In psycare, beauty blends with wellness

Skincare brands are researching the link between wellness and natural ingredients that can soothe the mind as well as the skin

- Shilpi Madan [e-mail]

Wellness has moved beyond conversations about gut reboot, slow living and resetting boundaries. Feeling good is no longer a reward but rather, a daily ritual. It’s a shift that brands in the beauty and skin care business are leaning into. With mental wellness becoming a critical dimension of health post pandemic, there has been growth in wellness-driven beauty that organically ties in emotional and psychological needs.

The connection between the mind, emotions and skin is called ‘psychodermatology’. It's an emerging field that works on the understanding that psychosomatic processes show up through the skin because it’s our largest, most visible organ and a primary barrier between us and the world.

“Beyond deeply rooted medical conditions, we see that stress, anxiety, low mood or periods of emotional suppression can aggravate issues like eczema, psoriasis, acne, and accelerate signs of ageing,” says Deepti Chandy, therapist and COO of Anna Chandy & Associates, Bengaluru.

“When we push our feelings down, the body often finds a way to speak—and the skin is frequently where we first notice it. Conversely, when we nurture our mental and emotional well-being, we often see visible improvements in skin health,” Chandy explains. “Emotional health accounts for 25-30 per cent of skin health outcomes.”

Certain botanicals in products such as mists, oils and cleansers tend to have small-to-moderate yet immediate effects on our state of mind when inhaled, notes Pritesh Asher, co-founder and CEO of Juicy Chemistry headquartered in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

“While the extent of their impact depends on factors like dosage, context, and individual preferences, it’s important to remember that these ingredients only support relief, and are not medical treatments in themselves,” he says, listing out some well-known herbs and flowers that the brand uses.