Anxiety can often wreak havoc on black skin. When you’re experiencing depression, nervousness, worry, tension or fatigue, it can cause some pretty yucky things to happen to your skin.
It’s possible you’ll see your skin become darker, dull, ashy or gray. Granted, this can also be the result of dead skin cell buildup. However, when anxiety shows up, a chemical composition in your blood will cause your skin to show stress.
Anxiety and It’s impact on Beautiful Black Skin
Stress can cause a chemical reaction in your body, making your skin more sensitive and reactive. Stress triggers your body to make more hormones like cortisol which tells your skin to produce more oil.
Skin discoloration, rashes, inflammation and itching can be the result of anxiety triggering these challenges.
Before there was Prozac or Xanax for anxiety and depression, your ancestors used herbs as plant medicine. Let’s take a look at three of them.
Three Herbs for Challenged Black Skin Care from Anxiety
Yes, anxiety can bring challenges to your beautiful black skin. Here are three herbs to consider when these challenges show up.
Lemon balm (melissa officials) is a member of the mint family. It’s considered a calming herb. Known for reducing stress and anxiety, it also helps promote sleep, improve your appetite and ease gas and bloating.
People who suffer with anxiety are also known to have sleep disorders and insomnia. Lemon balm has been known to aid and assist in these areas as well.
Lemon balm is high in flavonoids making it a great antioxidant for your skin. When used as an essential oil in blends for your skin, it’s possible to see some pretty good results.
Lavender is known to be a calming and relaxing plant and when used in teas and tinctures, lavender helps sooth your nerves. For some, the smell of lavender can calm the nerves. For others, it can also stimulate receptors in your nose to pass signals to your brain.
When it comes to your skin, it’s to go to essential oil for most skin related challenges.
Kava Kava produces a pleasant sensations and has a calming, relaxing effect when taken. The medical community considers it as a possible treatment for GAD (generalized anxiety disorder.)
For skin use it’s known to promote the healing of wombs and as a mouthwash for canker sores.
Milky oat seed is used to help restore your nervous system. This is typically the herb of choice when you’re overworked or at your whits end of being wired and tired. Sometimes you can be so on edged that you need to be reeled back in. This would be the herb to consider.
As for your skin, oats in general are used in baths to treat rashes, skin irritations and itching.
Cautions …
As with most herbs, whether it’s in raw form or essential oils, it’s a good idea to check with your physician. There’s a tendency to think that we’re equipped to self diagnose after reading a book or two. Herbal science is an intense study of what Mother Nature has provided.
Always be learning. Your acquiring of knowledge is what will help you take care of yourself and others. It’s all trial and error in the beginning. It’s just a matter of how much to try and how much error you can take before it becomes serious. This is where a more seasoned person with herbs can help you.
If you can secure your herbs from natural farmers, do so. Or you could try growing your own.
This article is to peak your curiosity about anxiety and the challenges it creates in black skin care. There’s so much to know when it comes to your well-being. Use this as a starting point to lean more about who you are and how to care for your mental and physical being with herbs.
That’s it for this week. As always …
Dedicated To Your Beauty,
Juliette Samuel
Esthetician/Author/Publisher
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