I talk a lot about the importance of building and maintaining authentic, healthy relationships with other people, in which you can feel free to be your true self. Friendships are particularly important for women, and they impact your skin health in so many ways – they reduce your stress levels, help you build and maintain healthy habits, and can even increase your lifespan.
Although relationships with other humans are incredibly valuable, many people also build relationships with those of other species, like dogs or cats. So how does your furry friend impact your skin health? Is having a pet beneficial or harmful for your skin?
How pets can impact your gut microbiome
I talk a lot about how important your gut microbiome is for your skin health. That’s why my signature program is called Mind Gut Skin Academy – your gut health has a huge impact on your skin. For those living with chronic skin conditions, it’s very important to take steps to balance your gut microbiome.
There are lots of factors that go into determining the balance of different microorganisms in your gut, but your pet can definitely play a role. In fact, research has found that the gut microbiomes of people with cats and dogs are different than in people who don’t have furry companions. People with pets have higher levels of certain species that are associated with health benefits (like protecting your heart), and lower levels of species that are associated with health problems (like metabolic syndrome).
How does your pet influence your gut microbiome? Well, people touch their face a lot – in fact, one study revealed that people touch their face an average of 23 times an hour. That’s about once every two minutes! If you pet your cat or dog or let them kiss your hands, and then touch your face without having washed your hands first, you can easily transfer microorganisms from your furry friend’s skin into your mouth or nose. From there, they can make their way into your gut. In some cases, pets may even lick their human’s face (if the pet wants to and the human allows it), and this provides a more direct route for microorganisms to be transferred from your pet’s gut into yours.
How pets can impact your skin microbiome
The gut microbiome is definitely important for your skin health, but your skin also has its own microbiome. In fact, research is increasingly showing that the skin microbiome is important in conditions like rosacea and eczema. Taking care of your skin microbiome can help to reduce skin flares.
It’s probably not surprising to learn that pets can affect your skin microbiome as well. After all, your skin and your pet’s skin often come into contact, and microorganisms can easily be transferred from your pet to you (and vice versa). Like with the gut microbiome, research has shown that people with pets have differences in their skin microbiome, compared with people who don’t have pets. There’s an increase in the levels of certain beneficial bacteria, and a decrease in certain species that can be harmful.
Although contact with pets can add diversity to your skin microbiome, there’s also the potential that they can carry bacteria or fungi that can cause infections. Skin that has breaks in its surface – even very tiny breaks – can potentially get infected. If you’re having a flare-up, and any part of your skin is irritated, be careful about allowing your pet to touch that area of skin. It’s best to try and keep that area covered, so your pet won’t lick it or rub their fur against it. If it’s an area that’s not easy to cover up (like the back of your hand), it’s a good idea to wash the area as soon as you can after hanging out with your pet, to reduce the chances of an infection.
How pets can impact your mindset
There’s another way that pets can help to protect your skin – they can have an impact on your mindset. Stress has a major impact on almost every skin condition. To help support the health of your skin, it’s essential to control your stress levels.
Pets can help to release stress and reduce anxiety. Studies have shown that interacting with a dog or a cat can reduce cortisol levels in people experiencing stressful situations. Cortisol is a hormone that your body releases when it’s under stress. Cortisol is known to impact the skin directly, and also to have a huge effect on the immune system, which can impact your risk of skin flares.
Cuddling with a pet that you love also releases a hormone called oxytocin. Sometimes known as “the bonding hormone,” oxytocin has a variety of positive effects throughout your body, including helping to keep your skin healthy. While spending time with humans that you love and trust is a great way to increase your levels of oxytocin, time with beloved pets can also lead to higher levels of this hormone – with the attendant health benefits.
Building a skin-friendly lifestyle
If you don’t have a pet and you don’t want one, I’m definitely not telling you that you need to get one in order to have better skin. A pet is a huge commitment, and you should only take that on if you truly want to. Once you’ve invited an animal into your life, it’s really important to continue to invest in their wellness.
But if you already have a cat or a dog, or if you’ve been thinking about getting one, the research definitely does support the idea that having a pet could have benefits for your wellness. Those living with chronic skin conditions can enjoy spending time with their furry friend, knowing that it can have a huge number of benefits for their own health – including skin health.
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