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Understanding Skin Stress and Mental Health · The Science of Skin

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to Skincare Confidential, the podcast supporting the Science of Skin Summit, occurring September 5th through the 7th, 2025, in beautiful Austin, Texas.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: My name is Dr.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: Ted Lane.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: I am a board-certified dermatologist and your host for today.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I am so happy to introduce my guest who I've known for years now, and we met on a trip outside of the United States, and I was so happy to meet her.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: This is Mariana Blumen-Karosik.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: Dr.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: Blumen Karosik, she is a board-certified dermatologist.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: She owns Precision Skin and Body Institute in Davy, Florida.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: And probably more importantly, she started her own skincare line and cosmetic line called Stamina Cosmetics.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, Mariana, so great to have you on.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for being here.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much for having me on.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_02: It's an honor, and I'm grateful to be here.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: So let's jump into Stamina because that's what's really exciting.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: So Stamina is a skincare brand that's been around for how long now?
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_02: 2020.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_02: So about five years.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, during COVID, huh?
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_02: Mm-hmm.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: How did that go?
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that was the inspiration behind stamina cosmetics.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_02: So without COVID, that wouldn't be the inspiration behind it.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Well t well, tell us more about that.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_02: So the idea of stamina cosmetics came to me because I saw a problem.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: And that's kind of the common thread of most of the entrepreneurial journeys.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_02: You probably hear when you interview on the podcast.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_02: But I, as a dermatologist practicing in my clinic at precision, I saw this uh uh mean problem that was coming up and more and more in my patients, uh, which is overreactive, very vulnerable skin.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: And that was happening during a very stressful time for most of us at that time, which is the COVID pandemic.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_02: And around that time, especially in the beginning, we were very anxious about what's was happening with the pandemic, the infection, as well as some of the economic uh ramifications and the political upheavals were happening that year, too.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_02: So, because of that, a lot of my patients were undergoing anxiety.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_02: And what I saw is this correlation when their stress level picked up, their underlying skin conditions, which they may have had before or they uh knew they had, but they started worsening.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_02: It was exacerbation of acne, rosacea, eczema, psoriasis, all these inflammatory skin conditions starting a pattern of being more presented around that time.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_02: And so I noticed that because of the stress level, their skin condition deteriorated.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_02: But then, furthermore, because our skin is such an apparent organ, and you can see all of the issues that are presented in the skin in front of us, right?
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_02: It speaks the story.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_02: The problem is that the skin needs to also impact on how we feel and think about ourselves.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: So it has a psychosocial negative impact.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_02: So many of my patients would suffer and impact their quality of life because their interactions changed, because their self-perception changed.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_02: And then it led to even more stress and even more worsening of their skin condition and ultimately led to this vicious skin stress mind cycle.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_02: And so, because I've noted this problem and I wanted to figure out a solution, and I realized the solution has to be twofold.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, we needed to find a remedy in figuring out a something that would strengthen and give resilience to the skin, and also something that would bring resilience to our mindset, to our mind, to be able to overcome that stress loop and anxiety.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_02: And so uh I went into deep research and deep diving into um you know psychology, integrative medicine, uh topical ingredients, and being passionate about skincare, I came up with a solution, which is truly the solution of the two pillars that stamina cosmetics stands on currently, which is the adaptogenic ingredients that help skin resilience, and the integrative skincare practices that um the individuals can uh practice during their skincare routine, such as breath work, mindfulness, and um uh affirmations, and at all of these different holistic practices can um enhance the mental stamina.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_02: So by bringing together those two aspects uh of enhancing stamina, both topically as well as mentally, we were able to come up with a mission of stamina cosmetics.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_02: This is around the time that we met at a dermatology conference, and I was actually having lunch with you, and I was formulating this mission of stamina cosmetics, which to uh be committed to enhancing skin resilience, radiance, and wellness overall.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I remember you commenting at that time, well, the rest is history, and this is your beginning of your journey as a founder of stamina cosmetics.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_02: And to me, that was really important and meaningful, and I really appreciate you took the time and listened and supported me.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, fast forward 2024 fall in your amazing conference, the Science of Skin Care Summit.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_02: I attend a lecture about neurocosmetics, and all these light bulbs go off in my head.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_02: And I go, wait a minute, this is exactly of this unique new category of cosmetics that I wasn't aware as a founder that stamina cosmetics fit into so well because it is able to reinforce that healthy skin-mind connection to strengthen it, because this is what happens when stress hits us really hard.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_02: It affects the skin, it has our it affects our mind in a negative way, and then the rest of the body.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_02: So I was trying to marry both the skincare and wellness together through this neurocosmetic concept.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: And that neurocosmetic concept is really interesting.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: It was Dr.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: Evan Reeder who gave that lecture, and uh he's he's a psychiatrist and a dermatologist.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that was the idea being that you can apply skincare not just for the ritualistic aspect of self-care, which is you've already covered absolutely beautifully.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: It is so true.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: I think many of us feel that the skincare is self-care, and it makes us feel good to do that on a daily basis, if not twice a day.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: But then there's the actual idea that no, we're actually changing brain chemistry with this as well.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: And certainly more needs to be studied here to really determine what is going on.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: But I think there's uh more and more data, and we're gonna jump into you know, we'll talk about the the adaptogenic idea of stamina and how that in and of itself can change brain chemistry in some ways.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: But the idea that you can put a chemical or or a cream on your face that is full of chemicals, whether they're organic chemicals or not, and cause change in your brain chemistry is very eye-opening.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it explains a lot with skincare.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if you really think through what skincare does for you, in addition to changing the health and beauty of your skin, but also changing the way you feel, there's something to that.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: And and as I've kind of put more thought into it, it made me realize the importance of skincare in that respect as well.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_02: I agree with you.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_02: It is so fascinating, and it's to it's it, I think the root of that is what we're beginning to understand what that stress response is really, and it's bi-directional.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we have that uh stress response and it's neurological, hormonal, and endocrinological all interlaced together, and then heads out throughout a body to all the end organs, including our skin.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_02: And then the skin has its own HPA, that kind of uh stress cycle going on, and it could respond and either when the skincare that we're using say, hey, calm down.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_02: This is a little too much of a signal that's coming from the brain.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_02: Let's regulate it, especially with the help of adaptogen, or let's not.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_02: And based on our exposomes and genetic background, if we have vulnerable skin types, we're gonna amplify these signals and send that look uh these more signals of neuropeptides and hormonal signaling and others to the brain and make it even stronger.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_02: And then we're in that stress cycle, uh, mind stress skin cycle that I was talking about and difficult to break.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, it's Patty.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you're enjoying this episode.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And this is just a reminder that the Science of Skin Summit will be held in Austin, Texas, September 5th through the 7th.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Go to our website, scienceofskinsummit.com, and the registration is open and the agenda is there.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: We'd love to see you there.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: You mentioned integrative skin care and integrative medicine, and I I certainly think which is the idea of using kind of eastern and western medicine, melding the two to achieve benefit to the to the skin and the body.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: And by the way, what struck me as you were going through this is you really wanted to treat your patients as whole people.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: You didn't you really you thought of yourself, and this is I think more dermatologists need to understand this.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: We we are not just skin deep doctors, we are whole body doctors.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: We know that the that the body ref is the health of the body is reflected in the health of the skin, and vice versa in some ways.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and so I just want to commend you on that, that that from the very beginning, uh Mariana, you have thought of yourself as as a a physician for the body and not just the skin, which is something that I believe in our specialty we need to see more of, and and people need to really think of themselves as in in that respect.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: So so kudos to you for doing that.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: And that was just a light bulb went off when you were talking about it because you saw people in trouble, you saw people stressed.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, my goodness, we all felt it in 2020, 2021.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so for you to say how can I help these people just reflects your your caring nature and your desire as a physician to be there for your patients.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I I love that.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you very much.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_02: And I want to give a shout out to uh individuals who actually sparked that interest into integrative medicine because the Learned Skin Group, uh Raja Savamani and their integrative symposium, which is what brought me to realize there's enough of the scientific and evidence for this holistic approaches to dermological care and wellness approach.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_02: So thank you for them for um leading me in that path.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_02: And more and more I'm seeing dermatologists embracing holistic approach, which is very um, you know, uh very inspiring and um stimulating.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm really excited that uh more of us moving in that direction because patients seek that.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_02: They want more holistic approach from their physicians.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and I think that that kind of aligns well with the longevity and regenerative approach that many of us are looking at also, utilizing some of these ingredients, whether it's supplemental or or topical ingredients, that harness the body's own ability to regenerate itself, to to reduce stem cell exhaustion, right, to reduce the number of senescent cells, to reduce inflammation.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_01: All of that is achievable because our body has that available to us as we learn more and more.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's just about harnessing those pathways that are getting tired or being turned off.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: How do how do we turn those back on?
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: How do we resume their functionality like a young person?
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: And and so let's let's kind of dive into the adaptogens because I think that's what what people really need to understand about stamina uh and and just overall, what are adaptogenic compounds and how can they how are they so beneficial to us?
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: So can you just quickly give us an idea, just a quick definition of an adaptogen?
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_02: So adaptogen is this bioactive molecules that uh enable our bodies to resist and adapt to stress.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_02: So the word adaptogens means to adapt to either external or internal stressors, and we are exposed to a lot of different stressors, and that applies to our whole body and then applies to the skin.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_02: So the original definition was by uh Russian uh toxicologists and pharmacologists in the 1950s, uh Dr.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_02: Lazarev, and he saw he discovered this substances which he considered natural or synthetic that are able for our bodies to regulate the stress response in a more normalizing pathways.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_02: And so um over decades, these have been studied as botanicals like uh mushrooms like cordyceps, raising chaga um plants like amoe and go to cola and et cetera.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_02: So plant-based type of uh botanicals.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_02: And over the last 20 years, these ingredients have been permeating into cosmetic market and so used for skincare.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um, however, they were mostly used as a marketing trend until the last five years or so, where more of a cosmaceutical uh companies uh started deeply researching them and having more of the scientific backing to show what is the mechanism of action behind the adaptogen and how do they normalize and resist stress in our skin.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_02: So it's really exciting.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_02: There's actually a definition of adaptogens by FDA, which are these uh metabolic regulators that are able to uh give more resilience and adaptation to our bodies in in the face of various injuries.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, it's becoming more and more established category.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, it and adaptogens for those listening, adaptogens should not be scary or unknown to you because adaptogens are widely used in supplements for hair growth.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so for example, ashwagandha is an adaptogen, and we all hear about the ashwagandha use in the different hair growth uh supplements that that are available, plus much more, including many of what you just discussed.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: So when you think about these hair growth supplements, they really are trying to reduce the stress and allow the hair to regrow and in addition to multiple other ingredients that that work on the hair growth pathway, but a lot of it is reducing stress.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's almost like we use these adaptogens to to reset the the baseline of the skin, to reduce inflammation, to allow the skin to receive the beneficial effects of other ingredients in addition to the adaptogens themselves.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you'd agree with that.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I I absolutely do.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_02: But I think that the important thing is to understand that that there is uh uh there's a categorization of them that has to have a certain definition based occurrence understanding of what adaptogens do.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: So, first of all, they can't they have to be innocuous, so not harmful either to the skin or the body.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_02: So I think what people word is it's something that's harmful and understanding the right dose and concentration, this is where the we're trying to figure things out now in order to make them the safest for our patients, and then also that they work through multimodal and multi-targeted mechanisms of action.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, if for our skin, for instance, they work on inflammatory modulation and microbial modulation, metabolic, hormonal, regenerative repair, which you already mentioned, as well as skin barrier fortification.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_02: So all of these mechanisms through the normalization.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_02: So the best way to think of them in the big picture is uh conductors.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_02: They're like these conductors in our skin that are orchestrating all this different mechanisms of action to bringing things to back to normal to optimize uh this skin performance.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_01: You said something really interesting there.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of what you said is interesting.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: I don't mean to just pick it apart, but uh the hormonal aspect, right?
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: Because we as dermatologists deal with hormonal, the hormonal uh effect on the skin, and in particular acne, uh the adult female, you know, or the uh any adult who is on supplemental testosterone, for example, often develops acne that can be very difficult to treat.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: So we see the direct effects on hormones of hormones on the skin in acne, but also uh as a woman becomes perimenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal, you see the effect of the lack of estrogen and the drying out of the skin and the sallowness and all that that has the effect.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: Now, when you're talking about, it just made me realize that adaptogens actually can counteract a lot of these hormonal issues because of how they work in these different biologic pathways.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: Is that correct?
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, correct.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_02: And then that is what's we're trying to figure out more with precision medicine, right?
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_02: So this is where the skincare uh arena is gonna be strengthened more as it develops, is how to precisely study each individual adaptogen and how it acts on modulation, where does strongest.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_02: And certain ones like sopalmetto and um ashwagandha, they have a little bit more of that ability to modulate hormones, where others are more energizing, like virana stimulating, giving a little bit more resources of energy, boosting mitochondrial function.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_02: And then certain other adoptogens are doing things to calm things down because of the little bit more revved up and over um uh agitated.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_02: So we have a whole different uh mechanism of actions, and based on whether they're you know, the thalanoids or terpenoids, whatever the chemical background of these are, and this is what's fascinating and will be upcoming.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_02: But what's exciting is we're now beginning to recognize that there are established adaptages now used in cosmoceutical, and they are making a difference and giving more strengthening and resilience to the skin.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: And that's something that you know is upcoming in uh the review study that I'm so grateful you're a part of.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we've got a paper that's been accepted for publication in JCAD, and we can't wait for it to be published uh as a review on adaptogens.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: And so uh I think that will allow our colleagues to really learn a lot more about this class of ingredients.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm wondering, Mariana, as uh as you practice dermatology every day and and as part of your your integrative approach and your holistic approach, how do you think of of utilizing these adaptogenic ingredients from patient to patient?
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like do you obviously you've got your stamina cosmetics, and so you you you want them to be applied to the skin and you and there's a benefit there.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: How else though, do you do you think of them as supplements, nutritional supplements also?
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: And and if so, how do you target that?
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_02: So where there is a need for more resilience.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_02: So stress-induced dermatosis be their hair, and you already already mentioned supplement.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not sure if I can mention brands, but there are several brands like neutropol, extras A.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um, they have these supplements that help with uh restoring hair loss, so strengthening the hair, but offsetting that stress cycle that impacts and causes, like, let's say telogen of fluvium and hair loss.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_02: And um, neutrophil also has a uh um supplement called skin that has holybasal, ashwagandha, curcumin that's integrated as part of them.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_02: And those are helpful with acne breakouts.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_02: So things that are uh stress-related more, and you can pinpoint it by taking a more thorough history for a patient and understanding how stressful is their lifestyle.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_02: Because in reality, for most of us, especially high-function individuals, we have very demanding and stress-inducing lifestyles at this point.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_02: We're handling a lot of things.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_02: And when we see that the lifestyle is not the most conducive and they are very stressed out psychologically and physically, they hit that exhaustion stage, um, that burnout stage, that's when these supplements can come in, whether they're oral supplements or they're topical, like stamina cosmetics.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_02: When I see patients whose skin is very dull and rough and lost that luck luster because it deteriorated in quality, the tone, the texture, and tightness.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm seeing it because they're voicing through their history.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_02: They're stressed out, they're seeing like a mother that says says, Oh my God, I just have all these children, and all of a sudden I wake up and I'm seeing all of a sudden all these wrinkles and my skin is blah and it's just I can't recognize myself.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_02: It's a milestone, but part of it is lack of sleep.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_02: Part of it is, you know, all these other exposomes are affecting it.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_02: So they're stressed and this is a transition, but they need help during that transition to give more resilience to the skin.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_02: So I would recommend stamatic asphatics moisturizer, like contention moisturizer, as well as a mask that they can integrate that that can help to once a week to reduce their stress through that specific, you know, we talked about mindful ritual that helps to reduce this stress.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_02: So there's multiple ways that you can uh incorporate adaptogen use as uh a dermatologist.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_02: And again, you know, the most common way is when there's a significant stress causes inflammatory conditions like acne or eczema or hair loss, or the expedited aging of the skin that's reported by a patient perimenopausal you already mentioned.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_02: The skin just changes and suddenly patients are noticing it so quickly and they want to keep it more youthful and healthy long term.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_02: And this is where adaptogens can come into play uh to make a difference.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: Love it.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that we've had a really nice review of this class of compounds, um, which are definitely making their way through the dermatology community, whether it's, as I mentioned, just supplemental for for hair growth, which so many of us are advising our patients to take, or for longevity purposes to decrease the stress.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: And then you've taken it a step further with stamina and said, hey, you know, we should take these ingredients, which are natural ingredients, they're innocuous, as they as you mentioned, and apply them to the skin as well to give our keratinocytes as much uh help as possible, to give our barrier as much help as possible.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: Hopefully it reaches our fibroblasts and makes them feel good and produce more collagen as well.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that uh there's a real opportunity there with it with these adaptogens, especially as we wrote that review paper.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it made me realize that that we're just scratching the surface here for adaptogens.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: And and you really and you, Mariana is at the are at the tip of the spear.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: So so kudos to you again.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: And thank you for being here on Skincare Confidential.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Dr.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: Ted Lane, board certified dermatologist with Dr.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: Mariana Blumen-Karosik from Precision Skin and Body Institute in Davy, Florida.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: Also owned stamina cosmetics.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: We just reviewed uh all the great uh story of adaptogens and how they can be great for taking them supplementally as well as applying them to your skin.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: Please, if you've liked this episode, refer us to your friends.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: We found that this is a great way for us to build our community.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: You can learn more at SciencesSkin Summit.com about both the podcast and the webinars that we're doing and our wonderful conference September 5th to the 7th in Austin.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: We'd love to have you there.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_01: And uh otherwise, uh be well, everybody.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.