Oh stress, where do we even start? The typical day to day things usually doesn’t cause us so much stress that it creates a significant enough imbalance in our bodies to affect our nails. However, chronic stress can cause many problems, not only in your body but your nails.
We all know the critical role of estrogen on your nails. In case you missed it, go check out Part 1 of our Nails and Hormones Blog.
The hormone responsible for stress is cortisol. As cavewomen, we needed this hormone to keep us alive, just in case a sabretooth tiger decided to come at us as dinner. Nowadays these seemingly, small every day little stresses can cause our cortisol levels to rise which in turn affect all of our other hormones. Long periods of high pressure cause the adrenal glands to be overactive, which can lead to problems with the thyroid. Which we all know affects our nails, and not in a good way. Wouldn’t it be nice if stress helped our nails? Wishful thinking though.
When our bodies go into stress-mode, our hair, skin and nails are the first signs that something has gone awry. Our hair, skin and nails are the last places our bodies will send the nutrients too, because it is trying to keep us alive, so this can even halt hair and nail growth altogether.
If you happen to have any unlucky habits, such as picking or chewing, stress will only make things worse. And the cycle continues: stress is the trigger, cortisol levels rise, cause an imbalance in estrogen which can cause dehydration in nails then create weak points, and there we have it, the answer to all of our questions > lifts/and problem nails.
Of course, we all know that we need to try and avoid stress, and there are many things we can do to lessen the effects, such as yoga, meditation, and eliminating stressors by changing our situations. But sometimes we cannot help it. What you CAN do is what we always do with our clients going through a tough time, be an ear for their woes, and shoulder to comfort them when they need it.
Try not to be too hard on yourself if you have a client that comes in with missing nails, or some nails that are lifting. They may be going through more stress then they want to let on, or may have hormonal imbalances that may be causing some issues with their retention. Try your best to troubleshoot your steps; make sure you aren’t missing anything. You can only do what you do, to the best of your ability and you really cannot control how, or what your clients do with their nails when they leave the salon.
Remember: Keep flocking shining Queens!
Sources:https://happyhormonesforlife.com/the-cortisol-connection/ http://home.bt.com/lifestyle/health/skincare/how-stress-affects-your-hair-skin-and-nails-11363847355873