Most of us try to do the ‘right’ things. We eat well, keep up with a skincare routine and at least try to get roughly enough sleep. And yet often our skin looks flat, our bodies feel slow and our minds won’t quite quiet down, even when there is finally a moment to rest. For many of us, the gap between how we expect to feel and how we actually feel is a familiar one.
According to Dr Hayley Dickinson, Research Scientist and part of the endota Wellbeing Conversation, understanding the link between cortisol and stress is a useful place to begin. Not as something to fear, she explains, but understanding that cortisol is a hormone doing exactly what it was designed to do, in a world it was never really designed for.
what cortisol actually is
So what is cortisol exactly? Cortisol is the body’s primary activation hormone, produced by the adrenal glands. In a healthy rhythm, it rises in the morning to help mobilise energy and support alertness, then gradually drops toward evening to allow the body to shift into rest and repair. When it is working well, we barely notice it.¹
But when the body detects a threat, whether that is something happening in the environment or something being carried in the mind, the adrenal glands release cortisol and adrenaline to prepare for action. As Dr Dickinson explains, “When we experience stress, the body is preparing us for action. It has detected some kind of threat — in our environment, or in our psyche — and it responds. Blood flow is redistributed around the body. It moves away from the skin, reproductive organs and our digestive system. It moves toward the muscles, the heart, the lungs, the brain.”
In short bursts, this is appropriate, necessary and genuinely helpful. The problem arises when the stressor does not resolve. Cortisol stays elevated and the body stays primed. Over time, that has consequences that show up in ways we might not immediately connect to stress at all.
what happens when cortisol stays elevated
When cortisol remains elevated, the stress hormones effects on the body become wide-ranging, blood flow is redirected away from what it considers non-essential systems, the skin, digestion and reproductive function and toward the muscles, the heart and the brain. The immune system is quietly downregulated, our defences are lowered. The body is simply in a state where it cannot prioritise repair.²
Dr Dickinson helps to explain high cortisol symptoms sharing, “When we stay in a stress state, some of the things that we might experience can be the feeling of being absolutely exhausted but sleep just doesn’t come easy. We might notice disruption in our digestive system. Skin that’s just not feeling its best, a little dull, a little blemished, a little dry. These are signs that our body is giving us that says, “I cannot prioritise those things right now because I only have a limited amount of resources to allocate.”
We might notice this in small ways that don’t immediately register as stress-related. A minor cut or graze that takes far longer to heal than it should, or a cold that lingers for weeks. These aren’t coincidences. They are the body communicating that its resources are allocated elsewhere, and repair has been quietly moved down the priority list.
The face is particularly sensitive to this. It has an abundance of very fine blood vessels, and when blood flow is reduced, the effects show quickly. As Dr Dickinson observes: “Stress is one of those things that can really trump our routine. Even if we haven’t changed our morning skincare routine, if we’re feeling stressed, we might really notice that dullness, that absence of the vibrancy and vitality we want when we look at ourselves.”
cortisol, stress and your skin
The relationship between cortisol and skin health is more direct than many of us realise. The skin is not just reacting to what is applied to it, it is reacting to what is happening inside. Elevated cortisol is associated with increased inflammation, impaired collagen production and a compromised skin barrier, and as Dr Dickinson explains, no amount of product can counteract that if the underlying stress response has not shifted.³
The face holds tension in other ways too, and Dr Dickinson is clear that this goes beyond the cosmetic. “Our face is our primary communication tool. If we are holding stress and tension on our face, that’s communicating back to our nervous system that we are feeling stressed and overwhelmed. So we can find ourselves in this really powerful feedback loop, feeling the stress in our body, expressing it on our face, and then our nervous system reads our face and just keeps perpetuating that strain and tension.”
how touch helps regulate cortisol
“Nurturing touch activates parts of our brain that allow us to come back to ourselves,” she explains “to come back, bring our attention inwards. Gentle, nurturing touch can be a really powerful way for us to signal to our nervous system that we’re safe.” Touch can help us regulate the nervous system, so that the nervous system itself switches from that sympathetic cortisol active phase to the parasympathetic phase, where the cortisol is no longer being released, because we’re not under stress. We’re no longer needing to be vigilant or alert.⁴
That distinction matters, because it means the pathway to cortisol regulation runs through the nervous system, and touch is one of the most effective ways to access it.
In research coordinated by Dr Dickinson, participants reported lower perceived stress and reduced muscle tension after their treatment, and heart rate decreased by an average of 10.6% during the massage.⁵ The endota Organic Relax Massage is designed to support exactly this kind of nervous system shift, not as something to switch off with, but as genuine support for a body that has been carrying too much for too long.
“Nurturing touch activates parts of our brain that allow us to come back to ourselves…Gentle, nurturing touch can be a really powerful way for us to signal to our nervous system that we’re safe.”
What Dr Dickinson finds particularly compelling is that the same shift can happen during a facial. “I have always sat in the camp thinking that facials and facial treatments are overwhelmingly cosmetic,” she shares. “But as I dived into this science, a facial is so much more than product or cosmetic. These really slow, nurturing treatments can really help us access that nervous system in a way that, until diving in here, I really didn’t appreciate.” A treatment like the Organic Infusion Facial or Sculpt and Glow Facial is not only working on the surface of the skin, it is working on the nervous system at the same time.
small rituals, real shifts
So you want to know how to reduce cortisol naturally? Beginning to support the body’s stress response does not require a full day away. As Dr Dickinson explains, the small moments matter more than we tend to give them credit for. It could be as simple as applying your morning skincare products.
“I’m not typically a big skincare person, but I do apply moisturiser in the morning. And those moments can be where I become very present with myself. How does this feel on my face? Am I aware of sensations within my body as I’m applying the skincare? It’s really being present — feeling the cheeks, feeling the jaw — because these are some of the areas in particular where we might hold that tension.” That, as Dr Dickinson describes it, is interoception in practice: coming back into the body through familiar moments rather than rushing through them to get on with the day.
For those who would like a guided space to build this kind of practice, endota Retreat offers breathwork and mindfulness sessions accessible from home, a gentle complement to whatever an everyday rhythm already looks like.
The goal is not to eliminate cortisol. We need it and we always will. The goal is to create enough space and enough genuine rest for the body to do what it already knows how to do. As Dr Dickinson reminds us: “We really can only invite the body to find rest. It’s not something that we can force. And it really will only come if we provide support to that nervous system to allow it to feel safe.”
frequently asked questions
what is cortisol and why is it called the stress hormone?
Cortisol is the body’s primary activation hormone, produced by the adrenal glands. It plays a central role in regulating energy, alertness and daily rhythm. In a healthy pattern, it rises in the morning to help you wake and engage with the day, then gradually falls toward evening to allow rest and repair.
It is often called the “stress hormone” because it is also released in response to a perceived threat, real or imagined, to prepare the body for action. It sits at the centre of the fight-or-flight response, mobilising energy, redirecting blood flow and priming the body to respond.
In the right amounts and at the right times, this is essential. The challenge arises when that response is activated too often or for too long, and the body remains in a state of readiness long after the stressor has passed.¹
what are the signs of high cortisol?
Elevated cortisol can show up in ways that feel quite disconnected from stress itself. Feeling exhausted but unable to sleep. Skin that looks dull, dry or blemished even when the routine has not changed. Digestion that feels sluggish or unsettled. Wounds or blemishes that take longer to heal than expected. Reproductive issues. A general sense of being switched on but running low. These are all signals worth paying attention to.⁷
how does cortisol affect the skin?
When cortisol stays elevated, blood flow is redirected away from the skin, digestive system and reproductive organs and toward the muscles, heart and brain. The face in particular, with its abundance of fine blood vessels, can lose colour and vitality as a result. Excess cortisol is also associated with increased inflammation, impaired collagen production and a weakened skin barrier, meaning the skin becomes less resilient and slower to repair.³
can stress cause dull or breakout-prone skin?
It can. Chronic elevated stress hormones can increase inflammation and compromise the skin barrier, creating the conditions for blemishes, dryness and dullness even when nothing else in the routine has changed.³ The skin is communicating something the body is experiencing internally. Treatments like the endota Organic Infusion Facial and LED Facial are designed to support the skin when the barrier is under stress, while products from the endota Organics and performance+ ranges can help restore resilience in between.
how do you lower cortisol naturally?
The most effective pathway runs through the nervous system. When the body can shift out of sympathetic dominance and into the parasympathetic state, it stops releasing excess cortisol because it no longer perceives a threat.⁴ Practices that support this shift include slow intentional movement, breathwork, mindfulness, nurturing touch and genuine rest. If cortisol has been elevated over a long period of time, it will take some time for the system to rebalance.
does massage reduce cortisol levels?
Touch does not act on cortisol directly, but it can regulate the nervous system in a way that allows cortisol levels to reduce naturally. Slow, gentle, rhythmic touch activates specific nerve fibres that signal to the brain it is safe to shift out of alert mode, moving the nervous system from the sympathetic, cortisol-active phase into a more parasympathetic dominant phase, associated with recovery and rest.⁶
what is the connection between cortisol and sleep?
In a healthy rhythm, cortisol is highest in the morning to support waking and mobilise energy, then drops gradually through the day to allow the body to wind down toward sleep.¹ When cortisol stays elevated because stressors are not resolving, this rhythm is disrupted. The body stays primed and alert even when tired, which is why the feeling of being exhausted but unable to sleep is such a common sign of prolonged stress.
references
¹Kaur J, Gandhi J, Sharma S. Physiology, Cortisol. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026. Updated December 1, 2025. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538239/
²Alotiby, A. (2024). Immunology of Stress: A Review Article. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13(21), 6394–6394. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13216394
³Chen Y, Lyga J. Brain-skin connection: stress, inflammation and skin aging. Inflammation and Allergy Drug Targets. 2014;13(3):177-190. doi: 10.2174/1871528113666140522104422
⁴Field T. Massage therapy research review. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. 2016;24:19-31.
⁵Dickinson H. Organic Relax Massage Feasibility Trial Report. endota; (2020). Heart rate data based on n=9 of 16 participants for whom quality heart rate data was obtained. This was a small feasibility trial; statistical analysis was not performed.
⁶Ingvars Birznieks, & Ingvars Birznieks. (2025). C‐tactile afferents: The mystery of human emotional touch has been hidden hair‐deep. The Journal of Physiology, 603(16), 4441–4442. https://doi.org/10.1113/jp289528
⁷https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/the-role-of-cortisol-in-the-body
Dr Hayley Dickinson is a women’s health scientist and reproductive physiologist with expertise in stress and nutrition. She is part of the endota Wellbeing Conversation, a group of experts who share evidence-based insights to help people better understand how their bodies and minds work.
