Psychodermatology: the mind-skin connection and cosmetics

What does stress do to the skin and hair?

When we get stressed, our bodies release a hormone called cortisol. Our ancestors from hundreds of years ago needed this cortisol – when they were being chased by a predator, for example – but today, we tend to produce far too much cortisol too regularly from work or life stressors, and this impacts our mental health and skin in multiple ways. In fact, it has been shown that around 40% of people with a disorder of the skin have mental health issues that are related to, or can exacerbate, that skin condition¹.

Excess stress, particularly when it is prolonged, can interfere with the normal skin barrier, impacting its function, regeneration and defense mechanisms, whilst increasing inflammation. This leads to immediate moisture losses and an increase in generalised redness of the skin, pain and sensitivity. There is also an increase in nitric oxide production within the skin, which leads to an increase in oxidative damage. What does this look and feel like? Dry and dull skin, less supple skin (with an increase in fine lines and wrinkles), generalised redness and sensitivity, and even irritation, acne and eczema.

Stress can also affect the scalp and hair. If excessive stress levels are encountered particularly over a prolonged period, it can force hair follicles into a resting phase, leading to hair loss. The inflammation and sensitivity issues that impact the skin can also affect the scalp, leading to dry, flaky scalp conditions as well as dullness of the hair.

If dandruff and hair loss are not related to stress, watch these videos for how to make an anti-hair loss serum and  how to make a natural anti-dandruff serum
 

How can cosmetic ingredients reduce the impacts of stress?

Cosmetic ingredients can reduce the impacts of stress by not only improving the skin comfort of a consumer, but also tackling the hormones, neuropeptides and oxidative stress that impact their skin and hair at a cellular level. This can lead to an improvement in skin hydration and suppleness, as well as a reduction in oxidative damage within the skin. The positive impacts include improvements to mental health and wellbeing and appearance of skin and hair.

Watch this video to see how fragrances can impact the mind-skin connection as well.
 

What cosmetic ingredients have this mind-skin connection?

• AnnonaSense CLR (CLR Berlin): reduces inflammatory processes in the skin to improve skin comfort by 27% and appearance, which in turn improve psychological wellbeing. In vivo results not only show improvements to skin, but also a 60% improvement to sleep, greater than 50% improvement to feelings of positivity, and 33% reduction in cortisol. 
• Epionine Bio (Expanscience Laboratories): in vitro results show it promotes skin barrier regeneration and thickness of stratum corneum by up to 53%, reduced neuropeptides relating to pain by 56% and reduction in cortisol by 25%. In vivo results showed an increased in hydration by 25% and reduction in TEWL by 12.5%, a reduction in redness by 22%, and a reduction in skin sensitivity of 32%.  
• Infini’tea Biofunctional (Ashland): reduces the oxidative impacts of stress on the skin to calm and soothe the skin, with documented benefits that mimic a yoga session. It has been clinically proven to reduce redness and fine lines and improve skin luminosity and suppleness.
• Joybliss (LipoTrue): boosts collagen production and antioxidant activity whilst reducing inflammaging. It has been clinically proven to reduce the volume of crow’s feet wrinkles by up to 28% and smooth nasolabial folds by up to 24%, both in 28 days. It was also shown to improve skin radiance by up to 52% and reduce skin redness by 21%. It was also shown to have improvements to overall mood.
• Myramaze-Essence (Rahn Cosmetic Actives): activates sensory receptors in the skin and nose to relieve the signs of stress in the skin: increasing skin moisture, reducing TEWL, reducing stress hormones and increasing the radiance of the skin by 45%.
• Rootness Mood+ (Clariant): boosts vitamin D’s effects in the skin without the need for sunlight and stimulates serotonin and melatonin to improve the skins’ complexion’. It has also been clinically proven to relax the mood with similar mental benefits as a yoga session.
• Sepibliss Feel (Seppic): has shown in vivo to reduce nitric oxide production by 56%, increase oxytocin and ß-endorphins (feel good hormones) by 11% and 34% respectively, and improve feelings of skin comfort by 81%.
• Telessence Breeztel (LipoTrue): has been shown in vitro to reduce cortisol release, maintain telomere length and reduce oxidative damage. This has then been shown to increase stratum corneum thickness by up to 45% and skin barrier integrity by 43%, with subsequent improvements to the skin’s appearance and radiance. It improved skin hydration by up to 39%, elasticity by 8% and reduced wrinkle depth by 13%.
• TiMood (Mibelle Biochemistry): proven in vitro to protect neurons from ageing and increase neurite length, increase keratinocyte proliferation and production of dopamine. In vivo, these results translate to improvements in skin evenness, complexion and luminosity. It was also tested and proven to increase positive emotions in stressed people and provide an improved sense of wellbeing.

Issues with marketing mind-skin cosmetics

Since the definition of cosmetics relates specifically to products for topical application for improvements to the appearance and condition of the skin, you will need to be careful about how you market the inclusion of mind-skin active ingredients in your cosmetic formulations. You can’t promote the physiological or mental wellbeing results – even though they are well documented both in vitro and in vivo from clinical testing. Instead, you will need to promote how stress can impact the skin and hair and how your product can specifically address the visible impacts of stress to provide improvements in hydration and radiance, whilst reducing redness, sensitivities and wrinkle depth depending on the cosmetic actives used, evidence held, and appearance-based results achieved.

Speak with your suppliers or visit your next conference and in-cosmetics exhibition to learn about these amazing cosmetic active ingredients for improvements to the mind and skin. Make these cosmetic actives a part of your next developments to address your consumers quest for wholistic wellness, and to help them overcome skin and hair issues related to their daily stress.

Happy formulating!

¹ Jafferany M. Psychodermatology: a guide to understanding common psychocutaneous disorders. Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry. 2007;9(3):203-13. doi: 10.4088/pcc.v09n0306. PMID: 17632653; PMCID: PMC1911167.