Unilever maps new research pathways for stress-driven skin and hair care

New research from Unilever suggests that chronic psychological stress alters skin and hair biology at a molecular level, rather than only affecting visible appearance. The researchers refer to the connection as the “stress-skin axis,” and note that it could open new avenues for cosmetic companies to formulate products that target stress-driven skin concerns. 

The study, published in The Innovation of Life, explores how stress activates measurable biological pathways in the skin, hair, and scalp. The findings come as consumers increasingly pay attention to the links between the mind and skin in personal care innovations.

“As consumer interest in the mind-skin connection surges, understanding the skin-stress axis means recognizing that stress triggers specific, measurable biological pathways — including inflammation, microbiome disruption, impaired cellular communication, extracellular matrix changes, and epigenetic shifts — all of which directly influence visible skin and scalp health,” Jason Harcup, chief R&D officer of Beauty and Wellbeing at Unilever, tells Personal Care Insights.

According to Harcup, the hallmarks of aging are well recognized in the scientific community and are becoming increasingly familiar to consumers. They expect a product’s “mechanisms of action” to be transparently conveyed, with credible evidence to support product claims.

“Our research shows that stress impacts the skin and scalp primarily through five interconnected hallmarks of aging,” he says.

“Rather than acting independently, these hallmarks influence one another to accelerate stress-driven aging. This interconnected biology means that meaningful improvement requires a multi-pathway approach, not isolated interventions.”

The research suggests a framework that could enable cosmetic companies to move beyond products that target the symptoms of stress, toward formulations that target the biological processes behind stress-related skin and hair changes.

Helping hair

While stress-related beauty products are often associated with facial skin concerns, the research suggests psychological stress may also influence scalp biology and hair fiber health. 

“The same stress-driven biological disruptions found in skin — inflammation, microbiome imbalance, and altered cellular signalling — are also detected in the scalp and hair fiber, influencing hair quality and resilience.”

Chronic psychological stress may influence scalp biology and hair fiber health.Harcup states that the study highlights an untapped opportunity for stress-focused innovation in hair care and scalp treatments.

Diving deeper

Modern bioactive cosmetics are increasingly formulated to act on biological pathways related to aging, inflammation, pigmentation, and barrier integrity. The research aims to broaden the scope of innovation in bioactive cosmetics by providing a framework for how beauty R&D can better study stress-related skin and hair changes using more advanced biological measurements.

The framework combines stress biomarkers, dermatological measurements, and multi-omics analyses.

“It’s important to use validated stress biomarkers, such as hair cortisol and multi-omics signatures, rather than relying only on self-reported stress,” Harcup says. 

The study highlights hair cortisol concentration as a useful biomarker for measuring long-term psychological stress. Hair samples can reflect chronic stress exposure over time because cortisol accumulates in growing hair fibers. Hair provides a more reliable assessment of stress than blood or saliva tests, as these often have short-term fluctuations.

Moreover, multi-omics combines different types of biological data to understand how stress affects the skin, including studies of skin genes, proteins, and lipids.

Objective dermatological measurements, such as evaluating visible signs of acne, dark circles, skin tone, and fine lines, can further help uncover the stress-skin axis. The study further highlights instrumental measurements — like skin hydration, sebum levels, pH, imaging analysis, and transepidermal water loss — to evaluate skin barrier function.

“Systems-level testing should be adopted, combining psychological, physiological, and biological measures to show true efficacy under stress conditions,” Harcup says.

He holds that the research and framework uncover new pathways with the potential to deliver differentiated, next-generation benefits.

“These insights open opportunities to meet emerging, unmet consumer needs,” Harcup concludes.