Dealing with stress breakouts are inconvenient, and they always seem to happen right before you want to look your best. When you’re stressed, your skin’s protective barrier can become compromised, making it more susceptible to irritation and inflammation. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to manage stress and keep those breakouts at bay, which we’ll explain more in this blog. Let’s get started!
How Does Stress Affect Your Skin?
Skin is the largest organ of your body, so of course it’s going to be affected when you’re stressed. Stress can cause the skin to become more vulnerable to irritation, inflammation, and infection. However, stress can not only affect healthy skin, it can also cause existing skin conditions to flare up or become worse.
Some of the most common ways your skin is affected by stress are acne and rashes or hives. While stress breakouts aren’t a cause for concern, they can be uncomfortable, both physically and emotionally.
An acne breakout may not be directly related to your stress, but stress does increase your cortisol levels, and cortisol triggers your skin to increase the production of oil. So if you’re already prone to acne, when you’re stressed out and producing more oil, there is a higher chance of finding red spots on your skin or stress acne.
A stress rash, also known as stress hives, are caused by your body producing a flood of histamine. Histamine causes your skin to react as if you’ve come into contact with an allergy. A stress rash can be a small or large patch that itches or burns. While uncomfortable, this type of stress breakout does fade on its own over time.
Remember, stress acne or stress hives are just your skin’s way of asking for a bit more TLC. And if you’re finding it hard to manage stress breakouts, we’re here to help you get back to glowing skin in no time!
How to Care for a Stress Rash or Stress Hives
Luckily, most stress breakouts heal fairly quickly (some within 24 hours) and on their own. Common at-home treatments include using Benadryl or cortisone cream to help alleviate itchy skin. You’ll also want to avoid rough fabrics or other irritating factors while your skin is healing.
If you’ve tried at-home and over-the-counter treatments and haven’t found relief, your dermatologist can help. They can verify that you are experiencing a stress breakout and prescribe stronger antihistamines or anti-itch medications if needed.
What Other Skin Conditions Can Be Caused By Stress?
We mentioned earlier that stress can cause existing skin conditions to flare up or become worse. Two of the most common skin conditions that flare up due to stress are eczema and psoriasis.
Anyone who lives with eczema may tell you they often have flare ups before something big is happening in their lives. This is because your body is reacting to the stress you’re experiencing. Stress causes your skin to boost inflammation to try and protect itself, but if your skin is already inflamed because of eczema, this extra boost may just make your symptoms worse.
If you’ve been exposed to something new recently, you may think your flare up is atopic dermatitis rather than eczema. What’s the difference in atopic dermatitis vs eczema? Well, atopic dermatitis is the most common type of eczema. But you’ll want to know what is causing your eczema flare up, whether it’s stress, an allergen, or some other cause, because the cause of your stress breakout can alter how you treat it.
While there are many causes of psoriasis flare ups, today we’re focusing on stress. Similar to eczema, psoriasis causes inflammation in the body, which makes you more prone to stress breakouts and flare ups. Unfortunately, stress and psoriasis can start a vicious cycle as stress is one the most common psoriasis triggers, but psoriasis often causes a person more stress, whether due to stigma, pain, or living life with a chronic condition. Other conditions that can flare up due to stress are rosacea, alopecia, and vitiligo.
Whether you have an existing condition that flares up due to stress or only deal with stress breakouts occasionally, it’s important to learn and use different methods to manage your stress.
How to Manage Stress and its Effects on Your Skin and Health
There are many ways to manage stress breakouts, but it’s important to find the ways that work best for you. Throughout your lifetime, you may even change up which methods you use. So if you tend to notice times when you’re more stressed, don’t hesitate to add one or two new methods to your routine.
1. Get Your Beauty Sleep
Sleep is so important to your overall health and especially for stress management. When learning to prioritize sleep, make gradual adjustments. Making major changes to your sleep routine can cause even more sleep difficulties, so make small changes until you find a sleep routine that works for you.
2. Move Your Body
Regular exercise is key for lowering your stress hormone levels. Remember that when it comes to exercise, not one method is going to work best for everybody. Try different exercises, including yoga, walking, lifting weights, etc. to find movement that you enjoy and can do consistently.
3. Focus on Your Mental Health
Sometimes our stress can be too much to handle on our own, and that’s okay. Reach out to your primary care physician for referrals or resources.
4. Adopt Stress Management Techniques
There are so many stress management techniques available. Common methods are meditation, deep breathing, and journaling. Try out a few to see which work best for you.
5. Keep a Consistent Skincare Routine
One of the best ways to help prevent a stress breakout is to keep a consistent skincare routine. It can be overwhelming to start a skincare routine, but your dermatologist can help you figure out what your skin needs are and what products are best to use for your skin texture, goals, etc. Once you have a routine, it’s easier to keep up your skincare routine when you are stressed or tired, leaving your skin less susceptible to stress breakouts.
6. Take Time For You
With all of the responsibilities we have on a daily basis, it can be hard to take time for ourselves. But taking time for yourself doesn’t have to be an all day event. Even taking 10 minutes a day to do something you enjoy or to relax can help lower your stress levels.
A stress breakout can be frustrating, but it doesn’t have to control your life. The key to preventing stress breakouts is consistency in your skincare and stress management routines. Find what works for you, whether it’s regular exercise or simply taking a few minutes each day to unwind.
If you’re still struggling with stress breakouts, our expert dermatologists are here to help you find the right solutions tailored to your skin’s needs. Schedule your consultation with our dermatologists here at Vujevich Dermatology Associates in greater Pittsburgh, PA to discuss treatment options for stress breakouts. You can reach us at 412-429-2570 or visit our contact page to book your appointment. You can also follow us on Facebook to see what’s new in the world of dermatology.