If you’re reading this, chances are the coronavirus chaos has done a number on your skin. The factors are plentiful – general stress caused by the news cycle, job loss or fear of it, a complete lifestyle change as we all stay home. I could go on.
Stressed skin reveals itself in many ways – for me, I end up with a highly compromised skin barrier which basically means everything is dry, itchy and prone to eczema. Cute. But you might be dealing with breakouts, also cute.
I chatted to ONDA Beauty‘s Sydney Manager Nicole Manning for her top tips on calming down stressed out skin.
1. Eat Well
As Nicole says, our gut is connected to our skin (our largest organ, FYI) so what you put into your body will have an effect on skin – by either exacerbating stressed signs or calming them down.
“Ensure you are eating an anti inflammatory diet and avoiding things that can trigger flare ups like alcohol, sugar & processed foods. This will help to support immunity and help to decrease inflammation.”
Anti inflammatory diets are all the rage – heaps of reputable sites will help you out with what you should be eating, but some key goodies are oily fish (salmon, etc) and nuts.
2. Don’t Pick Your Spots
This was scary news to me – basically, Nicole says that if your breakouts are caused by inflammation, the same breakouts will take longer to heal BECAUSE of the inflammation.
“A key thing to remember when breakouts occur from stress is that inflammation will slow healing rates – so DON’T PICK, this will leave you with a bigger spot than you started with and inevitably a scar.”
Yep, picking at your breakouts while your stressed skin is inflamed from stress is likely to lead to scarring, which is infinitely harder to budge. If you want to treat those suckers, Nicole suggests clay-based treatment.
“You can get beautiful clay masks to purify and calm the skin, spot treatments to reduce inflammation and speed up the healing process and hydrating ingredients to draw out any congestion.”
3. Get Moving
Of course, exercise comes into play here when it comes to minimising the effects of stress on your skin.
A holistic way to look at it would be to get regular exercise to increase blood flow and circulation. Think restorative walks, yoga or pilates. This will stimulate your body’s natural detoxification process and is great for your mental health, when you get moving the benefits are endless! And of course, drink PLENTY of water.
4. Bring Your Skin’s Health Back
Once your stressed skin is inflamed and angry from stress, you just have to wait it out for a bit. The quickest way to healthy skin again is to maintain a regular skin routine, and use gentle products.
“Alway ensure your skin is hydrated and supple by using mists, hydrators, oils and moisturisers that are suitable for your skin,” says Nicole.
The use of oils which include ceramides, fatty acids and cholesterol can also give your barrier the support it needs to protect and prevent further damage and most importantly maintain overall skin health.
5. Hydrate At Night
Something that’s been working for my stressed skin is giving it a max dose of hydration at night. It’s when your skin is in its most reparative state, and it’s also a really relaxing process to apply creams and night masks at the end of a day, to be honest.
