SKIN CARE 83


Taking psychodermatology out of the clinic and into life


Tim Probert – Personal Care Magazine


Personal Care Magazine (PCM): How does the face—as skin, structure and expression—serve as an emotional container, and how consciously do people perceive this connection in their daily lives? Jule Lexa Völzke (JLV): Our faces reflect our lives. As an essential part of our communication, we use our faces to express ourselves as social beings. These expressions, subtle nuances and gestures not only shape our faces throughout our lives, but also the connections we build and maintain with other people. Of course, the skin acts


a communication organ. It reflects who we are, our history and sometimes simply how we feel on a particular day. Most people only notice


this external mirror of our inner life when something is supposedly wrong. Skin problems such as blemishes, dryness or irritation are then seen as an isolated disruptive factor, but of course they are related to the bigger picture. Katerina Steventon (KS): Indeed, both our face and skin communicate to self and others. The face plays a powerful role in shaping our self-esteem and emotional wellbeing. Attractiveness is not only defined by our facial features but also emotional expression — how our faces move, react and communicate feeling over time. These expressions signal vitality,


Katerina Steventon Jule Lexa Völzke


and social ease. Self-care practices including skin care, facial massage and mindful movement can help restore a sense of alignment between how we feel and how we appear, supporting emotional wellbeing and self-confidence.


personality and reflect the way we age – they gradually become etched into the face itself. From a psychodermatology


perspective, repeated emotional patterns leave visible traces, such as tension lines, which persist even after the emotion has passed. When external expression no longer reflects internal emotional state, this mismatch can affect confidence


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Katerina Steventon of the UK’s Independent Skincare Consultancy and Jule Lexa Völzke of CLR Berlin discuss psychodermatology and the spaces where sensation meets meaning and rituals intersect with neural pathways — where personal care becomes a form of emotional regulation as much as skin health maintenance Surface friction and elasticity


PCM: In what ways does the tactile sensation of facial skin—its smoothness, softness or tension— affect a person’s sense of calm, comfort or emotional balance? JLV: As the interface between our body and our environment, the skin is a fascinating territory with plenty of room for development, but also tension. If the skin is in


an unbalanced state and causes discomfort, one could say that our interface with the outside world is disturbed. A smooth and soft skin feel on the other hand, opens the door to holistic wellbeing. One could go so far as to say that it is essential for us to find balance with our skin in order to be able to give and receive the way we intend to. This applies to personal wellbeing and relaxation, but also to our interactions with other people. KS: Can we achieve emotional balance through soft formulas and touch? At a biological level, tactile sensations on the skin directly shape emotional experience.


correlate with perceived softness and firmness, indicating that frictional mechanics—transduced by skin mechanoreceptors— underpin how physical qualities such as softness and smoothness are interpreted by the brain and translated into perceptual experience. This provides a physiological


basis for the sense of comfort you describe. Ageing changes our perception. Peripheral sensory nerve fibres decrease with age, yet neurogenic signalling from sensory neurons stimulates collagen production in fibroblasts. Together,


March 2026 PERSONAL CARE MAGAZINE


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