According to a study published in the November issue of the Journal Clinical Investigation, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have discovered the link between stress and skin infections. Their theory goes something like this:
How stress effects skin
Psychological stress causes your body to increase production of chemicals called glucocorticoids. The glucocorticoids then decrease synthesis of fatty materials in the skin’s upper layer. Without these fatty materials, antimicrobial peptides aren’t properly secreted to the skins surface. And without the bacteria-fighting power of these peptides, microbes are able to grow unchecked, thus creating an infection. Get it? More stress = more chance of infection.
This prompts another question in my mind: are antibacterial lotions and cleansers
Wouldn’t you love to know exactly when your skin needs extra protection? Someone should make a lotion that changes color or something to signal you that you need an extra shot of antibacterial protection. How cool would that be??
–Midbrain