Our relationship with stress and skin health has always been a priority and in recent years scientists have shared further studies (Nives,2020) that have highlighted the impact chronic stress can have on our skin. From rashes and hives, acne to eczema common conditions linked to chronic stress has been felt by us all at any given stage.
Dermatologists the world over are reporting a rise in patients suffering body acne. Pandemic stress-induced acne has been studied in depth of late (Darlenski,2020) with alterations to lifestyles, mask-wearing and stress all seen as contributing factors to the health of our skin.
As our stress increases, we produce more Cortisol, our primary stress hormone. This has been known to trigger skin inflammation and overproduce oil around our hair follicles leading to clogged pores that can exacerbate conditions such as acne and eczema. This stress can also affect the barrier function of the skin resulting in imbalances in skin microbiome and water retention.
So what can we do about this?
Calls for natural and effective ingredients to assist in the prevention and management of widespread skin conditions such as acne and eczema have been heard. We have always known about the importance and benefit of seaweed, now recent studies investigating the positives of bio-active seaweed extracts have suggested that high purity topical seaweed extract assists in the prevention and treatment of both acne and eczema. Test tube studies have shown that bio-active seaweed extract significantly altered gene expression - beneficially altering genes typically associated with skin barrier function, wound healing processes and fluid retention whilst also assisting our skin barrier microbiome. The study concluded that high purity bio-active seaweed extracts used in Seashanty Organics such as our Coastal Body Moisturiser and Soothing Eye Cream have highly promising benefits for use in our skincare rituals for these common, and often debilitating skin conditions.
