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Article: November 3 Is Election Day: How to Handle Skin Stress

Election Day Stress Relief Skincare
Skincare Routine

November 3 Is Election Day: How to Handle Skin Stress

2020 has thrown a lot at us. If you’ve been stressed, you’re not alone. You may have even noticed your skin has borne the brunt of the stress by looking dull and rough. With Election Day coming up, you might be feeling more stressed than usual as so many things hang in the balance. If that’s the case, read on to learn how stress affects the look of skin and how you can help mitigate the effects—so you have one less thing to worry about!

How Stress Affects Skin

Studies have shown that stress has a huge impact on the entire body. It can make us ill, and also make it more difficult to recover from illness. It can even complicate gastrointestinal issues when the stress is chronic.[1] You can think of this impact as the “opposite” of getting rejuvenating sleep and rest. When we sleep our body goes into repair mode. Chronic stress can undo much of this repair and restoration.

When it comes to skin, stress can make existing conditions much worse. It has been shown to aggravate psoriasis, eczema and rosacea. It has also been linked to acne. Basically, this is a result of increased inflammation in the body due to the stress hormone cortisol.[2] Other effects of stress on skin include the appearance of under-eye bags and general dullness.

Meditation

Always talk to your doctor about solutions to stress if the problem is persistent and has impacted your daily way of life. But even without a physician’s assistance and knowledge, there are ways you yourself can reduce the stress in your life with simple lifestyle changes. Meditation has been proven as an anti-stress activity and would even be recommended by your doctor.[3] Even about 30 minutes a day of meditation can make a big difference in how your body handles stress. Remember that alleviating stress is good for your skin but also your entire body and health. It may be difficult to begin if you’ve never meditated before, but it is absolutely worth it.

Exercise

Daily exercise (even if it’s only 30 minutes of walking) can also help reduce stress levels in your body. Exercise reduces stress in a number of ways. First, it lowers stress hormone levels while also stabilizing or boosting mood.[4] Secondly, regular exercise can improve your sleep function so that you are getting more restful sleep. This in turn can reduce stress by making sure your body is properly rested and has energy to face the day. Lack of sleep brings about its own set of problems, and it can aggravate stress levels as well.

Acne Control

Stress has been shown to trigger acne flareups or increase acne severity.[5] As acne severity correlates with how much stress you’re feeling, it can be good to incorporate an acne-fighting product into your skincare regimen. This will both help to treat and to prevent the appearance of breakouts. Image Skincare’s Clear Cell Medicated Acne Facial Scrub features benzoyl peroxide. When used on existing breakouts, it can help reduce make the pimples look significantly smaller in size. Use this scrub after cleansing and before moisturizing.

Brightening Skin

If constant stress has not actually made you breakout, you may have nonetheless experienced rough texture or dullness. Dullness can make you look tired and older than your years. But it can be taken care of with a brightening serum like Iluma Intense Brightening Serum. This serum plays double duty by addressing the appearance of discoloration as well as redness. A more even skin tone can also make you look younger, appear more refreshed and rejuvenated, more “awake” and more radiant. This is a hydroquinone-free product that relies on vitamin C, recognized by dermatologists for its brightening effects, and a blend of botanical brighteners to help reduce the appearance of skin discoloration. Vitamin C has known brightening effects and is a very potent ingredient.[6]

Eye Care

Stress makes you look more tired because you ARE more tired. It’s a vicious cycle to be stressed out and not be sleeping well. And as the election nears, it won’t be surprising to experience more sleepless nights. Hopefully, regular meditation and exercise will help you get at least 7 hours a night.

If you have to fake looking more awake, however, you can rely on a powerful eye cream to do the heavy lifting for you. The Ageless Total Eye Lift Crème targets the visible signs of fatigue and aging in the delicate eye area, and combats both by delivering plant stem cell extracts, vitamin C and peptides to reduce the appearance of fine lines, puffiness and loss of firmness. Vitamin C boosts the appearance of collagen-deprived skin, making it appear firmer with more elasticity.[7] This helps fortify this delicate area that is so prone to developing wrinkles and other signs of aging.

Bottom Line: Whether you have a countdown to the election or not, as it gets closer and closer, you may be increasing more and more stress. Take care of yourself as the day nears, but don’t forget to continue this new regimen and routine even after the day has passed.

 

 

 

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579396/

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4082169/

[3] https://www.apa.org/topics/mindfulness-meditation

[4] https://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/fulltext/2013/05000/stress_relief__the_role_of_exercise_in_stress.6.aspx

[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5722010/

[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3673383/

[7]  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3673383/

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