Top Irish Skin Therapist, Eavanna Breen, lays out the best safeguarding actions to take from the comfort of your home.
COVID-19 is causing a global crisis to a degree none of us have ever experienced. Our anxiety levels are being heightened by our own health concerns, the health concerns of those we love and also greatly by the financial worries this pandemic is imposing on most. Experiencing bouts of stress in ‘normal’ life is common, which still shows up in our skin’s health and appearance.
However, Irish skin expert and Akina Beauty and Laser Clinic Director, Eavanna Breen, knows how this current and extraordinary stress experience is manifesting in our skin.
Skin conditions such as acne, psoriasis and eczema have long been linked to stress. Psychodermatology is a field that addresses the impact of an individual’s emotion in relation to their skin. The mind and the skin are very closely intertwined. It is commonly said that your skin is literally the outermost layer of your brain, due to the complex connection it has with neural pathways.
Put simply, when your body is under stress of any kind, the skin actively responds by producing inflammatory factors. As these inflammatory cells increase in number, it can lead to flare ups in conditions that people are already predisposed to for genetic reasons. Stress can also dry out your skin due to the increase in the fight or flight hormone cortisol. Your body activates your sweat glands to help cool you down, which leads to a loss of hydration from the skin. Equally it can trigger an increase of oil production if your skin type is oily, leading to intensified congestion and acne.
However, there are five important steps we can take ourselves, from home, to help our skin get through this unconventional experience unscathed. The advice from the expert is that if you follow these simple steps, you are off to the best possible start at combatting the stressful effects of this pandemic on our skin:
•Book an online consultation with a skin therapist to get the best advice on what products you should be using, based on your individual skin. Eavanna Breen is now undergoing virtual skin consultations every day. See www.akina.ie or @eavannabreen on Instagram.
•Take a look at your diet and examine if it might have changed since lockdown. Reduce the amount of processed food and sugar and increase your vegetable and water intake.
•Help balance your hormones and improve your skin by taking the skin supplement Skin Accumax.
•Set aside important time each day for yourself. Stress management can be something as simple as taking 5 minutes to focus on your breathing. It is important to find what works for you, be it a walk in the park, a guided meditation or taking a nap.
•Sleep is very important in helping your skin to recover. Practice good sleep hygiene and reap the rewards of your beauty sleep.
