essential oils, like lavender, rose or geranium.
Try Aromatherapy Associates Deep Relax Bath & Shower Oil, £49 – it’s like a dose of therapy without even leaving the house. While you’re in the bath, “learn to breathe deeply into the abdomen, using your diaphragm to help combat the effects of stress and invoke the ‘relaxation response’,” says Alan Dolan, AKA the breath guru (breathguru.com). “Warm water acts as a catalyst, so doing this simple exercise for 10 minutes in the bath is ideal.” While you breathe, imagine you are inflating a balloon in your stomach. Without pause, breathe out – a short soft sigh – like fogging a mirror. Then begin another deep inhale into your abdomen. Continue the circular motion without pause to establish a circular, connected breath.