Are Tears Good For Your Skin: The Inside Scoop

As it goes, even every bad thing carries some amount of good in it. Similarly, crying after a heartbreaking situation can also bring along a few good outcomes. Everyone cries, and that is nothing to be embarrassed about. But are tears good for your skin? 

Shedding tears is a normal human reaction to a whole range of emotions that has several health benefits, including relieving stress, self-soothing, and detoxifying the body.

Are Tears Good For Your Skin?

The impact of crying on the skin is different for everyone. Sometimes, after crying, your skin will glow and some people might experience breakouts, it depends on your skin texture, so, are tears good for your skin, it varies.

Depending on your skin type, you might wonder, are tears good for your skin? Here’s everything you need to know about tears and how to take good care of your skin after crying.

Things To Know About Tears

Tears flow when we’re sad, overjoyed, angry, or even when we are chopping onions. But do you know tears happen for many reasons, and they serve many health benefits? Plus, tears protect your eyes from dust and bacteria.

What are Tears Made of?

To understand how your skin reacts to tears, it’s important to know what it’s made of. Tears contain a lot more than just salt and water. They have three different layers:

The oily outer layer keeps tears from drying up too fast and makes the surface of the eyes smooth.

The inner layer which is referred to as the mucous layer¹ helps the tear film stick to the eye’s surface.

The watery middle layer, which is the thickest layer of all, keeps the eyes moist and nourishes the tissues

In terms of chemical composition, tears contain water, enzymes², lipids, salt, potassium, manganese, and metabolites.

Three Different Types of Tears

Tears can also be an indicator of illness, but there are three main types of tears: basal tears, reflex tears, and emotional tears. But are tears good for your skin, if yes, which type?

Basal tears are the ones that are produced in the eyes every day to keep them moist. They protect the cornea and wash away dust or other particles.

Reflex tears happen when you get something like environmental irritants in your eyes or when a strong light hurts your eyes.

These tears help to protect your eyes from damage in those situations by diluting the irritant particles and washing them away with a watery fluid that flows from the gland just under our eyelids called the lacrimal glands³.

Emotional tears are produced in response to saddening or happy events that touch us deeply.

Dry Eye Syndrome

Blurry vision and watery eyes could be a sign of dry eye syndrome. It happens when your eyes don’t produce a sufficient amount of tears or when you cannot maintain a normal layer of tears to coat your eye.

The risk of developing this condition rises with age. It’s also detected more commonly among post-menopausal women⁴.

Effects of Tears on Your Mental And Physical Health

The benefits of crying can be wide-ranging. It can reduce stress hormones and give you a sense of relief from emotional pain, which is good for your mental health.

Crying can also benefit your skin by reducing stress levels and allowing the skin to flush out toxins.

Health Benefits of Crying:

• Helps lower stress levels and gives relief from emotional pain
• Reduces the body’s levels of cortisol (stress hormone)
• Boosts the immune system, improves sleep, and boosts your mood
• Tears are a natural way for the body to release toxins and endorphins ⁵(“feel-good hormones”)
• Detoxifying the body and restoring emotional stability

Does your Skin Benefit From A Good Cry?

There will always be a “yes” and “no” answer to whether tears are good for your skin because it depends on all the factors contributing to your situation.

Crying releases oxytocin ⁶and endorphins also known as feel-good hormones, which ease both physical and emotional pain.

Effects of Tears on Delicate Skin Around the Eyes

Excessive crying can cause a lot of problems such as increased blood flow in blood vessels to your soft tissue, which can cause splotchy skin, flushed skin, and red eyes.

It can also provoke puffy eyes. Constant rubbing around your eye area will worsen these conditions by irritating the sensitive skin around your eyes.

Broken Capillaries

Crying can also result in capillary damage around the eye and nose. Broken capillaries can happen because of continuously rubbing your eyes, popping pimples, and blowing your nose, among different things.

It is more common in people with sensitive skin, acne-prone skin, or ones whose skin is damaged by the sun, which weakens the blood vessels underneath the skin.

Are Tears Good For Breakouts And Acne?

Many people believe that crying can cause acne breakouts and oily skin. However, there is no scientific evidence to prove this theory.

Crying reduces stress, and sometimes even stress is responsible for pimples and breakouts, so indirectly, crying can lessen breakouts. And as we all know, tears contain salt, which can help kill bacteria responsible for acne and breakouts.

However, when a person cries a lot and rubs their eyes to wipe tears away, it can irritate acne and the outermost layer of the skin, which can cause broken capillaries around the eyes or nose.

Additionally, because of rubbing the sensitive skin around the eyes, your skin becomes vulnerable to environmental irritants such as sun damage, allergens, and pollution, which may cause acne and breakouts.

Effects Of Crying Uncontrollably On Mental Health

We do not always realize that our mental health plays an important role in how we think, feel, and behave.

Sometimes crying a lot can be a sign of serious mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, or chronic pain. In this case, don’t hesitate to reach out to the doctor as soon as possible.

Skin Care To Follow After Crying

Following some basic skin care tips is the quickest way to restore your skin after crying.

Pat The Tears Away

Avoid rubbing your eyes after crying because it can result in puffy eyes and acne. Instead, pick non-scented and non-moisturized tissues for patting tears away.

This way you can avoid chemical substances use tissues that are gentle and two-ply on your skin.

Use Cold Compresses

Crying can cause puffy red eyes and inflammation, that’s why it is important to apply a cold compress. You can splash cold water on your face or apply a cool washcloth to reduce puffiness.

You can also use a slice of potato, cucumber, or aloe vera gel. This will help you to reduce irritation and swelling around the eyes.

Moisturize Your Skin

The quickest way to restore your skin after crying is to hydrate and moisturize it, you can do it by drinking water and applying moisturizer.

Face moisturizer will also help you to restore your skin’s protective barrier. You can also use some hydrating face masks.

Use A Gentle Face Wash

Instead of trying to wash off tears on your face by rubbing them with your fingers, you should use a gentle face wash followed by cool water.

Avoid using any harsh chemical-based face wash because they might cause slight irritation and redness. Try to invest in face washes that contain natural ingredients.

Apply Eye Cream

Salt in tears can cause water retention and swelling. In this situation, applying eye cream daily will help you to reduce swelling and irritation around the eye area.

Everyone has different skin conditions, that’s why don’t pick any random eye creams from the market. First, take advice from your dermatologist and then select suitable eye cream for your skin.

Try Facial Massage

A good facial massage encourages healthy skin, reduces puffiness and has rejuvenating effects on the skin.

It also offers stress relief because it will drain the lymphatic system. You can massage your face gently with your fingers and use some essential oils like lavender and rose.

Avoid Sun Exposure

Rubbing your face can disrupt your skin’s barrier, so be cautious about sun exposure! If you’re outdoors, don’t forget to apply sunscreen or an SPF protection layer to prevent damage.

Remove Eye-irritants

Sometimes tears are just the result of chemicals and dust!

The best way to avoid these problems is to remove any existing eye irritants and then apply a soothing moisturizer with SPF protection to protect the delicate skin around your eyes from damage due to exposure to chemicals, dust, and other irritants that are common in our environment.

Get Enough Sleep

Lack of sleep and rest can cause dark circles and red eyes. Getting enough sleep helps you reduce tension and is good for the skin under your eyes, it can also help to reduce swelling around the eyes after crying!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do tears make your skin clear?

Stress can contribute to skin conditions like acne and breakouts; as a result, crying can indirectly lessen breakouts of acne by lowering stress levels.

2. Can tears be used as skincare?

Long-term exposure to tears could affect the moisture of the skin or cause a minor irritant because of the pH difference, even though short-term exposure is not dangerous.

3. Why do I feel pretty after I cry?

It’s basically because after crying, your blood vessels enhance which improves blood flow.

Final Note

Crying is not just about being sad, it can happen because of many different emotions and situations. Sadness, disappointments, and heartbreaks can affect us to the extent that we end up sobbing hysterically.

Crying helps us to feel better and improve our mood. From oily skin types to acne-prone skin, crying affects every skin type differently.

Some believe that tears result in glowing skin, and some people say that tears cause acne. Whatever it is, you always follow some basic skincare after crying to prevent any damage to your skin.

Also, stay happy, beautiful!

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Last Updated on July 29, 2024 by Sathi Chakraborty, MSc Biology