Stress-Busting Strategies For Optimum Beauty, Health and Longevity – Part 3
Introducing Stress and the Skin (An Alfred Hitchcock Production)
It is not just the telomeres that suffer when we are under stress. When we study stress and its effects on the skin, including keeping skin clear, we can clearly begin to see the “psycho” part of psychoneuroimmunology.
For decades a great many common skin diseases and disorders were listed as having an unknown etiology—that is, dermatologists could not pinpoint the cause of the disease. But now there is a growing body of clinical and experimental evidence demonstrating that the brain can start, influence, and stop biologic skin events. Again, this clearly ties into my Brain-Beauty Connection, an exciting topic for future blogs. For example, there is evidence that psychological stress both constitutes an increased risk for atopic dermatitis, a pruritic (itching) skin disease, and also influences the disease’s clinical course. And who hasn’t had an acne breakout right before the prom, a big date, wedding or important job interview? Coincidence? Think again. Stress is clearly implicated in many skin diseases, acne included, another fascinating topic for future blogs. Tomorrow we will learn how neuropeptides and pheromones can help alleviate stress and how it can impact your skin and total body.
