Anxiety can harshly impact your skin, hair

The lockdown has resulted in stress for a lot of people – stress of being cooped inside for weeks together; the uncertainty looming large has taken a toll on people's mental well being. Stress cannot be hidden; it is seen right on your face. The first tell-tale signs of stress are reflected on your face as pale skin and mild eruptions. Stress causes hormonal imbalance which leads to acne, rashes, hair thinning and fall, and various other skin break-outs. It is imperative that people follow good skin care hygiene while they're locked indoors. Staying inside does not necessarily mean you can forego or overlook skin and hair care. These are prone to more damage owing to stress, Dr Geetanjali Shetty, Consultant Dermatologist and Cosmetologist, Cetaphil India tells. She adds further, "Hence we encourage people to follow a strict, if not elaborate, skincare routine, which involves cleansing, toning and moisturizing."

Side effects of stress –oily skin and acne

Acne and oily skin are the most common side effects of stress. When our body is stressed it releases cortisol which is our fight or flight hormone. The cortisol (stress hormone) weakens the skin's immune system, leading to oxidative (free radicals) stress, which manifests itself as wrinkles, lines and lacklustre skin. It also increases inflammation in the body and conditions like eczema, rosacea and psoriasis can flare up.

Keeping your hair and skin health

Hair is non-essential to physical survival and so it will always be the first part of you to suffer when something is off-balance in your body. But maintaining it is equally important. Using a warm, natural hair oil can do wonders for hair health and texture, while it aids repairing damaged hair, it also helps nourish your scalp. You should ideally warm around 100 ml of your chosen hair oil and then gently apply it on your hair every alternate day. While for skin, the stress is quite evident in various forms like redness of skin, acne, etc. If there are skin breakouts and eruptions – it is advised to avoid exfoliation and stick to cleansing your face thrice daily. Similarly, those who are on the drier side should aim to wash their face only twice a day with a foaming cleanser.

Role of Diet!

It is highly imperative that one pays heed to what they're eating. The lockdown can result in redundancy, as your physical activities will be down by notches, this can cause your digestive system to slow down leading to poor digestion. Important that we stay away from fried and spicy food. Vitamin E is the superfood of the skin – you can apply it on the skin topically or you can chose to consume it through Vitamin E rich foods like almonds, corn oil, cod-liver oil, hazelnuts, lobster, peanut butter, safflower oil, salmon steak, and sunflower seeds.