Stress may be getting to your skin, but it ’s not a one-way street

Are you stressed out? Your skin can show it. Studies show that both acute and chronic stress can exert negative effects on overall skin wellness, as well as exacerbate a number of skin conditions, including psoriasis, eczema, acne, and hair loss. But it’s not just a one-way street. Research has also shown that skin and hair follicles contain complex mechanisms to produce their own stress-inducing signals, which can travel to the brain and perpetuate the stress response. Stress and the two-way street between your brain and skin You may already have experienced the connection between the brain and skin. Have you ever gotten so nervous that you started to flush or sweat? If so, you experienced an acute, temporary stress response. But science suggests that repeated exposure to psychological or environmental stressors can have lasting effects on your skin that go far beyond flushing — and could even negatively affect your overall well-being. The brain-skin axis is an interconnected, bidirectional pathway that can translate psychological stress from the brain to the skin and vice versa. Stress triggers the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a trio of glands that play key roles in the body’s response to stress. This can cause production of local pro-inflammatory factors, such as cortisol and key hormones in the fight-or-flight stress response called catecholamines, which can direct immune cells from the bloodstream into the skin or stimulate pro-inflammatory skin cells...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Skin and Hair Care Stress Source Type: blogs