If you love sex, you’re also going to love Costhetics’ latest news.
Our team went on a hunt recently, fuelled by the question, “What is a natural way to give your skin what it needs to be its most beautiful?” The answer, as you’ll see, is sex. What could be more natural than that?
Sex Hormones Make Skin More Beautiful
Estrogen and progesterone are two of the hormones stimulated by sexual activity. Both are wonderful for skin health:
- Estrogen helps keep skin firm and youthfully plump by stimulating the production of collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid.
- Progesterone affects sebum production, which helps decrease the appearance of large pores.
While you may already be familiar with estrogen and progesterone, you may not know nitric oxide and oxytocin – two other body hormones triggered by good sex, and responsible for good skin. You will be in just a moment.
Slow Your Sex Roll for Radiant Skin
When HuffPost explored the topic of sex and skin health, they found a variety of anti-ageing benefits that you get free whenever you have sex, with or without the orgasm. In fact, delaying orgasm can be a real boon to your complexion. “Most people confuse the words orgasm and climax,” explains one expert, and this is where it really gets interesting. “Climax is the big finish,” says the expert. “Orgasm is everything else, and the longer you stretch out orgasm, the more nitric oxide and oxytocin (hormones) you will produce.”
In short, body hormones love sex just as much as you do. They’ll reward you for long, luxurious sessions of lovemaking with cleaner, brighter, healthier skin. It’s the ultimate win-win.
Nitric Oxide: One Reason Your Skin Loves Sex
Your body is a natural nitric oxide (NO) production factory. NO has anti-inflammatory properties and it helps:
- Dilate bloods vessels
- Improve blood flow
The increased blood flow provided by nitric oxide sends additional oxygen and nutrients to skin. As you age, however, NO production slows down and doesn’t keep up with your body’s demand.
People troubled by inflammatory acne have found slow-release NO particles in supplement form may help kill Propionibacterium, the acne-causing bacteria, and help inhibit subsequent inflammation. Supplementation is one way to get your NO production line back up and running at full capacity. The downside is that oral supplementation may produce adverse side effects. Another solution is NO-stimulating light therapy with a trained dermatologist.
Or you could have more sex.
Oxytocin and Your Skin: Perfect Together
Oxytocin (OT) is often called the love hormone as its levels increase naturally in the body during hugging, kissing, and (you guessed it!) sex. “Several patients with high OT levels had … more youthful skin in spite of high sun exposure scores,” the study founder told Dermatology Times for their article Clinical Study Points to Oxytocin’s Anti-Ageing Benefits. “This evidence connects clinical findings with previously published benchwork research showing that OT binding to receptors in fibroblasts can halt skin degradation,” he said. In other words, when cortisol is low, people experience fewer wrinkles.
After a boost of oxytocin, your body enters a calm, restful state. For many people, the sleep that follows a satisfying sexual encounter is deep and restful. Deep sleep, in turn, is associated with improved cellular immunity and blood flow, both of which help skin stay healthy, hydrated, and beautiful. Oxytocin lowers cortisol levels, too. That’s important because cortisol is responsible for breaking down much-needed collagen and elastin. Oxytocin is also linked to the reduction of psoriasis and dermatitis.
Would you like to know more about the science behind the sex and skin sensation? A great place to start is with a skin care professional. Costhetics is happy to assist you in finding a dermatologist, skin care expert, or other doctor in your area to answer your questions and solve your problems.