How to minimize the effect of work stress from showing on your face

 No matter how stressful your work may be, you should always look your best … start today to work towards becoming stress-free fabulous!

These days, a good number of the people you meet in Lagos are often entrepreneurs in one sector or the other. Whilst, people often seek to be their own boss, such commitment comes with its own price. The life of an entrepreneur can be quite stressful. Some say, its inevitable in a place like Nigeria, others say, it is self-induced. Either way, there are many obstacles to running a business in Nigeria which can often stress you and affect the way you look.

Stress often lead to lack of sleep, exhaustion, depression, overeating etc. which in turn can lead to a number of symptoms on your face including under-eye bags, dry and flaky skin, acne, rashes, wrinkles, dull skin, to name a few. There are a number of tips to help you overcome your work stress which would also help you minimize the stress to your face. In this article, we focus on three key facial issues that can be caused by stress and ways to deal with them.

Acne – Acne is a big no no to having a beautiful face. Stress causes the skin to flare up due to the increased level of cortisol in our system. Cortisol are stress hormons which can cause breakouts on your face or body. Stress can also disrupt the balance between the good and bad bacteria in your gut. That can then show up on your skin in the form of acne.

Under Eye bags – Being weigh down by all the things you need to do can keep you from getting enough beauty sleep. This can cause fluid to pool below your lower eyelid area, and what you end up with is a puffy mess in the morning.

Dry skin – When you are stressed, you tend to skip a lot of important habits like drinking a lot of water. Many tend to drink more coffee and soda to stay alert and on top of their work but that can lead to dehydration which can cause dry skin.

To minimize your stress levels and deal with these issues, here are few tips;

TAKE A DEEP BREATH

Taking a few minutes of deep breath when you are feeling overwhelmed often help restore balance. Simply inhale for five seconds, hold and exhale in equal counts through the nose. “It’s like getting the calm and focus of a 90-minute yoga class in three minutes or less at your desk,” says Sharon Melnick, PhD (a business psychologist and author of ‘Success Under Stress’).

EAT RIGHT

Most people tend to over indulge on junk food when they are feeling stressed which leads to being overweight and developing some skin care issues like acne, rashes etc. Your body cannot handle stress properly if it is not nourished. So, make sure you eat a well balanced diet , low sugar and high-protein, fruits and vegetables. Drink a lot of water.

 DRINK A LOT OF WATER

Water keeps you hydrated and flushes toxins out of your body often generated from stress and eating badly. You need to drink eight glasses of water or more, each day. You can also drink some green tea for a boost of healthy antioxidants and eat foods with high water content like cucumbers, tomatoes etc. For quick-fix hydration, use face serums containing hyaluronic acid, an ingredient in natural skincare products that naturally occurs in your body and holds 1,000 times its weight in water. It pulls moisture from the air into the skin, instantly hydrating your skin for that dewy, gorgeous glow.

EXERCISE

Exercise increases your overall health and wellbeing with some stress-busting benefits. Physical activity helps bump up the production of your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins. Exercise tends to help with clarity… “it’s meditation in motion”. It would also improve your mood which would reduce your stress levels significantly. Make sure you consult your doctor before engaging in an form of exercise.

 SLEEP WELL

When you’re not sleeping well, you’re not getting the best skin rejuvenating effects. Sufficient sleep is a critical recovery period for the body. Get a least eight hours of sleep. However, if you are unable to sleep, there are few tips to try; 1) shut off your electronic devices an hour before you go to sleep. 2) make yourself a caffeine-free chamomile tea, to help calm and relax you before bed. 3) Get some of this mediation apps for sleep… they work like magic! And if you still wake up with puffy eyes in the morning, hold the back of a cold spoon (pop it in the fridge so that it get chilled) up to your under-eye area and massage to from the inner to the outer corner of your eye to reduce the puffiness.

MAKE-UP

Whilst you wait for these great techniques to work, a good makeover (i.e. good foundation, concealer, lipstick etc.) could do the trick as a quick-fix to help you look brighter and hide your worries. However, we always recommend minimising stress from the inside out.

Try all these techniques today for a more wealthy, beautiful and amazing you. Above all, stay calm knowing that nothing is ever that serious… take a chill pill.

MISS NIGERIA – Leesi Peter-Vigboro, ENDORSES A BEAUTY CAMPAIGN … #MyColourMyHeritage

Recently, a skincare brand called L’Avyanna Skin Naturals kicked off their campaign entitled ‘My Colour My Heritage’ in a quest to get people to embrace and celebrate their skin colour. They kicked off with a photoshoot involving the current Miss Nigeria, (Leesi Peter-Vigboro) who looked stunning in her natural hair. Leesi is a lover of all things natural following her ethics in beauty.

Showing off her true beauty, she urges us to be ‘black and proud’ embracing our heritage and truly define our African beauty. Join Leesi in supporting the campaign today via Instagram @lavyanna_skin @missnigeriaorg @leesi_peter