11/14/2025
Stress doesn’t just affect your mood… it impacts your skin on a cellular level too 😟
💥 Inflammation spike - stress raises cortisol levels, which increase inflammation throughout the body. That inflammation often shows up on your skin as redness, flare-ups and breakouts.
🥱 Sleep disruption - cortisol also interferes with your sleep pattern. When you’re not getting enough deep sleep, your skin loses valuable repair time, meaning dullness, dark circles and slower healing
🫗 Dehydration - stress weakens your skin barrier and reduces its ability to hold onto moisture. The result? Tightness, flakiness and a lack of glow that NO moisturizer can fix.
⏳ Cell turnover slows - your body prioritizes survival under stress, not skin renewal. This leads to a buildup of dead cells on the surface, making your complexion look rough, uneven and tired.
🛢️ Increased oil production - cortisol also stimulates your sebaceous glands, leading to excess oil and clogged pores, which is especially problematic if you’re acne-prone.
🔥 Heightens skin sensitivity - a weakened barrier and chronic inflammation make your skin more reactive. Products that normally feel fine might suddenly sting, burn and cause redness.
🧬 Degrades collagen - cortisol breaks down collagen and elastin over time, which accelerates visible aging. Think fine lines, loss of firmness and a lack of bounce in the skin.
⚖️ Disrupts your skin’s pH - stress can throw off your skin’s pH balance, making it more alkaline. This compromises your natural defenses, allowing bacteria and irritation to thrive (which is the last thing we want!)
⛔️ Halts the healing process - when stress hormones are high, your body’s ability to repair itself slows dramatically! Breakouts last longer, irritation lingers and your skins glow loses out.
