What Causes Stress Acne, and 5 Ways to Treat It.

It’s the day before an event, your wedding, a public speaking engagement, exam, or any other predictably stressful event. You look in the mirror as you wash the day off your face and notice, of course, a lovely little pimple or two. Or let's be honest, not so lovely at all, as the stress you are already feeling is now exacerbated by these sore raised spots on your face that you are afraid every person will notice.

This manifestation of acute stress acne, as well as chronic stress acne, are familiar for most of us reading this, and there are absolutely ways we can prevent and treat stress acne in the future.

Stress causes a physiological shift within our bodies that causes our heart rate to spike, our sweat glands to pump out what feels like a litre of water, creates muscle tension (“hello shoulders, nice to meet you”, said ears) and make us clench our jaw without even realising. This is termed the “fight or flight” response, which was a perfect mechanism for our ancestors who had to run from lions; but in today’s age, this stress reaction can lead to gut distress, headaches, and even acne.

What causes stress acne?

While stress is not the cause of acne, it can act as the “on switch” for the release of hormones and chemicals that are associated with acne development. A 2015 population-based study found that in response to a stressful situation, our brain signals to release hormones such as cortisol, as well as the sebaceous glands (oil glands that release sebum) in our skin directly releasing other hormones and chemical messengers; all of which can activate an inflammatory response within the cells that are involved in acne formation.

Those of us suffering from stress acne have increased numbers of proinflammatory cells and immune cells that increase sebum production from the sebaceous glands, resulting in an upregulation of inflammation according to a study on the impact of psychological stress on acne.

Stress can also lead to picking of acne or old acne scars, which initiates further inflammatory responses from the skin and can lead to scarring, so although you may not even notice you are doing this due to high stress levels it is important to stop once you catch yourself in the act. Ultimately, this cycle is what increases inflammation and the formation of sebum production leading to stress acne.

How to treat stress acne?

1.Reduce Stress Levels

It goes without saying that stress acne is instigated by stress itself, and therefore it is important to begin by reducing your level of stress. It would be naive and downright wrong of me to tell you to remove ALL stress from your life, this is simply impossible. Acute stress in our life such as exercising, sauna or cold therapy, or even adapting to daily meditation improves our ability to cope with more stressful scenarios in our life, which is discussed by master trainer Joe Holder here. Adapting to acute stress can help reduce your overall stress levels, but practising gratitude, moving your body, meditation, sleep, wholefoods diet, laughter, and supplementation with something like magnesium provided by your nutritionist or naturopath can all help to reduce stress.

2. Get More Sleep

Lack of sleep results in increased cortisol production, which I am sure the light bulb is hovering above your gorgeous head as to how this is linked to stress acne.

3. Consuming A Nutritious, Wholefoods Diet

Making sure you are consuming real whole foods throughout the day is an important factor in reducing stress. Making sure your meals consist of a good quality protein, a good quality fat, fibre and plenty of colour is a sure-fire way to help balance your hormones and leave you feeling satiated. You can read all about the importance of particular foods rich in things such as omega 3, antioxidants, zinc, and fibre in our previous blog here to help combat stress acne.

4. Move Your Body Daily.

Movement allows for blood flow throughout our entire body, which helps to remove hormones and other waste. Whether that is going for a walk, heading to the gym, dancing, “shaking” (this is where you literally just stand in one spot and shake your body, it looks and feels strange to do but has shown to eliminate stress), playing a sport, whatever it is that YOU enjoy doing. The more you enjoy something, the more likely you will be to stick with it.

5. Skincare and Internal Supplementation

Working alongside one of our referral clinics to achieve a suitable skincare routine for you, as well as working alongside your nutritionist or naturopath to provide some additional supplements to support your nervous system are effective ways in combating your stress levels, as well as doing something for yourself!