Is Crying Good for Your Skin? - Chemosmart

Kadam Dipali
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Is crying is Good for Your health 

                All of you know that, emotions that are we used for express sadness, Happiness etc. Like that Crying is one of the process that used for communicate sadness. But, Crying is necessary for health of eye. It is a natural biological process which helpful for us to express and process pain and emotions. And no matter how frequently we shed tears, we might be wondering if crying is best for our skin, too. So, in this article we will discuss about- Is Crying is Good for our skin? How crying affects on our skin? Benefits of Crying etc.

                      As it turns out, practicing certain habits both during and after crying can make a difference in how your skin reacts. We spoke with several doctors to break down how good hygiene and skin care can keep your skin clean and clear, regardless of waterworks.

Effects on skin-

                    For most of the people, crying is uncomfortable. And while a box of tissue or our shirt sleeve can useful wipe away some of the tears, it’s not uncommon to have mild facial irritation after a good crying spell.

Crying affects on skin


                    One reason for this slight irritation, according to Melanie Palm, MD, a board certified dermatologist at Art of Skin MD, is that tears are isotonic (close to normal saline used in intravenous [IV] fluid preparations), but the pH of our tears is higher than that of our skin.

                 Palm says that-  Tears are usually close to pH of 7, and skin is with pH closer to 5.5 or 6.   while short-term exposure to tears is not dangerous, long-term exposure could cause changes in skin hydration or slight irritation due to pH difference.

                    But there is not matter just the pH. After Crying and during what we do can make a difference.  Angie Seelal, PA-C, of Advanced Dermatology PC cautions that - Rubbing our eyes or using certain tissues to wipe our face can change our skin and cause inflammation, darken the skin, and even irritate acne in some cases. 

                    The formation of tears and shedding them has an change on our all over face.

          Dagny Zhu, MD, a board certified ophthalmologist said that-  When we are crying, the blood vessels surrounding the eyes, face, and nose become enlarge with enhanced blood supply leading to swelling, puffiness, and redness. 


              To help constrict blood vessels and lower the symptoms after crying, Zhu associated that- washing our face with cold water or applying a cold compresses over the eyelids. Since crying dehydrates we through lost electrolytes, Seelal also recommended that- drinking more water and applying a moisturizer. She recommends using a moisturizer with squalene, ceramides, or hyaluronic acid to hydrate skin and lower irritation.

What are tears made of?

            In order to better understand how our skin responds to tears, it’s necessary to know what they are prepared from. The National Eye InstituteTrusted Source describes that, tears are mostly water, but they actually have three layers:

  1. mucous.
  2. aqueous.
  3. oily.

                The outer oily layer stop tears from drying up too fastly, while the inner mucous layer permits for the tear film to stick to our eyes. Tear film is a thin layer of tears which are always coating our eyes around the cornea clear outer layer of eyeball. The middle watery layer is the thickest, and keeping the eyes wet, and nourishing their tissues.

                There are three major parts of tears, explained by different triggers and compositions. Basal and reflex tears present for protect the eye from debris or irritants, while emotional tears respond to feelings. Humans are usually the only speciesTrusted Source known to creats emotional tears. Tears are also filled with electrolytes, and that are  describes their salty nature or taste of tears.

                 Electrolytes are necessary minerals which have an electric charge and are important to several body work. They are in our blood, sweat, and urine.

                    When we lose a maximum of electrolytes through the sweating, crying, or using the bathroom, we requires to recover them by drinking water and eating electrolyte content foods.

Health benefits of crying-


Health Benefits of Crying

                    It’s no surprising that a good cry can feel actually great. While at first we might feel fiery after the tears stop flowing.  Crying has long been believed to have a different of physical and mental health applications.

These contains:

  1. Stress relief.
  2.  Enhancing our mood.
  3.  detoxifying the body.
  4.  Releasing endorphins that means  feel good Chemicals

                Crying is the body’s natural part of dealing with sadness and emotions. However everyone’s crying practices are different types, and study is still ongoing.

            It recognized that- crying especially useful soothe an individualTrusted Source when accompanied with outside support and comfort.

               Crying too much or too can be a symptom of a more serious physical or mental health condition. About to mental health, an rise in crying may be a sign we required more support right now.

                Check in with yourself to see how you’re feeling if you’re experiencing one or more of the following conditions:

  1. Depression.
  2. Anxiety.
  3. Chronic pain.
  4. Dry eye syndrome.
  5. Pseudobulbar affect (PBA), that can cause uncontrolled crying and laughter.
  6. Aquagenic urticaria, a rare allergic reaction to water.
  7. Medically induced inability to cry due to medications or an infection.

              Don’t hesitate to reach out for help, especially if the issue is chronic or worsening.

Skin care for around our eyes-

                    The skin surround our eyes is very thin and often prone to unwanted dark circles and puffiness. Several people carying about that dark circles produces them look older or constantly tired.

                       Different home remedies and over the counter products can help tame these types of inflammation. Here, are some several doctor recommended advises and tricks for taking care of our eyes and surrounding skin.

Check your refrigerator-

       Seelal says some very simple and cheap solutions to treat the skin around the eyes can be found in our refrigerator.

                  A slice of potato and a cucumber can help relieve swelling and decrease dark circles under the eyes.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Start by applying slices of cucumber to our eye area for 5 to 10 minutes.
  2. Then, replace them with potato slices for 5 minutes.
  3. Repeat this process two to three times.

               Cucumber included stronger antioxidants that lower irritation, and potatoes included an enzyme known catecholase that helps for lighten skin.

Focus on blotting-

                 Seelal also adds in her tips to aimed on blotting under the eyes rather than rubbing. Blotting means gently, repeatedly dabbing our skin with a product or wipe. This reduces friction and inflammation to the area. 

          Seelal also advice that keeping creams for our face at a cooler temperature or even in the fridge, that can also help decrease puffiness and inflammation.

Sleep and stress-

           Palm says that - For well sleep and controlling stress are key when it comes to caring for the skin under our eyes. Lack of proper rest or stressful life events can lead to physical changes surrounding the eye areas, leading us to look more tired. 

                 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source, adults generally required about 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night.

Use a quality eye cream-

          Palm says that-  A perfect eye cream used twice daily can be help prevent skin texture and crepiness as well as [reduce] puffiness. 

               There are many eye creams on the market, so the good way to search the right one for you is to talk with our dermatologist or a skin care expert.

Diet and alcohol matter-

                  Palm recommends ignoring highly alcohol or salt intake, as this can aggravate circles or puffiness.

Eye care with allergies-

               If you want to reduce under-eye pigmentation, Zhu recommended to avoid rubbing our eyes. Allergies may cause you to rub our eyes to relieve the itch, but rubbing causes the delicate skin around the eyes to sag, resulting in broken capillaries and darkens the skin around your eyes. 

               To prevent with eye allergies, she recommends using over the counter antihistamine drops and artificial tear eye drops to lower the itch.