“Neurocosmetics: How Your Skin is Connected to Your Brain for Better Emotional Wellbeing”

2023-06-01 04:53:00

The skin is closely related to our nervous system, and this is what neurocosmetics focuses on, as it develops products with ingredients that stimulate our senses. (Getty Creative)

What are cosmetics for you? Surely they represent care, aesthetics, beauty, changes, but also pleasure, enjoyment, expectations, which is more connected with emotional well-being than with aesthetics. And it is that the skin is closely related to our nervous system, and neurocosmetics focuses on it.

Our skin reflects our habits and even our health. Likewise, the skin is affected by external agents, such as sudden changes in temperature, sunlight, pollution and can also suffer alterations due to genetic and hormonal factors. And although it is not so evident, the skin can also be affected by emotional or psychological disorders such as anxiety, stress and anguish.

According to a article from the Cosmetic Dermatology magazine, the skin is an immediate reflection of our state of mind, so much so that some conditions arise or worsen depending on our emotional state. It has even been shown that negative emotions contribute to premature aging and it has been studied how to counteract them.

Cosmetics has been present throughout the history of humanity and today it is not only focused on improving our image but also on contributing to our self-esteem.  (Getty Creative)

Cosmetics has been present throughout the history of humanity and today it is not only focused on improving our image but also on contributing to our self-esteem. (Getty Creative)

For this reason, the determining role that cosmetics can have in our emotional well-being makes sense. The aforementioned article states that cosmetics has been present throughout the history of humanity and today it is not only focused on improving our image but also on contributing to our self-esteemproposing care from the inside out.

In this way, the cosmetic market has focused on these benefits and this is how Products focused on influencing not only appearance but also the nervous system have been developed. Thus, formulas have been designed and developed with ingredients that stimulate the secretion of hormones that improve our mood, reflecting in the improvement of our skin.

The most interesting thing is that the objective of neurocosmetics goes beyond the well-being that knowing that cosmetics are having an effect provides, but rather it is really proposed that the products generate impulses towards the nervous system and that physically they can influence our state of mind. .

Steve Herman, a pioneer scientist in this field, commented in a article that neurocosmetics seeks to delve into the way in which the brain responds to topical treatment, influencing the nerves associated with sensations such as heat or cold and that then send signals from the skin to the spinal cord and from there to the brain.

Neurocosmetics develop proposals designed to influence our sensory system and, consequently, alleviate emotional discomfort that arises due to stress, anxiety, and bad habits.  (Getty Creative)

Neurocosmetics develop proposals designed to influence our sensory system and, consequently, alleviate emotional discomfort that arises due to stress, anxiety, and bad habits. (Getty Creative)

Thus, it is not just about the virtues that a serum or skin cream may have in terms of hydration, softness or regenerationbut that its ingredients, its texture, its fragrance, and even its color They are meticulously designed to influence our sensory system and, consequently, alleviate emotional discomfort that arises due to stress, anxiety, and bad habits.

Nature: source of sensations

The basis of neurocosmetics is to take advantage of the connection between the skin and the nervous system, with which the active ingredients of these products influence our sensory capacities to generate therapeutic benefits, so it is worth asking if these ingredients come from human ingenuity in the field of chemistry or if nature provides us with them.

And study published in the scientific journal Productos Cosméticos reviews the operation of these products and describes some of their ingredients to define which ones really work and included some that they define as “neurorelaxing” derived from plant extracts and confirmed the operation of some.

Among them, the berries of the chaste tree, also known as monk’s pepper, and rhodiola root extract. Likewise, the tree peony, a perennial plant native to Tibet and used medicinally in ancient China, has been used successfully in this cosmetic trend, but the most efficient and studied extracts so far are menthol, which provides a sensation of cold, and capsaicin, which causes heatbeing very good examples of neuroactive ingredients.

Menthol is one of the few ingredients studied as an efficient neuroactive.  (Getty Creative)

Menthol is one of the few ingredients studied as an efficient neuroactive. (Getty Creative)

Although the development of neurocosmetics is not new, it is a trend that is seeing increasing interest within the beauty industry. This is positive from the point of view of research and advances in the health of our skin, but it can be negative because to the same extent there are products that are not certified to offer miracles and that could be harmful.

Before self-medicating or purchasing a product to improve any condition of our skin, it is best to check the labels that are endorsed by responsible organizations and even consult specialists. Sometimes we can make mistakes by applying products that later do not work for us because we just don’t need them.

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