Stress isn’t just unpleasant to bear, it actually has physical effects on your body. One of these is the way it effects your overall attractiveness level by hacking away at it through small but significant changes…

How Stress Effects Your Looks:

Weight Gain
It’s no secret that stress causes weight gain (This is but one reason for holiday weight gain). This can be because of out-of-wack hormones and/or the changes in behavior caused by stress, such as unhealthy cravings and mindless eating (anyone else smashing cartons of ice cream during a breakup?). Chronic stress, then, can lead to chronic poor food choices, and too many thoughtless binge sessions- hello, 10lbs!

Sleep Loss
Lack of good, quality sleep will undoubtedly wreck havoc on our bodies. Dark under eye circles, dull skin, weight gain, etc., not to mention the inability to think clearly and function normally when sleep deprived. Sounds like a recipe for even more stress.

Brittle Nails
The nails tend to give a glimpse into a person’s overall health, and stress results in brittle, weak, peeling nails. Not to mention the unsightly bad habits sometimes caused by stress and anxiety, like nail biting or cuticle picking.

Acne
If you’ve ever experienced an acne flareup right before a big event or during a particularly difficult time in your life, then you’re already familiar with what stress can do to the skin. Stress releases cortisol, which causes an increase in oil production and contributes to breakouts and acne.

Dehydration
Stress interferes with the body’s ability to retain water- hello dehydration and dry skin. This is but one reason to drink up!

Wrinkles
Not only are there chemical reasons for why stress causes wrinkles, but think of the facial expressions you tend to make when stressed. A constant frown or furrowed brow are a sure way to end up with wrinkled skin.

Hair Loss
Extreme stress can cause hair loss, and no amount of expensive salon products can combat that! Even normally healthy hair can be effected by this.

Stress Breeds Stress
We don’t know about you, but an onset of adult acne, weight gain, and hair loss is enough to make us even more stressed. Stress breeds stress, so if you’re suffering from any of these side effects, don’t just run out and buy diet pills and acne cream- consider the source and start combating stress. Exercise, meditate, journal, and be mindful of the choices you’re making that cause you to be more stressed.