Discover how stress might impact your skin, leading to stress lines on your face. Learn to identify signs like breakouts and dark circles, and explore ways to manage stress for a healthier complexion.
Feeling stressed? The pent-up tension, frustration, and anxiety affect more than just your brain.Stresscan show up on your face too.
While somestressis a normal part of a changing life — evengoodchanges! — chronic stress can devastate your health, fromrestless sleepto randombreakouts.
Wanna know all the ways stress can affect your face? Let’s take a look, then figure out what you can do to release the tension and calm your complexion.
How exactly does stress affect the face?
We all know stress can wreak havoc on our thoughts, emotions, and sleep. But your good looks too?
Yep, here are 10 signs of a so-called “stressed face.”
Think you ditchedacneback in college? Think again.
Stress is awell-knownbreakout trigger.Researchsuggests this might be because the stress hormone,cortisol, unleashes a chain reaction that causes your sebaceous glands to produce more oil.
More oil = clogged pores = zit central.
Unfortunately, fixating on a stress breakout might make you break outmore. So take a deep breath and do your best to avoidpopping those pimples.
Your outer layer of skin — yourskin barrier— is responsible for locking moisture in. Butchronic stresscan literally erode your skin barrier from the inside out.
The result? Adry, stressed complexion. When stress keeps your skin from retaining moisture, you could end up with an itchy,flaky face.
Folks with skin conditions likeeczemaandpsoriasisknow that stress can do significant damage. Stressful weeks or months tend toaggravate flare-ups, leading toredness, itchiness, and evenrashes.
But what about folks who don’t have chronic skin issues? Well, they’re not exactly in the clear.Researchshows that you’re more likely to experience itchy skin, a dry rash, and evendandruffwhen your stress level is sky-high.
Dark circles under eyes
Dark circlesare usually caused by a combo of age and genetics. But lifestyleish(like stress) can also mess with the delicate skin around your eyes.
Whether it’s pressure at work,relationship probs, ormental exhaustion, feeling stressed makes it harder to sleep. And if you’re not clocking7 to 9 hoursof sleep each night, you will end up with shadows under your eyes.
Under-eye bags
As if dark circles aren’t enough, stress-induced sleeplessness can lead to puffy under-eye bags.
Sciencesays sleep deprivation can affect your skin’s elasticity and pigmentation. A small2013 studyalso found that extreme fatigue can cause droopy eyelids and swollen eyes.
The skin around your eyes issuperthin, so any loss of bounce or increased swelling can lead to droopy skinpouches under your peepers.
Forehead furrows
Y’know the vertical lines that pop up between your eyebrows when you’re mad? Those areglabellar frown lines, and they’re a super popular target forBotox. The more you frown, scowl, or even furrow your brows in deep thought, the deeper these wrinkles form.
Of course, everyone’s face structure is different. Some folks are more prone to glabellar lines, while others tend to get horizontal forehead wrinkles. One thing we can say for sure is the link betweenmental stressand frown lines is pretty darnclear.
Damaged teeth
If you’ve ever had to remind yourself to unclench your jaw after a bad day, you might also be a card-carrying member of the Bruxism Brigade.
Bruxismis just a fancy term for teeth grinding. And teeth grinding has beenclearly linkedto stress and depression.
Grinding your teethmight sound like the least of your worries, but this “stressed face” sign has some nasty effects:
Enlarged jaw
Another telltale sign of bruxism? Enlarged masseters — aka, jaw muscles.
Unconsciously clenching your jaw and grinding your teeth gives your jaw a major workout. Over time, swole masseters canchange the shape of your lower face. If your jawline has slowly broadened or gone from tapered to square, you’ve got a clear case of “stressed face.”
While this is more about your head than your face, it’s worth noting: Stresscan makeyour hair fall out.
Telogen effluvium(TE) is a type ofhair lossthat occurs when your hair’s normal growth-shedding cycle is disrupted. Often triggered by extreme stress, TE can thin up to70 percentof your mane. 🤯
Before you freak, know that TE is not permanent. Regrowth takes time, but your locks should return once the stress is addressed.
Premature graying
As if finding clumps of hair in the shower isn’t enough, stress can make yougo gray.
A2020 studyfound that mental stress slays your body’s melanocytes, the stem cells responsible for hair color. Once these cells are gone, new hair growth will be devoid of color. In other words, your baby hairs might come inwhite.
How to manage stress
Noticing the effects of stress on your face and hair? Stress is an unavoidable part of life, but finding healthy ways to cope can help you reduce the chances of a stressed face andmane.
Here are some ways to manage the mayhem of tough times.
Schedule relaxation time
If you’re struggling to kick back and chill, try scheduling a block of relaxation time as if you’re planning a meeting. This prearranged time should be spent focusing onyou— on releasing tension, loosening up, and filling your cup.
Bonus points if you schedule something you’re able to’t back out of as easily, like a prepaid massage,yogaclass, ormeditation lesson.
Prioritize joy
Easier said than done, right? But science sayslaughterandsocial connectioncan dial down stress and depression, boosting your good vibes.
A few practical ideas:
Release tension
Goodbye stress, hello cardio! There’s nothing like a run, spin sesh, or bike ride to let go of tension and bump up feel-good endorphins.
Science also backs the stress-busting power of movement. Recentresearchfound that though stress might make youlesslikely to work out, higher physical activity leads to lower stress levels.
Eat more stress-relieving foods
Yep, you can work stress eating to your advantage! Nourishing foods could help minimize signs of a stressed face too.
A fewstress-relieving foodsto try:
Ask for help
TBH, most chronic stress can’t be fixed with a bubble bath or face mask. Heck, sometimes even taking amental health daywon’t solve the problem.
If stress is showing on your face, it’s probablyaffecting your healthin other ways too. Talking with a therapist can help you get to the root of your stressors, help you learn new ways to cope with stressful situations, and offer clarity during significant life changes.
Tips for managing effects of stress
Going all in on the stress management techniques above can help your face get back to a calm, healthy state, but change takestime.
In the meantime, here are some ways to get rid of a stressed-looking face.
