Stress-free skincare.
Sunday Scaries… a feeling we know all too well
It’s Sunday night. You had a big day out on Saturday. Lots of alcohol. Late night junk food. $100 on Ubers left, right and centre. Only 5 hours of sleep. You’ve been on the couch all day, rotating between Netflix, junk food from UberEats and short, sporadic naps highlighted by sweats and jolts upright. Now the thought of work starts to creep into your mind. You have to be up at 6am. You haven’t ironed your shirt. You have to present action items for the week at the team meeting scheduled for 10am. You’re unprepared. Your mind is a mess. Your heart is racing. You’re trembling a little. The sweats start again. You’re stressed af 😰
What happens to your body when you’re stressed?
As your mind starts to race with all of the thoughts around dreading work, you start to regret the actions and money spent the night before. Your mind doesn’t quite function logically due to the lack of sleep and alcohol flowing through your body. Your body starts to perceive stress ahead. As that happens, your adrenal glands (which sit above your kidneys) release hormones called cortisol and catecholamines into your bloodstream. Nicknamed the “stress hormone”, cortisol causes an increase in your heart rate and blood pressure. There is some evolutionary logic to this too - stress is our body’s natural “flight or fight” response that has kept humans alive for thousands of years, enabling us to respond effectively to threats of danger. Reality is, these days our causes of stress - hangovers and being unprepared for work - are much different to our ancestors who had to flee a pack of hyenas or else risk being mauled to death. In either case, stress is stress and it negatively impacts our health.
Excessive stress and high blood pressure can lead to strain on the heart and brain, causing heart attack and stroke. Of particular note (at least from our perspective, as a skincare brand!) stress can also have a negative impact on skin health.
How does stress affect your skin health?
When we experience such high levels of psychological stress that we start to flush or sweat, our body temperature is altered and our skin sweats. Excessive sweating can lead to clogged pores which become infected and lead to acne and breakouts. As we stress, the hormones released - cortisol and catecholamines - stimulate pro-inflammatory skin cells called mast cells which directly contribute to a number of skin conditions, including itch.
Psychological stress can also disrupt the epidermal barrier (the whaaat?!). This is the top layer of the skin that locks in moisture and protects us from harmful free radicals. This disruption prolongs the repair of the epidermal barrier, and can lead to irritated skin, as well as chronic skin conditions including eczema, psoriasis, or wounds.
Outside of psychological stress, your skin is constantly exposed to the outside world and is susceptible to environmental stressors such as ultraviolet light and extreme temperatures, and will produce stress hormones in response. These stress hormones send signals back to the brain thereby creating psychological stress, stimulating more production of cortisol and catecholamines, further perpetuating the stress impact on skin.
It’s time to de-stress with a high quality skincare routine
So… back to Sunday night. You’re stressed af. You’re sweating. What can you do? For starters, take a deep breath. Remember that everything will be OK! Grab a big bottle of water and knock that back. Grab a pen and paper and jot down your action items for the week. Turn the iron on, get that shirt crisp- it will take a maximum of 15 minutes. Stay focused- don’t get distracted by checking whether they have responded to your 3am IG DM. OK, now we’re back on track. Almost. The sweaty skin is still an issue though.
Enter Tomorrow skincare products. Having access to a high quality, simple and quick skincare routine is key to protecting your skin against the impacts of stress, and calming your mind and nerves. Our Foam Cleanser and Liquid Toner provide a PH Balanced, alcohol-free cleansing solution and mild chemical exfoliation of the skin to keep your pores clean and unclogged. Clean pores equals less chance of infected pores, breakouts and acne. Our 4-step Essential System which features 4 skincare products - Foam Cleanser, Liquid Toner, Structure Serum and Gel Moisturiser - transforms skincare routine into ritual with designer fragrances and sensorial textures. You can use these skincare products to create a meditative self-care experience that will help to alleviate your psychological stress whilst also enhancing your skin health. A moment of respite from the string of thoughts that are flooding through your mind.
At the end of the day, stress is never going away. It’s also not necessarily a bad thing. A bit of stress keeps us on our toes, mentally active and moving forward. A lot of stress isn’t the best and can be avoided with wise decisions (like 2 beers versus 20), meditation, being organised and a good skincare routine… we know a good one you can try 😉
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