Reclaim Your glow: A Gentle Approach sorting Stressed out Skin

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life our skin often bears the brunt of stress, which can contribute to a range of skin concerns. From dullness and dryness, to sensitivity and breakouts, stressed skin requires a gentle approach to restore its natural balance.

The good news is the right skincare routine can help you reclaim control over your skin’s well-being, with a focus on gentle exfoliation, soothing hydration, and targeted treatments.

Understanding the impact of stressed skin is essential before diving into a solution. 

If we are under stress, this can trigger particular processes within the body within the body as a reaction, such as the release of adrenaline (fight or flight mode) and the release a stress hormone, cortisol. These processes are completely normal, but if it's happening regularly and too much cortisol is released, this can cause longer term damage within the body. In particular, it can contribute to the breakdown of collagen and elastin, which can cause premature ageing and damage to the skin barrier. 

Once you skin barrier starts to be impacted, this can lead to a whole range of issues such as redness, sensitivity and, of course, breakouts (which doesnt help our stress levels recover....)

• Acne: If you are stressed out you might start to start to breakout which is hugely frustrating! This is caused by cortisol making your sebacous glands produce more sebum / oil. This increases the risk of blocked pores and spots appearing
  
• Redness: Increased blood flow can expand capillaries which can make the face look red, or a compromised skin barrier can expose skin to external aggressors like pollution, causing sensitivity and redness
• Dryness: A damaged skin barrier means a greater risk of water loss, as your barrier usually prevents water escaping. With water loss comes skin dryness, so you might start to experience the dreaded combo of breakouts + dry skin
• Dullness: With all of the above, particualry water loss, your skin might start to lose its natural glow.  

It's time to focus on your wellbeing, trying to finding coping mechanisms for the stress points going on in your life. 

Reducing stress is definitely easier said than done, but the things that work best for us include:

• Drinking enough water, a quick and cheap way to feel like you are doing yourself some good
• Get some excercise, which can be as simple as a walk at lunchtime to get some fresh air and your steps up
• Up your fruit & veg intake, which helps you feel more in control of your health
• Go to bed at a reasonable hour (without your phone!)
• Take control of a gentle skincare routine to help restore skin (which also gives you a nice moment to yourself during the day)

Taking care of our skin with supportive skincare products can provide a glimmer of hope and calm in a busy day.

• Clarifying Toner: Our toner is formulated with 2% Lactic Acid and soothing liquorice root, a great combo to gently exfolaite and soothe skin. Lactic Acid is a gentle alpha hydroxy acid which works exfoliate the skin, promoting healthy cell turnover and a smoother, brighter complexion. Liquorice Root uses its relaxing qualities to nourish skin, leaving it feeling renewed and balanced.
• Retinol: Our Retinol recovery serum can gently brighten stressed skin, helping to reduce inflammation and redness while targeting uneven tone and texture. It's formulated with anti-inflammatory Niacinamide and 0.05% Retinol, encouraging cell turnover and collagen formation. With continuous use, you can help restore lost clarity and skin radiance
• Pore Refining Solution: Our Pore-refining solution combines gentle exfoliating ingredients with calming extracts. 4% Betaine Salicylate and 4% Gluconolactone helps to gently exfoliate skin to smooth out its surface and remove impurities, alongside calming chamomile to soften and sooth, reducing redness and irritation

We hope that you've found this blog helpful - if you have any questions or would like to share your skincare journey with us, we'd love to hear from you. You can get in touch via the form below or by DM on IG.