As someone with an impressive skincare cabinet of peptide-boosting products and various bottles labelled “happy oil” and “sleep cream”, I was fascinated when I first came across psychodermatology, a field of study that addresses the interactions between the skin and mind. In the past I’ve investigated how botox might be affecting our ability to communicate, how stress accelerates skin ageing and how beauty standards are killing our sex lives, but I’d never come across the term “neurocosmetic” before. The term made so much sense given everything I’d been learning about the connection between the brain and the skin.
Neurocosmetics are the latest in a host of wellness trends to hone in on the link between the topical products we use and our mood. Broadly, the idea is that as skincare products come into contact with nerve endings within the dermis, the active ingredients in those products influence your brain chemistry. There are several applications for this idea, but you’ve no doubt seen an uptick in products and clinical beauty treatments that claim to “boost mood”.
