
If you're anything like me, you probably stress about stress even before there was any stress to stress about. And then you stressed about stressing over stress.
It's stressful.
Sound familiar? You're in the right place.
Maybe you've come across TikTok's latest "Cortisol Face" obsession and want to know what it's all about (spoiler: it's BS). Or perhaps you're just curious about how our mental state might be affecting our skin.
Either way, we've got you covered.
To clear up the confusion, we called in an expert to break it all down — say hello to Dermal Clinician Rylee Walton. Based in Melbourne and with over six years of experience, Rylee looks at skin every single day.
Lucky for us, Rylee stopped by the (virtual) Beauty IQ Uncensored podcast studio to chat about stress and how to keep your skin calm, even when life couldn't be further from it.
Here's what we learned and some skincare products that can help get your skin back to its happy place.
The science behind stress and your skin.
First up, let's pop on our lab coats and dive into a bit of skin science.
When we're stressed, our bodies release a hormone called cortisol. Think of cortisol as your body's internal alarm system — it's designed to help you handle pressure.
But when you're constantly stressed — juggling work, relationships, and that ever-growing to-do list — your body stays in a state of high alert, churning out more cortisol than it should. And that's when things start to go south for your skin.