Stress can do a lot of damage to your health and well-being. It can also cause problems with your appearance if you allow it to get out of control.
Whether that’s triggering premature aging with grey hairs and wrinkles, to skin conditions like psoriasis and acne. There are a lot of physical changes to your appearance that can happen when you’re stressed out.
With that being said, here are five surprising ways that stress can impact your appearance.
Accelerated skin aging
The stress hormone cortisol breaks down collagen and elastin. Those are the proteins that your skin needs to keep itself firm and elastic.
As such, the lack of collagen means your skin is going to look more aged, and the formation of wrinkles may appear more frequently.
Dryness can also occur when it comes to your body taking on too much stress. Interestingly, stress can disrupt the moisture balance within your skin, making it more prone to dryness, as well as inflammation.
Changes in hair
Changes in your hair can be quite dramatic and something that can really knock your confidence. Hair loss caused by high stress can be significant in the changes that it causes as a result.
Stress can also affect the melanin in your hair follicles, meaning your hair is more likely to go grey. A hair transplantation might be beneficial for those with hair loss, as well as taking regular trips to the hair salon to cover the greys if you prefer.
Flare-ups of skin conditions
Flare-ups of existing skin conditions can occur when dealing with a lot of stress in the body. It can also cause new skin problems to form, too.
Elevated cortisol levels can increase oil production, and that ultimately leads to more acne breakouts.
More severe cases of eczema, rosacea, and psoriasis can all be triggered by stress in the body. Hives and rashes can be triggered by stress, which is something you always want to try and avoid.
Under-eye bags and dark circles
It’s important to address under-eye bags and dark circles because a lot of the time, this is caused by stress. Puffiness in the eyes is often due to a poor quality of sleep and which causes fluid to pool under the thin skin of the eyelids.
Dark circles can form due to a lack of sleep from stress. It makes the skin less elastic, which is where dark circles begin to appear.
Dental issues
Dental issues can be a problem if they’re not addressed, and when it comes to stress, jaw clenching and teeth grinding occur.
Clenching your jaw or grinding your teeth can cause tooth damage, headaches, and general wear to your teeth.
Cold sores can also occur when the immune system is weakened, leading to a more frequent outbreak as a result.
These surprising ways stress can impact the body are worth noting so that you can hopefully reduce the impact it makes on your appearance from now on.
