I’ve received tons of emails throughout this last winter with people having random skin issues. The two most common complaints: My skin is so incredibly dry, you say, or, My face is breaking out for the first time in years, or maybe ever. Personally I am in the dry category. Extra dry.

I thought it was my diet at first, but no, my diet has been fine. Then I blamed my current postpartum stage, but that doesn’t make sense for the dozens of others who have contacted me. Winter maybe? I expect some extra dryness each winter, but nothing this extreme. My whole body has been dry to the point of itchy patches. And my hands – gah. None of my usual Wyld products were working as usual. I purchased a more commercial hand cream at one point in the winter – I’m no purist – but it didn’t really help either. What is going on?

Lockdown is going on.

Why lockdown might be affecting your skin

Not only are we humans a social species, but there is a literal party going on inside of us. We exist only because of a huge ecosystem of bacteria, fungi, viruses and other microbes that are not ‘bad guys’ as we often think. These microscopic, microbial beings outnumber our own human cells!

I contain multitudes, as the poet Walt Whitman put it and author Ed Yong reinvented when he used the phrase for the title of his book about the microbes within us. He said in an interview:

For the longest time, people didn’t realize that microbes were so essential to us. They were ignored for a long time. And then they were vilified because people realized that they were in fact the cause of so many infamous diseases, like tuberculosis or leprosy or cholera, and so they became known as germs, as things we should fear and destroy lest they destroy us first. And only more recently have we started to understand just how essential they are for our bodies, for our lives, for our health.

Our immune systems need interaction with the microbial world, and in fact, children who have spent the last year in isolated environments, thanks to covid-19, are now at risk of allergies, asthma and a host of other autoimmune diseases. It’s worse for babies, but even adolescents will be affected, as our immune systems aren’t completely mature until we’re young adults.

But even for adults, we benefit from a constant connection with the microbial world in order to keep our defense system strong.

So how does this relate to our skin?

There are around 20 billion T cells in human skin — way more than the number of T cells in our blood — so immune defense in the skin is a high priority! Not only is skin our largest organ, but it’s home to thousands of microbial species that we need for overall health.

Skin microorganisms (called commensals) have important roles in educating both the innate and adaptive arms of our cutaneous immune system and help our body fight off the ‘bad’ viruses, bacteria, parasites and other disease-causing microbes. New studies are beginning to reveal just how much skin issues are linked to an altered microbial state. So going a long time without proper interaction with the world is going to affect our skin.

I find myself smiling when I consider that healthy skin isn’t actually about a certain skincare product, or even a particular ingredient. It’s about living.

But sadly we cannot just go out and live right now. While death may be a natural part of life, isolation is not – not at this level, for this length of time. And yet we must. Which leads to another big factor in our skin health…

Our Mental and Emotional Health

Lockdown put a lot of extra stress on us – especially for mothers who are often carrying a disproportionate amount of their already heavy load. Even for those without children, there is the stress of an economic suppression and the insecurities that come along with that. Many people feel not only stuck at home, but stuck in bad jobs. Yet fortunate to even have a job, unlike so many.

And on top of that, research is showing that the microbial world plays a role in regulating our brains! So not only are lockdown restrictions putting extra stress on us, but in isolating ourselves from normal everyday interactions, we could be losing the ability to even handle stress. There are various strains of microbes that could improve our psychological state and stress response, but we probably won’t access them at home.

Also, there is the loneliness factor. From elderly people trapped in nursing homes to young adults living alone far from family, many of us are experiencing varying levels of depression and hopelessness. These feelings are such an enormous part of our health and well-being, affecting our quality of sleep, our use of numbing substances (which affect our health), and could eventually lead to irrational fears and paranoia.

How stress and depression may show up on our skin:

• Acne is a big one due to elevated levels of cortisol, which stimulates a CRH hormone known to affect oil and sebum production. Though the connection isn’t fully understood, every trial reveals a positive link between stress levels and acne severity.
• Puffy or swollen eyes, often called “bags” under the eyes due to premature aging caused by stressors. This goes for wrinkles and fine lines as well, as stress can alter the proteins in your skin and reduce its elasticity.
• Dryness – the outer layer of our skin, the stratum corneum, struggles to retain proper hydration when our psychological state is compromised. This barrier also protects the skin underneath, so when skin cells aren’t properly hydrated, our skin’s ability to heal itself is disrupted too. As I always say, hydrated skin is healthy skin.
• Flaring of rashes, psoriasis, eczema, rosacea and other inflammatory conditions is caused by a comprised immune system. We all know by now that stress affects the body’s immunity. Plus a recent study shows that non-infectious skin diseases can be caused or exacerbated by a microbiome imbalance.
• Hair loss and/or greying hair – yep, it’s true that our job, kids, etc. can give us grey hair. A 2020 study found that sympathetic nervous activity from stress causes the stem cells that create melanocytes to disappear. Once these cells disappear, new cells lose their color and turn gray. Severe OR prolonged stress can also lead to hormonal disturbances, which then disrupts hair growth cycles. “I didn’t go an hour without seeing a hair loss patient,” says dermatologist Papri Sarkar. “Everyone whom I’ve had any contact with throughout the pandemic has seen a huge, huge increase in hair loss.”

This list is not exhaustive, nor is it giving us all permission to break current covid-19 regulations. Rather it sheds some light on what you might be experiencing and why.

But there are some things we can do, even during these times.

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How to Support Your Skin and Overall Health

Get Dirty

Play in the dirt, work in the soil, swim in the sea or river, take off your shoes and let your bare feet connect with the ground, etc. Go on and hug some trees! Just get dirty. Don’t be afraid to interact with others, plants and animals. A lot of research shows that people with pets in their home have much healthier microbiomes, and therefore stronger immune systems. And there’s a reason why children, by nature, want to touch everything, slimy snails and all.

This one is quite hard for those of who live in northern climates with long, frozen winters. Just do your best and definitely take advantage of good weather whenever possible.

Too many of us spend our days, and therefore our lives, in hyper clean indoor environments eating sterilized foods spraying disinfecting products in the air, on our bodies. In fact, since we eat organic veggies from a local farmer, I often skin peeling and scrubbing. I have no research to support this one, so take it with a grain of salt, but I feel like eating an organic carrot without washing it, dirt and all, is good for me…?

Rethink your hygiene and skincare rituals

I believe we over-cleanse today. The constant use of harsh soaps and anti-bacterial wipes, sanitizing sprays and preservatives does not support our skin’s microbiome. While trying to protect ourselves from germs, we’re also destroying the microbes that form our defense system and actually protect us from harmful microbes.

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Do your best to avoid or limit antibacterial products – and only use sanitizers when really necessary.

Use soaps made with simple oil- and fat-based ingredients that won’t strip your skin. Check How To Choose a Real Natural Soap for tips on what to look for when buying soaps. This is a big one.

Look for skincare products without preservatives. I once had a long discussion with someone who was very worried about the lack of preservatives in Wyld products, but consider what preservatives do. They keep the product “safe” by killing all microbes that could grow in them. Unfortunately this is exactly what they do to your skin as well. If skincare products are handcrafted and made-to-order, then they won’t require the same level of preservatives as factory-made skincare products, which are designed to sit on stock shelves for years.

Ask yourself if you really need to shower every single day. Even if you don’t leave your house? For me, I find that my skin is coping much better when I just rinse off those necessary places each day and enjoy full-body showers every second or third day. Good hygiene is important of course, but over-cleansing can have consequences for the skin.

Eat fermented foods

I’ve jumped on the sourdough train, friends, and it’s been a good ride. I ferment so many things beyond just bread. From pancake batter to even chocolate chip cookies, which spend 3 days fermenting in the fridge (they taste absolutely amazing actually, so don’t knock it till you try it). In addition to fermented dairy, my family also eats a lot of sauerkraut and other fermented veggies, including wild things that we forage from our local environment! It’s a great way to get some good bacteria during those frozen winter months when it’s difficult to interact with the earth directly.

Fermented foods support all of the healthy microorganisms in your intestines and improve digestion, which will also improve skin health. In fact, evidence shows that gut health is associated with a growing number of inflammatory issues, including those related to skin.

But eating well overall will support your immune system and therefore your skin health. There are certain foods which may support your skin a bit more than others, but food is so political these days, so I hope you will do your own research according to your own moral and political beliefs. Ultimately, always consider which nutrients you’re feeding your body and how they affect long-term health.

After so many days closing ourselves off from life, the world, from people, I have begun to ask myself, how can I open back up again? How can I find new ways of interacting directly with others, human and non-human?

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Even something as simple as this: every family member strips off our clothes and spends some time being skin-to-skin with each other, hugging, wrestling, playing. It totally changes our entire brain and all of our bodily reactions when we do this. I feel like there’s something there, especially for my 8-month old baby who just comes ALIVE during these precious times of being physically close. Sadly he has missed out on pretty much all human interaction outside of our family. With the exception of a neighbor who loves him dearly, he’s barely been held by anyone outside of our little family. His hands have not swiped across surfaces where other hands have already been. “It’s not dangerous, but also not optimal,” said his midwife. Thankfully he has siblings to get some germy things from, and now that spring is finally here, we’re kicking off our shoes and going outside as much as possible.

Let’s hope we can all get vaccinated and back to living real soon, back to hand-shaking and cheek-kissing, back to hugs, sweaty dance parties and other close interactions. That’s how we’ve come into being and how we’ll come out of this time too.

Until then, stay safe and stay Wyld.

Featured title image is by Zhong Lin.