Stress and Skin Ageing: How Cortisol Speeds Up Fine Lines
The science of inflammaging: how chronic daily stress directly accelerates structural collagen loss and the formation of fine lines.
Chronic stress doesn’t just feel ageing, it measurably accelerates it. The mechanism has a name: inflammaging, a low-grade internal rust that steadily breaks down your skin’s structural integrity.
The concept of inflammaging
“Inflammaging” describes chronic, low-grade systemic inflammation that accelerates tissue ageing. It acts like invisible internal rust, steadily dismantling the skin’s structure over time.
How cortisol breaks down the matrix
Fibroblast suppression
Fibroblasts produce collagen and elastin. High circulating cortisol inhibits their activity, reducing the production of new structural proteins.
MMP activation
Stress activates Matrix Metalloproteinases, enzymes that break down and dismantle existing collagen and elastin webs, leading to premature thinning and fine lines.
Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs)
Elevated stress can raise baseline blood sugar, driving glycation, where sugar molecules stiffen and damage skin proteins.
Protecting your structural matrix
Topicals like retinoids and vitamin C help stimulate collagen from the outside, but managing internal stress is essential to protect those structures from being degraded from within. NeuGlow acts as your internal shield, down-regulating the chronic cortisol spikes that contribute to premature ageing.
NeuGlow is a complementary wellbeing programme. It is designed to support stress management and sleep quality, and does not replace professional medical or dermatological care.
Skincare that begins in the nervous system.
NeuGlow is a sonic skincare treatment, short, sound-led sessions for the edge of sleep. Join the waitlist for early access.
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