What Chronic Pain Is Secretly Doing to Your Skin

Most people think chronic pain only affects muscles and joints, but it can significantly impact your skin as well. The skin and nervous system are closely connected, meaning long-term pain can influence inflammation, circulation, and skin repair.

When the body experiences chronic pain, it often stays in a state of ongoing stress. This increases inflammatory chemicals in the body, which can trigger redness, rosacea flare-ups, acne inflammation, and slower healing. Over time, inflammation also breaks down collagen and elastin, accelerating visible skin aging.

Chronic pain also raises levels of cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone. High cortisol can thin the skin barrier, increase oil production, and make skin more sensitive to products and environmental triggers.

Another factor is circulation. When the nervous system remains in a “fight-or-flight” state, blood flow to the skin can decrease. Less oxygen and fewer nutrients reach skin cells, which can cause dullness, slower turnover, and delayed healing.

Finally, chronic pain often disrupts sleep. Because the skin performs most of its repair during sleep, poor rest can lead to darker under-eye circles, weakened barrier function, and increased inflammation.

Supporting the skin when chronic pain is present often means focusing on calming treatments, antioxidant-rich skincare, and therapies that gently improve circulation while protecting the skin barrier.

The solution:
Treatments like microdermabrasion, enzyme peels, LED light therapy, and microneedling help restore vitality to skin affected by chronic stress and inflammation. Microdermabrasion and enzyme peels gently remove damaged surface cells, revealing fresher skin and improving product absorption. LED light therapy calms inflammation and supports skin repair, while microneedling stimulates collagen and elastin to improve firmness and texture. Together, these treatments help the skin appear brighter, stronger, and more youthful.

Your skin at 35, 45, 55 isn’t “difficult”—it’s communicating.

As hormones shift and the skin barrier naturally thins, sensitive skin becomes more reactive to harsh synthetics, artificial fragrance, and filler ingredients. That’s where organic skincare matters.

Organic ingredients are grown without toxic pesticides, meaning fewer irritants and more of the nutrients your skin actually needs—think calming botanicals, antioxidant-rich oils, and plant actives that support repair instead of fighting your skin.

For sensitive or maturing skin, less inflammation = more glow, better texture, and long-term resilience. Clean, intentional formulas don’t force results—they work with your skin.

If your skin has been asking for gentler care—don’t ignore it. Book your customized facial today.

A customized facial can calm sensitivity, restore balance, and help your skin look and feel its best—at every stage.

📅 Book your facial appointment and let your skin experience gentle, organic care designed just for you.

https://www.jreneeorganics.com/schedule-now

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Every customized facial includes a complimentary skin assessment and a personalized home-care plan, complete with samples to try.

🌿 Personalized Organic Facials for Skin That Requires Intention.

🌿 Because Exceptional Skin Care Is Never One-Size-Fits-All.

🌿 Tailored Organic Treatments for Lasting Skin Confidence.

Skin Health and Systemic Disease

Crepey body skin may have you wearing long sleeves or pants in the summer.  Not only is crepey body skin unsightly, it is a visual indicator of unhealthy skin.  In recent studies, scientists have found that the state of your skin can affect your overall health.  It’s the chicken-or-egg scenario; they aren’t 100% sure yet if poor skin health causes overall body inflammation, which causes many health conditions and premature aging…or if poor skin health is caused by systemic inflammation.  The studies are starting to point toward unhealthy skin being the CAUSE or at least a large puzzle piece toward the cause of disease. Afterall, your skin is your largest organ.

Studies also show that pairing the right lotion (rich in vitamins and minerals and using it at least twice per day), drastically improves the look of crepey skin and improves the quality and health of thin aging skin.  Also, exfoliation brings blood flow to your skin cells along with a healing response that kick starts more collagen production and repairs elastin that has been broken down from UV damage, smoking and environmental toxins.  I suggest a pouf in the shower, dry brushing or a body scrub.

I use J Renee Organics Supple Body Lotion and exfoliate with a shower pouf to preserve my youthful skin all year, so that when summer comes around, I can be confident in showing off my arms and legs.  Supple Lotion has even helped my parent’s skin heal after surgery.  Surgery and other stresses on the body can make skin dry and fragile and make your whole body dehydrated because it cannot hold-in moisture like it should.  Proper moisturized skin is essential for overall body health.

In recent studies, scientists have found that the state of your skin can affect your overall health.  It’s the chicken-or-egg scenario; they aren’t 100% sure yet if poor skin health causes overall body inflammation, which causes many health conditions and premature aging…or if poor skin health is caused by systemic inflammation.  The studies are starting to point toward unhealthy skin being the CAUSE or at least a large puzzle piece toward the cause of disease.

The Science:

Conditions (so far) that are proven to be caused by poor skin quality include:  Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. “Until recently, the scientific community didn’t believe that skin could contribute to systemic inflammation and disease. But in the last five years, studies of psoriasis and dermatitis have shown that skin inflammation from these diseases likely increases the risk of heart disease," said study lead author Theodora Mauro, MD, a professor of dermatology at UCSF and the San Francisco VA Health Care System. 

In the study, published March 5, 2019 in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, Mauro, Man and colleagues attempted to reverse age-related skin damage using an over-the-counter skin cream formulated based on prior research by Man and colleagues, and which the researchers had previously shown to contribute to skin repair based on its beneficial ratio of three types of lipids (cholesterol, free fatty acids, and ceramides) that are vital for skin health.

Thirty-three older adults between the ages of 58 and 95 applied the cream all over their bodies twice a day for 30 days. After a month, the researchers measured blood levels of three cytokines—interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha—that have all been implicated in age-related inflammatory diseases. Using the cream reduced the amount of all three cytokines compared to both the participants’ levels before using the cream and the levels of similarly aged adults who did not use the cream. In fact, using the cream lowered participants’ cytokine levels to be nearly equivalent with people in their 30s, suggesting that rejuvenating the skin can reverse “inflamm-aging.” The cream also improved skin hydration, lowered pH, and repaired the permeability barrier.

Shelly Todd, esthetician

Supple Body Cream

from $5.00

Pamper your skin with this deeply moisturizing and fortifying lotion. Supple Cream has a delightful feel, is unscented and absorbs right into the skin without leaving a greasy feeling. Its packed with organic antioxidants, vitamins and minerals to sooth dry skin and to stimulate collagen. That collagen production essentially rebuilds the matrix to shield you better from bumps and scratches. When skin is moisturized properly its stronger, when it’s too dry, it gets brittle and vulnerable to scratches turning into deeper sores and has a hard time healing itself.
8 oz glass bottle with pump.

Scent:

Select Scent Unscented Lemon Grass Vanilla Christmas

Oz:

Select Oz 1 oz 8 oz 16 oz

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