If you're unsuccessfully trying to treat your skin problems with lotions and creams, consider this: your feelings may be written all over your face. From lines and wrinkles to acne and eczema, celebrity facialist Kate Somerville says stress can play a huge role in your skin's health and appearance. Learn how to treat the underlying emotions that could be causing your biggest complexion concerns.
What do emotions have to do with skin? In my opinion, everything! Our skin can easily give away what's going on in our hearts and minds. Since it's our largest and most visible organ, we often notice the effects of our feelings in our skin before anywhere else.

You need to be aware that emotional uproar can really do a number on your face. Not only does it age you, but it contributes to acne, eczema, inflammation, and infection as well. The aches and pain you experience as a result of stress can also be reflected in your face. And the disrupted sleep that tends to accompany tension and anxiety can further contribute to a sallow complexion and dark circles under your eyes.

Ever since I was a kid, my emotions have manifested in my skin issues—and I was reminded of that this past holiday season. When I was a child, Christmas wasn't about love and gift giving; it was more about emotional turmoil. The holidays were so stressful that I'd want to just crawl into a cave and disappear for days rather than be absorbed in the drama.

Now I have a family of my own, including a young son, and I live in a beautiful home. Although I have nothing to complain about these days, I still have a hard time during the holidays. So leading up to last Christmas, I was uptight, grumpy, and on edge. My stomach hurt, my back went out, my eczema flared, and I broke out in cystic bumps along my jawline. Those negative emotions needed to get out. And this was how they were doing it.

My solution was to go to my wonderful bodyworker, Mary. As she deeply massaged my muscles with her special technique, tears suddenly began to roll down my face. Her expert manipulation released the energy my body was storing. I was a different person after that moment: my back was instantly better, and my skin started to clear up. I tell my clients to find where they're storing that pent-up negative energy and then look for ways to work it out of the body.

Next: How a facial can double as a therapy session
Excerpted from Complexion Perfection! by Kate Somerville. Copyright © 2010 by Kate Somerville. Excerpted by permission of Hay House.

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