Read all about my single-girl search for the ever-elusive trifecta of perfection: the tall, dark, and handsome, single straight guy who also does yoga! LOLs welcome 🙂
The way stress affects your skin is that when you’re tense, your brain releases cortisol, a stress hormone, into your bloodstream. That tells oil glands to ramp up production, leading to breakouts. Stress also dilates blood vessels, which causes redness and aggravates rosacea. Another side effect is skin becomes dehydrated, sensitive, and more susceptible to damage. Besides causing lines from furrowing your brow, stress also makes you look markedly older. We already lose 1 percent of our skin’s collagen supply every year after we hit age 20, but stress can accelerate that. “Younger women are coming into my office with wrinkles and older ones are still fighting acne. These issues are caused in large part because patients are more stressed out than they were even five years ago,” says California dermatologist Dr. Howard Murad. Some triggers are relationships, money, work, and family, according to Hirsch, but Murad also sees a rise in “cultural stress–the feeling that women expect perfection from themselves in all areas at all times. We all know that stress is unhealthy for your heart and brain, but it’s just as bad for your skin.” Repairing it works best with a dual-pronged approach that incorporates internal and external fixes.
Since stress marks everyone’s skin differently, the first step is to take note of how your face reacts during the two weeks surrounding a high-stakes work presentation or a fight with your sister.
· BREAKOUT BUSTERS
For those whose skin reacts with greasiness and breakouts, the key is exfoliating to unclog pores that can harbor bacteria. “Instead of a gritty scrub exfoliant, which can cause further redness, use a product with lactic acid, which hydrates as it removes dead skin cells,” says Baltimore dermatologist Dr. Noëlle Sherber. “Then follow with an oil-absorbing kaolin clay mask.” (The Kinara Red Carpet Facial Kit includes both steps.) Spot treat blemishes with a salicylic acid gel. But if your acne comes with sensitivity and patches of dryness, the standard over-the-counter routine won’t benefit you as much as a trip to the derm’s office. In those cases, Wexler recommends Isolaz, an acne-fighting light therapy, with a salicylic acid infusion to brighten skin and clear acne. Another in-office treatment is an antioxidant-rich glycolic acid peel, such as Vivité, paired with blue-light treatment. “The light waves kill acne-promoting bacteria underneath the skin without causing dryness or irritation,” says Sherber.
· DRYNESS RELIEF
If your skin goes to the other extreme with dryness, flaking, peeling, redness, sensitivity, rosacea, or eczema, you’re not alone: A study in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology found that when women experience psychological stress, their skin becomes more easily dehydrated, even leading to eczema. Try products with ceramides and hyaluronic acid. “They absorb water and surround each dead skin cell with lipids, making the cell more able to hang on to water,” says Murad. For daytime, use SkinCeuticals Hydrating B5 Gel with hyaluronic acid or Clinique Redness Solution Daily Relief Cream, which contains caffeine and glycine to reduce redness and inflammation. For evening, treat with CeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion PM, since it has both hydrat-ing acid and ceramides. Another temporary skin soother is “a nightly 20-minute bath–that’s not superhot!–before you apply a moisturizer,” says Sherber. “For patients with stress-related dryness, it hydrates the skin and also builds in time to unwind.” For your body, swap your traditional cream for one of Darphin’s Aromatic Care Oils; they moisturize just as well, plus offer relaxing aromatherapy benefits.
· WRINKLE REPAIR
For lines, sallow skin, and other visible signs of aging, you want to help skin fight back against free radicals and environmental damage with antioxidants. Murad’s favorites are products that contain pomegranate extract and vitamin C, like his Essential-C Daily Renewal Complex. The next step up is a chemical peel to reveal your newer, younger skin below. Or check in with your doctor to bring in the big guns: fractionated laser treatment to brighten dull, wrinkled skin and up collagen production. Sunscreen is even more important than usual, since when you’re stressed, “the dead cell layer on the skin’s surface becomes thin, with microscopic holes in it,” which can’t protect as well against aging UV rays, says Murad.
Sure, topical treatments can offer temporary benefits, but you can slather on as much retinol as you want and still create a forehead crevasse if tension keeps your heart rate on par with that of a neurotic hummingbird. Experts agree that some of the most effective long-term ways to improve your skin are to chill out and to drink more water, though they offer a variety of methods for finding your Zen place.
· REALISTIC GOALS
“It’s very easy for me to tell a patient to reduce her stress, but it’s not so easy for her to go home and do that,” says Hirsch. “The most critical step is realizing what your stress triggers are and then creating a plan for dealing with them. That could mean setting specific times twice a day to check your e-mail inbox, taking a weeklong Twitter holiday, or outsourcing what projects you can. It is really helpful to set limited, achievable goals so you don’t always feel like you’re falling behind. You may not clean all the closets in your house, but maybe you can organize your sweaters for winter.”
· STRESS-FREE EATING
Crazy-high expectations for yourself and being obsessed with perfection are a recipe for stress that many people handle with a bag of chips or a brownie. No, chocolate doesn’t cause acne, but “processed foods can worsen skin by causing inflammation,” says Murad. Instead, reach for snacks that can actually improve your complexion, like raw fruits and vegetables, thanks to their antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits. (The fact that they’ll keep you in your current jeans size is a double bonus.) “If you have redness, stay away from spicy food and shellfish, since they can cause blood vessels to flare,” says Wexler. A good bet is whole-grain crackers or pasta. “To encourage collagen production, I eat whole grains plus foods rich in amino acids, like eggs, beans, and seeds. Eating cold-water fish and almonds, which contain omega-3’s, will help dry skin,” says Murad.
· TOUCH THERAPY
Murad also recommends ways to reduce stressed-out skin that are more touchy-feely–literally. “Hands-on therapies like Reiki, craniosacral bodywork, and even hugging a friend help. I actually refer my patients to get massages,” he says. Other experts recommend visual imagery of your “happy place,” behavioral modifications like tensing and then relaxing each area of your body one by one, and doing yoga–so long as you get a teacher who doesn’t point out your wrinkles.
Jenny Baranick teaches English composition, critical thinking, and a remedial English class called Writing Skills at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Consistently shocked at the poor grammar of her students, in January 2010, Jenny started her popular Missed Periods and Other Grammar Scares blog.
In spite of the fact that 1. she is clearly just a sweet little 11-pound puppy and 2. due to my interception, she was nowhere near him, this total stranger viciously kicked at her. Thankfully, he missed.
Clenching my jaw, I kept walking. Let it go, I told myself.
“Next time I'm going to kick your little dog right in the face, sweetheart! Right in the kisser, baby!! YEAH! I'm gonna kick her like a football right across the street!!!”
OK. I'm only human. I couldn't let that go. Who even THINKS of kicking sweet little puppies?! Clearly, this man was a monster. “Maybe I'll kick you in the face!” I yelled back.
He was still screaming. “You better put that thing in a muzzle! I swear I'm gonna kick her in the face next time!”
“Someone should put YOU in a muzzle!” I yelled back. That'll show him!
What this really taught me (aside of the obvious fact that some puppy-kicking monsters masquerade as average-looking humans) is that man! I really need to work on my comebacks! If all I can think of is to repeat whatever insult/threat he's lodged against sweet little Pelu, it's sad times. Sad times, indeed.
div dir=”ltr” style=”text-align: left;” trbidi=”on”>What better way to end the year than with a chakra-deep guffaw fest? Take a deep breath and get your laugh on!
Vid not working?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMC1_RH_b3k
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The Movers wrap the couch in the hoist bands, and Mo and Curley go to the Neighbors’ porch, which is on the second floor of the building, to perform the hoist, leaving Schemp on the ground to guide the couch from below. Buster watches the operation from his porch on the third floor of the building. Before the Movers begin the hoist, Buster asks whether he should move his brand new car, which is parked directly below the area of the hoist. The Movers insist that this is unnecessary over Buster’s desperate pleas, and Movers begin the hoist. With the couch in mid air, and Mo and Curley pulling the couch up, the railing to Nice Neighbors’ porch gives way. Mo and Curley, whose bodies are physically strapped to the couch are pulled off the porch. Schemp dives for cover under Nice Neighbors porch and is unharmed, as the couch plummets to the ground, pulling Mo and Curley behind it. Mo, who is a trained ninja and hopped up on Tylenol with codeine, grabs onto an intact porch post and swings to a soft landing on his feet. Unfortunately, Curley falls less gracefully and lands on Buster and Betty’s car, caving in the roof of the car and injuring Curley. The railing of Nice Neighbors’ porch, which was not secured properly in construction by Crappy Contractor, follows Mo and Curley down, smashing in the rear window of Buster and Betty’s car. The couch is damaged upon impact with the ground.
Yeah…so that’s the long and the short of it, I’m afraid. Now, two days later, I can tell you that Larry’s safely out of the hospital and Mo, Curley, and Shemp appear to be (miraculously) unharmed. The couch is still on the back of the truck. We may just donate it and buy a sectional. Or miniature couch. Or do without a couch. I know moving is never easy, but this??! COME ON!!
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