Stress has long been blamed for everything, from sleepless nights to sudden breakouts. Now, a new phrase has entered the beauty world \u2013 cortisol face. Across the internet, users are scrutinising their reflections for signs of the viral phenomenon that describes facial puffiness, breakouts, dullness and dark circles, all said to be linked to chronic stress. But while the term has become a convenient buzzword to blame our skin woes on, the science behind it may point in another direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn medical terms, we call this \u2018moon face\u2019,\u201d explains Dr Parisa Khonsari of Dubai\u2019s Sequoia Clinic. \u201cIt describes a rounded, fuller appearance of the face due to high cortisol levels. What actually happens is that fat redistributes specifically to the face, the back of the neck (also called the buffalo hump) and the abdomen. Cortisol programmes your body to store fat in all the wrong places. However, the amount of cortisol present in your body for a prolonged period should be two to three times above normal. We\u2019re talking months, not a few stressful days.\u201d According to her, a true moon face is most commonly associated with conditions such as Cushing\u2019s syndrome or long-term steroid use, not the pressures of everyday life. \u201cCortisol spikes from daily stress simply don\u2019t reach the extreme, sustained levels needed for facial fat redistribution,\u201d she explains. \u201cSo cortisol face in the literal sense? Not supported by evidence yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now that we\u2019ve nipped that in the bud, it\u2019s important to note that stress still can leave its mark on one\u2019s appearance. The harsh truth is that chronic amounts of it can elevate cortisol levels enough to trigger inflammation and disrupt other hormones, contributing to facial swelling, excess fluid build-up, breakouts and skin sensitivity. It comes as no surprise that our social media-centric lives also play their part in the damage, reducing complex physiological processes to worryingly simplified (and factually incorrect) diagnoses. \u201cVery often, a puffy face becomes \u2018high cortisol\u2019. Acne becomes \u2018hormonal imbalance\u2019. Dark circles become \u2018adrenal fatigue\u2019,\u201d Dr Khonsari notes. But what this trend does get right is creating a link between emotional wellbeing and skin health. \u201cThe skin is the body\u2019s most public organ. It will always tell on your internal system.\u201d For example, high cortisol\u2019s immunosuppressive effects can make one more susceptible to infections and viral flare-ups, explaining those annoying cold sores that seem to always pop up before important events. And those are the cues worth noting in the bathroom mirror.<\/p>\n
Athina Theodoridi, founder of Thy Skin, the UAE\u2019s only skincare brand designed specifically for its climate, believes the cortisol face conversation has become overly focused on a single hormone. \u201cThy Skin was born from my own experience after moving to Dubai. For the first time in my life I developed eczema and persistent dryness, and I couldn\u2019t understand why products that had worked for me before suddenly no longer seemed effective,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI came to realise that skin is not fixed. It is a dynamic system that changes with age, hormones, environment, habits and life circumstances. The same routine that works today may not be what your skin needs a year from now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stress has long been blamed for everything, from sleepless nights to sudden breakouts. Now, a new phrase has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":830991,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[49,48,84,290296],"class_list":["post-830990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-skin-conditions-concerns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=830990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/830991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=830990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=830990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}