On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your stress level?

Now that you have your number, you are probably wondering how this relates to the health of your hair, skin, and nails. Let me explain…

First, let’s talk about Cortisol. This is the main stress hormone that is released from your adrenal glands, which impacts your health, mood, motivation and anxiety. Cortisol levels are adjusted throughout the day and affect things like inflammation, blood pressure, energy and sleep cycle. If cortisol levels rise too high or drop too low, this can negatively impact your digestive system, immune system and growth processes.

Hair, skin and nails require a certain amount of vitamins and minerals to grow. In a chronic stress situation, cortisol levels rise rapidly, which stunt the delivery of nutrients. This causes a slew of issues (as I’m sure you could predict).

Damaged hair, weak nails and wrinkly skin are all too common.

Now that we discussed the science behind stress, we need to talk about how to control stress. We are so hard on ourselves, especially as women. We are constantly beating ourselves up and judging ourselves on every single choice that we make throughout each and every day. Wow, that’s a lot of pressure.

How can we overcome these harsh perceptions and start paving a path of self love and relaxation?

The answer is: meditation, meditation and mediation. I’ll say it again, meditation. If you are a beginner and have absolutely no idea how to start, that’s totally normal. There are a ton of resources for beginners that will walk you through a guided version. If your house is always noisy or you can’t seem to find the time, try locking yourself in the bathroom for five minutes.  I promise, it will be so worth it.

Stress can be crippling. Not just emotionally, but physically. Your hair, skin, and nails can tell you a lot about your life. Take time for yourself and remember – breath.