Can stress cause skin ageing and cellulite?

Stress, cortisol and cellulite

Stress, per se, is not a direct or major cause of skin ageing and, especially, cellulite.

There are much more direct factors, such as sugar intake, calorie intake, lack of exercise, smoking, alcohol intake etc.

However, stress indirectly can indeed have an effect:

• Stress results in the secretion of cortisol, the stress hormone, which has a catabolic effect on tissues, meaning that it results in protein loss from tissue and organs, including skin and blood vessels

• Furthermore, excess/chronic cortisol secretion results in water retention

• And finally, stress - and the consequent lack of sleep - quite often leads to overeating, sugar intake, stimulant intake, smoking and alcohol intake

How stress indirectly causes skin ageing and cellulite

Loss of skin and blood vessel protein (e.g. collagen, elastin etc) will inevitably lead to skin laxity and water retention.

Furthermore, sugar intake, smoking and excessive calorie intake, which can be increased by stress directly lead to skin ageing and cellulite.

In addition, excessive/chronic stress can lead to exhaustion, break down or fatigue, which will itself have a direct effect on calorie/sugar intake and physical activity levels, eventually leading to fat accumulation.

I have seen many clients who worked for decades to exhaustion, only to end up with chronic fatigue, weight gain and inability to exercise.

So, all in all, although stress does not have an immediate or pronounced direct effect on cellulite and skin ageing, intensive or chronic stress can have an indirect effect, ultimately leading to both skin ageing, overall whole body ageing, lots of health issues and cellulite.