It's amazing how our skin can tell the difference between living in a healthy and loving environment and living a chaotic existence. In a healthy environment, the skin grows more beautiful day by day. With chaos, the skin reacts unhappily to every stress and pollutant. When the skin thrives, so does the health of our whole body. Therein lies the challenge. In order to have great skin, we must use the right skin care , and live healthily. That presents a challenge to most of us, because the opportunity to live an unbalanced life is everywhere and requires no effort. To live a healthy lifestyle takes discipline, desire, and work. It also takes love.
About Stress
Everything in your environment affects our skin—either positively or destructively. This is because environmental conditions cause certain stress responses in the body. For example, loud music, especially if you don't enjoy the music, can put the body into "fight or flight." That may seem obvious but how many times are we caught in an environment we do not like. Less obvious situations, such as pollution, sick-building air, and even listening to and viewing negative and violent news can evoke the same "fight or flight" response.
Some office buildings and other public buildings have poor air quality. The air conditioning and heating systems are inefficient at filtering out dust and allergens. Many buildings contain fungus and mold growing within the walls and basements. Such buildings are considered to have sick-building syndrome. If you work in such a building, you can protect yourself and your skin by opening a window, if possible. Or purchase a small air purifier and place in near your work area.
How the flight or fight respsonse affect the skin
When you are presented with a situation that's stressful, your body begins the stress cycle. Adrenalin excreted by the adrenal glands starts to pump through the body. Adrenaline is known as the "fight or flight" hormone because it gives you plenty of energy—enough to run away from a situation, or enough to stay and fight the battle.
Immediately after your adrenal glands excrete adrenaline, a second hormone, Cortisol, is released. Cortisol acts as a master strategist, working to find solutions to handle the situation. Then, when the stressful event comes to a conclusion, the body goes into a recovery phase. The body rests, relaxes, the adrenaline and Cortisol dissipate, and life returns to normal.
For example, imagine a caveman being chased by a woolly mammoth. Adrenaline kicks in. His energy levels surge. Cortisol kicks in and the caveman decides to run as fast as he can to the nearest cave, hoping to trick the animal and find safety. He outruns the mammoth, reaching the cave as the animal lumbers on by. Then the caveman recovers his energy in the cave, perhaps takes a nap, relaxes, and gathers his wits about him before he heads for home.
In today's world, our situations have changed. The human "fight or flight" response works exactly the same way, but people seldom have time to recover from the stress and let it dissipate before they enter back into the fray.
If you live in a city with air pollution, your only chance to get away from the pollution stress could be your family's annual beach vacation. Even if you don't experience pollution as a stress factor in your life, your body does. If you drive to work, as most of us do, you are in the car driving at least twice a day, often during heavy rush-hour traffic, meaning your stress hormones are surging during your commute.
When the body is continually stressed, Cortisol doesn't have a chance to dissipate. It stays active in the body, and you have long-term stress. Cortisol is an interesting hormone. It's great for special stress situations. It's a killer when it stays in the body continuously. Cortisol is at the root of virtually all chronic lifestyle disorders. Elevated Cortisol levels can lead to serious disease, such as diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune disease, cancer, high blood pressure, asthma, and more.
Cortisol also causes weight gain around the waist. All by itself, no matter how many calories you eat, Cortisol can cause weight gain. And as if that isn't enough, Cortisol leads to serious mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety.
Cortisol causes all this damage because it causes inflammation in many areas of the body, including your skin.
All of these health-related concerns can prevent you from having great skin. Inflammation causes damage to collagen and elastin, and it brings on skin eruptions. Inflammation affects skin tone and can create deposits of dark brown pigmentation.
Skin Stressors
Your body is bombarded with many stressors every day. Some are mild, some more severe, but they all add up to stress and elevated Cortisol levels. Here are a few stressors that can harm your skin:
Air pollution. This is a fact of life, but you can plug a simple air purifier into the electrical socket at your home or office. Yes, you can even purchase an air purifier to use in your car. It plugs into the cigarette lighter socket—a much better use for the socket than using it to light up a smoke.
Foods you're allergic to and artificial foods. Avoid eating both.
Most tap water. Drink purified water instead.
Breathing odd fumes, such as the fumes of artificial nails, gasoline, paints, etc. If you must use such substances, use only in a well-ventilated area for short periods of time.
Working in factories and other locations filled with pollutants and toxins. If you work at one of these kinds of locations, consider changing locations, or changing your job.
Dust and household dirt. Clean your house frequently. Change litter boxes often.
Sleeping with makeup still on your face. Wash your face before going to bed.
Sleeping with sunscreen or sun block still on your face. Wash your face before going to bed.
Poor air quality. Change air filters in your home every two to three months. This keeps the air fresh and protects your skin from airborne particulates, fungus, bacteria, dust, and allergens.
General workplace conditions. If you work in a place where your skin can pick up dirt and grease, such as in a restaurant kitchen or on a highway repair crew, be sure to thoroughly cleanse your face every night after work. Yes, you should cleanse your face every evening anyway, but if your workplace is particularly conducive to bad skin, you may need to cleanse more thoroughly than usual. Taking workplace conditions into consideration can often heal teenage acne.
New paint, new carpet, new houses, new cars. All of these contain pollutants that create internal stress. When remodeling, be sure to continually air out your home and install an air purifier to reduce airborne toxins.
Alas, we no longer live as the caveman did. But we live in a busy, stress-filled world. It is up to us to create time out and take care of our health.
The way to create better skin is twofold:
Reduce the amount of stress in your environment and your life.
Take positive actions to decompress and lower your Cortisol levels on a daily basis.
