Beauty Tips

Can You Meditate Your Way to Better Skin?

The mind-body connection is real

by Kristin Booker | COMMENT

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How Meditation Impacts Skin Conditions Meditation can impact skin issues like acne or psoriasis by lowering the conditions that cause flare-ups, says Levin. "The skin responds to emotional stimuli and psychological influences. When we get stressed out, one of the hormones in our body that gets triggered is cortisol, which increases the amount of androgen (a testosterone) which can cause hormonal acne, especially in adult women. We know that cortisol worsens acne because androgen increases oil production as well as increasing degradation of important proteins in your skin like collagen and elastin. It can also change how your blood vessels respond, which has a huge role in skin aging and other inflammatory conditions, especially rosacea."

All of this is why dermatologists like Levin have learned how to use mindfulness as part of their therapeutic tools when dealing with some skin conditions, using what she terms "mindfulness-based cognitive therapy." But she wants to emphasize that mindfulness is used as an aspect of treatment, not as the entire treatment regimen.

"You should still get your skin checked by a licensed dermatologist and apply in-office procedures, any prescription medicines and your skin care regimen along with sunscreen. It's not just that you're only going to be mindful, meditate and that's it. But a mindfulness practice in addition to your skin care regimen not only helps you find calm in what can be a stressful situation, but it has been shown to improve your condition faster by allowing you to focus on the present moment. It eventually helps you realize that nothing is permanent and things are always changing. Ultimately, we hope that helps you to deal with life in general, but particularly your health and not being so attached to a pimple happening right now."

Image via Getty

SEE NEXT PAGE: How to Use Meditation as Part of Your Skin Care Regimen

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