Suffering from #skinxiety?

July 16, 2021
Suffering from #skinxiety?

Approx 3 minute read |

Experts agree: both the pandemic and lockdown haven’t been good for our skin.

We recently discussed the detrimental effects on our skin from wearing a mask, as well as the rise of a new phenomenon dubbed 'Lockdown Skin'.

After a tough period for all, naturally, these negative effects have also taken a toll on our mental health too, so much that doctor Dr Uliana Gout, President of the British College of Aesthetic Medicine and founder of  London Aesthetic Medicine (LAM) Clinic, has actually created a new term to reflect this phenomenon: “skinxiety”.

What exactly is skinxiety?

If you’ve been feeling self-conscious about your skin lately, you are not alone! As the name itself suggests, “skinxiety” is anxiety experienced due to the changes your skin has gone through during the pandemic. This is the first time in recent history that people have been forced to stay inside for so much time and prior to January 2020, have likely never spent so many hours indoors, with the heat or air conditioning cranked up. And whilst this may be good for the soul in some ways, it’s definitely not so good for the skin!

Not only that, but the ‘goodie’ cupboard being just a few steps away from our makeshift home offices can be a little too tempting, along with that bottle of wine in the fridge... for many #winenotwednesday quickly became #winenoteverynight! As you'll remember, socialising was completely off the cards for a long time, so we were reduced to swapping nights out hanging with friends with nights in binging Netflix, which meant exposing our skin to blue screen rays far too much and probably without using any SPF protection either... because, did you even know you should wear SPF to protect your skin against blue rays before the pandemic? No? Well, that's the same for most! 

So, it's clear that for many of us our skin has taken a little bit of a beating recently, resulting in blemishes, redness, pimples, congestion and open pores. To make matters worse, we're now also spending a lot more time looking at our own faces, what with the constant stream of Zoom meetings and video calls with the fam. We're constantly being reminded of our skin “imperfections”, and that’s exactly why there’s been a surge in people seeking professional help from dermatologists and aesthetic doctors.
There’s also a vicious cycle behind skinxiety: people who never had issues with their skin are now seeing imperfections where there once was a perfect complexion, for some, this is causing stress aka #skinxiety, and we all know that stress is detrimental to our skin too…

How to effectively beat skinxiety

Seeking professional advice to tackle any skin concerns is without doubt the best thing one can do. Visit a professional skin practitioner to offer you a course of treatments to target your specific skin concerns. Here at WOW facial®, we are all about skin health and results-driven skincare. You can find a list of your local WOW practitioners by tapping ‘Find a provider’ in our website's main menu.
So, if your once-spotless skin is not so flawless anymore, but you haven’t really changed your skincare routine, you are not alone and help is at hand. Contact your local WOW practitioner to begin your journey back to optimum skin health.

Author: Danielle
Category: Skincare, WOW Journal