Can You Think Your Way To Healthier Skin?

Yup. In a new interview for Stylist Magazine, I explain it all.

Can you think your way to clearer skin?

Writer Zeynab Mohamed recently set out to answer that question for the UK’s Stylist Magazine, and I was beyond thrilled that she asked to interview me for the piece. I mean, I’ve pretty much dedicated my career to sharing the skin-supportive power of mindfulness. I've written articles on how to meditate your way to healthier skin, how the spiritual practice of Breathwork benefits the skin, how a daily gratitude practice supports the skin, how affirmations affect the skin, how stress impacts the skin, how our skin affects our sense of self, and the basics of psychodermatology (the scientific study of the skin-mind connection). It’s kinda my thing.

Anyway, I thought I’d share an excerpt from Mohamed’s article!

“Discovering psychodermatology and discovering skin-supportive mindfulness practices has changed my skin and my life,” says Jessica DeFino, beauty journalist and creator of The Unpublishable newsletter. “I can honestly say my skin has never been healthier than it is now – using no prescriptions, very few products, and lots of mindfulness practices.” 

DeFino is a big advocate of psychodermatology and truly believes that less is more when it comes to skincare. After years of mistreatment by way of a topical steroid prescription, her skin was left severely damaged. “The standard treatment for steroids is two weeks; I was on them for two years, which caused a condition known as skin atrophy”. It was this experience that led her to start viewing her skincare routine in a more cerebral way. “I started experimenting with what I call soul-care as skincare, or mindfulness,” she adds. “During this period, my skin was too sensitive to handle any topical skincare whatsoever, so I started researching ways that I could heal my skin without products.” 

“It is not a matter of if the mind affects the skin,” DeFino continues. “It does, without a doubt. It’s a matter of understanding how the mind affects the skin, and how we can harness that power for the benefit of our mental, emotional, and physical health.”

Scientifically it makes perfect sense: the skin and the brain are developed from the same area of the embryonic tissue in utero and thus form a powerful connection. This explains why we blush when we’re embarrassed, get goosebumps when we’re scared or develop blemishes when we’re stressed. “But what people don’t often realise is that the connection goes the other way, too,” DeFino adds. In 2015, she started exploring whether a positive state of mind could positively impact the skin. “And the answer is [it] can! For instance, meditation has been scientifically shown to lower cortisol levels, which in turn lowers the rate of transepidermal water loss in the skin, which in turn boosts hydration. Meditation literally improves skin barrier function! I like to say meditation is a moisturiser.” 

(Of course, paying subscribers already know that meditation is moisturizer — better and cheaper than La Mer!)

Some extra details that didn’t make it into the final article: It’s worth noting that you can’t expect stress-relieving mindfulness practices to dramatically change your skin if you’re still putting physical stress on your skin barrier with unnecessary skincare products. This article I wrote for The New York Times has more information about that.

Also, intention matters! Hyper-focusing on the skin’s appearance actually reinforces and further internalizes unrealistic beauty standards, which can increase negative mental and emotional states. This is the great paradox of using mindfulness as a skincare tool. Meditating with the intention of “perfect skin” can create stress: Perfection is an unmeetable goal, and anyway, the skin doesn't exist to look “perfect” — it exists to protect you, so the intention of “perfect skin” goes against the skin’s nature. Meditation is most effective when it’s about creating a more joyful, calm, peaceful inner state; about connecting with one’s true self. In this way, mindfulness practices like meditation and gratitude will inevitably change the way your skin looks — but they'll also change how much you care about how your skin looks, which (I think) is the real magic. 

Unrelated: I made a meme.