With all the worries concerning the pandemic, homeschooling, working from home, the election; who’s not stressed out? Let’s break down each sign of stress, what it looks like, and what you can do to treat the effects. So even though you may be stressed, at least you won’t look it. Below is the breakdown to tell if your skin is stressed and how to treat it, both at home and at our practice.
Tired Eyes
Spikes in cortisol can disrupt your circadian rhythm, break down skin’s structure, and reduce circulation. It leads to tired eyes, which appear as more wrinkles, laxity, dark circles, and puffiness.
The remedy:
- At home: B3 adaptive superfoods stress SOS eye cream -This eye cream is infused with coffee arabica, acai, cordyceps mushroom, and maca root — a magical combination that’s specially formulated to eliminate dark circles, puffiness, and crepiness. An insider tip is to keep this eye cream in the refrigerator and press lightly around eye area to gently cool and de-puff.
- In office: For an immediate result you can inject a hyaluronic acid based filler such as Restylane into the tear trough area. This will act as a built-in concealer to hide dark circles and hollow-ness. The eye area instantly looks brighter and better yet, well-rested! If filler isn’t something, you’re interested in RF micro needling under the eye can work wonders to rejuvenate and tighten the area.
Fine Lines & Wrinkles
Cortisol has been scientifically linked to breaking down collagen and elastin in your skin, which leads to ‘worry lines’ and wrinkles, especially on the forehead and around the eyes, which are the areas that express stress on your face the most.
The remedy:
- At home: Using the daily Alpha Beta Peel. Our at-home, clinical peels offer significant results with the instant benefits of radiance, a smoother skin texture and refined pores. In the long-term, these peels prevent the breakdown of collagen, while sending signals to produce new collagen to aging. Follow your peel with your favorite serum, eye cream & moisturizer… and never forget your SPF!
- In office: Botox & fillers are injectables that reduce the appearance of deep lines & dynamic wrinkles. Botox can relax the fine lines on the forehead and around the eye area, while filler is used to restore volume in areas with deeper folds, like around either side of the mouth.
3D Laser Treatment – uniquely stimulates collagen from within your own skin cells in a three-dimensional way. The neck and face appear lifted, smoother and tighter with fewer lines and wrinkles while providing an immediate radiance to the surface. This laser treatment works within the skin to firm the skin with absolutely zero downtime.
Dry or Red Patches
A study in the January 2001 issue of the Archives of Dermatology, entitled ‘Psychological Stress Perturbs Epidermal Permeability Barrier Homeostasis,’ found that — as a result of a spike in cortisol —stress has a negative effect on the barrier function of the skin, resulting in water loss that inhibits the skin’s ability to repair itself after an injury and leading to dry, patchy skin.
The remedy:
- At home: Stress Face cream – The main goal is to strengthen the skin’s moisture barrier in order to relieve and prevent dryness. The nourishing Stress Repair Face Cream quenches thirsty skin with a powerful blend of moisture-driving nutrients, featuring three different kinds of plums (kakadu, illawarra, and burdekin), maitake mushroom, goji and acai berries, and turmeric, to hydrate at the cellular level. Niacinamide, too, is key for adding moisture and reducing redness.
- In office: Depending on the severity of the dryness, sometimes starting with a light peel in order to exfoliate the roughness is best for our next steps to help gain results. Following a peel, we recommend trying a laser for redness such as the v-beam. This laser will immediately rejuvenate the skin for a clearer more radiant complexion. Combining the peel or v-beam with the LED panel is an additional way to reduce redness and inflammation.
Dullness
Your skin doesn’t renew itself as quickly during times of stress, which results in a dull complexion and longer healing time. We need to help regain radiance by exfoliating and re-feeding the skin.
The remedy:
- At home: Stress serum & Alpha Beta peel – Get a glow in secondswith these tried-and-true peel pads soaked in alpha and beta hydroxy acids that eliminate dullness, uneven texture, and fine lines. And then top it off with this hero of a serum that ensures a radiant complexion by stimulating cell turnover with cacao, boosting circulation with chaga mushroom, and injecting moisture with rich omega fatty acids that are found in acai berry.
- In office: Chemical peels safely remove or exfoliate the top layer of dead skin allowing new, more youthful, healthy skin to show through. While the skin typically sheds old, dull dead skin cells every 28 days, this process slows down with prolonged sun exposure and aging. Chemical peels cause this natural cell turnover process to speed up, helping to stimulate the growth of new collagen, or the skin-firming protein that acts like a scaffold for the skin. The speed or depth of cell turnover is determined by the concentration of the peel and the amount of time it’s left on skin.
Micro needling can be another exciting way to bring new life to the skin. By creating microscopic injuries in the epidermis, we are superficially stimulating collagen to tighten & brighten the surface. Immediately after the injury is made, we have “open- channels” to deliver ingredients into the skin. RF micro needling has been a true game changer in the world of Dermatology
Flare-ups
Stress can aggravate skin and trigger unexpected flare-ups. Cortisol can cause an increase in oil production, which can lead to oily skin, acne, and other related skin problems, including aggravating rosacea and eczema.
The remedy:
- At home: B3 Adaptive Superfoods Stress Serum – Niacinamide, the vitamin B3 that’s woven throughout Dr. Dennis Gross’ stress-proof line, plays a starring role in combating flare-ups by reducing inflammation, improving the appearance of large pores, and correcting uneven skin tones. This serum is especially noteworthy for boasting perilla sprout and ashwagandha — two ingredients with antibacterial properties that are said to target and treat blemishes.
- In office: The world of acne treatment has grown leaps and bounds over the years. Times of extremely strong peels and your only oral medication option being Accutane are days of old. Not only are there hundreds of medications (both oral and topical), but now we have amazing lasers, LEDs, and exfoliation techniques that can make a major impact without affecting your daily life. Our IPL laser has a specific acne filter to kill bacteria, reduce inflammation and help alleviate any residual scarring.
Knowledge is power. Knowing how your skin reacts to stress and treating accordingly both at home & professionally is the key to a clear, healthy & more radiant complexion. Please call our office for more information on any of the products or procedures listed above.
Recent Comments