How Stress Impacts Your Skin and What You Can Do About It

by The Skin Pharmacy Team September 13, 2025

Stress is something we all experience, but it doesn’t just affect our mood or sleep, it can also show up on our skin, too. Whether it’s an impending deadline, a busy lifestyle, high intensity exercise, or simply juggling life’s daily pressures, chronic stress triggers hormonal changes that can significantly impact skin health. If you’ve noticed more breakouts, redness, or dryness when life gets hectic, you’re not imagining it.

How Does Stress Impact Skin?

When we’re stressed, our bodies release cortisol, the “stress hormone”, along with other inflammatory signals. This hormonal cascade interferes with skin’s natural balance, making it more reactive, sensitive, and prone to breakouts. Stress can also disrupt the skin barrier, reduce circulation, and slow down cellular repair, meaning breakouts take longer to heal and fine lines can appear more pronounced. Essentially, stress makes your skin less resilient, leaving it more susceptible to both internal and external triggers.

The Ways Stress Impacts Skin

  • Breakouts and acne flare-ups: Cortisol stimulates oil production, leading to breakouts and clogged pores.

  • Inflammation and redness: Conditions like eczema, rosacea, and psoriasis can flare during stressful periods.

  • Dryness and dehydration: A damaged skin barrier leads to thirsty and flaky skin.

  • Premature ageing: Stress accelerates collagen and elastin breakdown, causing fine lines and sagging.

  • Sensitivity and irritation: Skin becomes more reactive to products, pollution, and UV exposure.

How Products Can Help

No skincare product can completely undo the effects of stress, but the right ones can support your skin while it deals with the visible symptoms. Think of them as solutions for stressed skin: hydrating, calming, repairing, and strengthening your barrier so that redness, irritation, and breakouts are less severe. I often explain it to clients like this: if stress is a storm, skincare is your umbrella. It won’t stop the rain, but it can prevent you from getting completely drenched. Using targeted serums, moisturisers, and treatments alongside lifestyle changes gives your skin the best chance to recover, repair, and stay resilient even during stressful periods.

Hydrating serums help replenish lost moisture, soothing creams act like a comfort blanket for irritation, and active ingredients address everything from breakouts to redness. When combined with lifestyle changes (better sleep, proper nutrition, mindful downtime) these treatments give stressed skin the best chance to heal, recover, and build resilience, so redness, breakouts, and sensitivity feel less overwhelming.


SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic – I’ve returned to this serum so many times over the years. I love that it helps to simultaneously brighten, firm, and protect stressed skin, while also helping to prevent premature ageing and maintain a healthy, even tone.

Obagi Hydrate Luxe Moisture Rich Cream – One I’d recommend to my dehydrated and dry-skinned clients. An ultra-nourishing cream that strengthens the skin barrier and locks in hydration , which is crucial when stress leaves skin dry, sensitive, or reactive. Used daily, this will help to restore comfort and resilience, making it perfect for use alongside more active treatments.

AlumierMD SensiCalm – A calming cleanser specifically formulated for stressed, reactive, or sensitive skin is a routine essential. This gentle formula soothes redness, reduces irritation, and supports barrier recovery, helping skin feel balanced and comfortable even during stressful periods. The texture is divine, and most importantly, it works.

ZO Skin Health Daily Power Defense – I’ve heard amazing things about this brand, which takes an active approach to addressing skin concerns. This serum would be particularly beneficial for stressed skin since it’s packed with antioxidants to help strengthen skin. Over time, skin will be smoother, more resilient, and better able to cope with daily triggers.

pHformula C.R. Recovery – Far more than just your average moisturiser, this reparative treatment promotes healing and restores balance. The gentle formulation helps reduce inflammation and supports barrier repair, so I’d particularly recommend it to anyone dealing with stress-triggered flare-ups of rosacea or skin recovering from aggressive actives.

SkinBetter Science Alto Advanced Defense and Repair Serum – I’ve heard amazing things about this brand, and this serum in particular. The potent formula will help to reduce signs of fatigue, strengthen the barrier, and enhance skin resilience. I’d recommend this to anyone who wants a smoother, calmer, and healthier-looking complexion without the need for a ten-step skincare routine.

Stress is inevitable, but the way it affects your skin doesn’t have to be. As an aesthetician, I see every day how lifestyle changes like better sleep, a healthy diet, and daily exercise, paired with the right products can completely change how someone’s complexion responds to stress. The aim is always to give your skin both the tools and the environment it needs to thrive, no matter how hectic life gets. Skincare won’t erase stress, but from my experience, helping people see their skin calmer and clearer often makes them feel more confident, and gives them one less thing to be stressed about.

 

 

If you have any specific questions, speak to our experts - for free. Book an appointment online here . Alternatively, email hello@skinpharmacy.com or call us on 020 3070 3833 or 07522 002050 .

 

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