Does stress cause acne? How anxiety and acne are linked:
Acne breakouts can occur when you are least prepared to fight them: in times of stress. But why is this so?
Stress is often cited as a trigger for acne, and many people report an increase in their breakouts when stressed. The direct reason for this is still being researched, but many speculate that stress hormones can increase sebum production as well as inflammation. The best way to deal with breakouts is always to adopt a gentle yet effective skincare routine which, if maintained during times of high stress, can help reduce even stress-induced acne.
The impact of stress on acne:
It has been shown that the appearance of acne increases in many people in situations of permanent stress. Although it is possible that stress can cause acne, acne has also been shown to appear after stressors. This strong correlation leads researchers to believe that stress has a big impact on acne. But what exactly in stress causes acne to appear?
Acne has three main causes:
- Pores clogged with excess sebum and dead cells.
- Excessive bacterial growth
- inflammation
Stress is thought to lead to increased sebum production and play a role in skin inflammation, two of the three causes of acne. Sometimes acne is also the cause of stress, and stress causes more acne to appear, creating a vicious cycle.
Links between stress, sebum and inflammation.
When you're under stress, your body releases many chemicals that try to help it fight the cause of the stress and return it to a state of homeostasis, or balance.
Many of these chemicals can lead to increased sebum production as well as processes that lead to inflammation. An increase in sebum production without proper care to reduce it can lead to a buildup in your pore, causing acne. Inflammation is the process that causes these clogged pores to turn into bumps, due to an inflammation we call acne.
Also, our wounds are proven to heal more slowly when we are stressed. Although acne is not considered a "wound", it is an opening in the skin that has become inflamed due to an abundance of oil, skin cells and bacteria, and heals in the same way as other types of injuries. As stress can lead to an increase in acne and prevent the body from healing itself, it is necessary to put in place a treatment that specifically targets the way stress harms the skin.
How to treat stress-related acne breakouts?
It's not always possible to remove stressors from your life, but it is possible to treat stress-related acne at the root: oil production and inflammation. If you notice a correlation between stress and your breakouts, opt for a topical acne treatment plan that contains ingredients that specifically target those root causes. L'officine du Monde is now offering a Clear Skin solution to play on two of these 3 causes: chronic inflammation as well as excessive bacterial production due to the anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effect of this plant!
In order to play on all the causes and target the third cause in particular: sebum, try ingredients such as salicylic acid and sulfur. Salicylic acid is a chemical exfoliant that works by dissolving lipids that form sebum, the stuff that can clog your pores. The sulfur absorbs this sebum and gently pushes it out of your skin.
