Viktor Cvetkovic via Getty Images Stress can cause chronic inflammatory skin issues to run amok. It’s a common experience: You’re feeling stressed out about work, family issues, relationships or something else. Then to add insult to injury, a giant pimple appears.
Anyone who’s been there knows that the link between the skin and stress is undeniable. But what exactly is going on with the skin — the body’s largest organ — when we feel this way? HuffPost asked dermatologists to break it down. Advertisement Stress elevates cortisol levels “Stress can have a profound effect on the body, including our skin,” said Dr.
Nkem Ugonabo , a dermatologist and assistant professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “It leads to the release of hormones such as cortisol, which leads to a cascade resulting in increased inflammation in the skin.” Widely known as the body’s “stress hormone,” cortisol wreaks havoc on the skin barrier ― the part of your skin that keeps in good things like water, and keeps out bad things like irritants and allergens ― so that it can’t function as well.
“Hormonal changes like elevated cortisol can worsen existing skin conditions like acne, eczema, psoriasis or rosacea by increasing oil production and inflammation,” said Dr. Joyce Park, a dermatologist at Skin Refinery and the creator of Tea with MD . If you’ve ever experienced “stress acne,” you know the connection between the skin’s appearance and inner feelings of pr.
