‘Cortisol Face’ and the rise of stress-preventative wellness fads body

We explore the depths of the new high cortisol TikTok trend, and what we can do to combat our stress issues. 

“You aren’t sick, you are bloated,” reads a TikTok video with 100k plus likes. The user lists off a puffy face, sleep issues, anxiety, acne, and weight gain as merely a handful of the many issues that high cortisol causes. 

However, this isn’t a one-off clickbait health scare on TikTok, but just one of the many videos targetting a new trending topic of high cortisol levels. The hashtag cortisol levels and how to reduce cortisol have a whopping 140 million views combined, with endless videos of ‘advice’ from wellness influencers offering misguided information to combat the issue. Many have even taken to distributing unsolicited medical advice on other users' videos, diagnosing them with ‘cortisol face’ and chronic stress issues. 

4am morning walks to reset circadian rhythms; eating a specified breakfast to balance blood sugars; Vitamin D supplements and new powders; 2 hour long workouts; and generally avoiding high-impact stressful situations are some of the nuggets of this ‘advice’ on offer to combat your spiking levels. But this isn’t exactly a feasible lifestyle to keep up with for many, and the pseudoscience these TikTok doctors are pushing is looking to overhaul all your habits. 

So what is high cortisol and the lifestyle surrounding it? And what is this terrifying new hormone actually doing to our body? Here, we explore the real physical issues behind prolonged stress and we can naturally reduce our exposure to high cortisol… 

What is cortisol? 

Cortisol is a steroid hormone released by your adrenal and endocrine glands that sit on top of your kidneys. It regulates your body’s response to stress, as well as helping things like metabolism rate and the sleep-wake cycle. It is referred to as your ‘stress hormone’ because, in high moments of stress, more cortisol is released into our bloodstream. 

What is ‘cortisol face’?

‘Cortisol face’ – also dubbed ‘moon face’ – is, in its most basic sense, facial swelling. It has taken social media by storm, with unqualified TikTok users mass-diagnosing others with the issue. It is characterised by puffy and round-looking skin on the face. With the millions of comments claiming they have it, it is easy to believe that it is a widespread issue when in reality, it isn’t whatsoever. It is a symptom of Cushing Syndrome, which is where the body overproduces cortisol. This is an extremely uncommon condition, affecting roughly one in 40 to 70 million people according to the National Institute of Health.

The myth surrounding facial swelling is being misdiagnosed as Cushing Syndrome when it is just a natural reaction to everyday stress. And having a ‘cortisol face’ for everyone who experiences any slight stress is simply untrue. Everyday stress does not pronounce symptoms on the skin, and at large, there will be slight changes you barely notice. If anything, in an age of excessive reflection checking with our many mirrors and screens, we can lead ourselves to believe we are experiencing these changes with too much self-surveillance, when in fact, it is just differing natural hormone levels that our body is built to react to.  

You may still have a slightly puffy face when stressed. Why is that? 

This can either be a normal increase in cortisol creating fattier tissue around the face, neck, and stomach, or water and sodium retention located in the facial tissue. This will only become an issue if you face prolonged stress, which is very rare and would in this case lead to persistent swelling. You are unlikely to face cortisol issues otherwise. Your levels may peak and trough, but our bodies are largely made to adapt to everyday stress without causing prolonged issues. 

What does high cortisol do to the body? 

In the long term, an extended period of abnormal cortisol release can disrupt your body's basic processes. This can put you at a higher risk of suffering from anxiety and depression. We normally experience levels of high cortisol during intense activities, which is completely normal and our body's regulatory systems react accordingly. If your levels stay high and you are noticing significant physical change, then this is when you should seek professional advice. This can include headaches, intestinal problems, fatigue, high blood pressure, excessive body hair, mood swings, and muscle weakness. It can also be a side effect of medication, in which case you should discuss a plan with your doctor. 

Why are we pointing the finger at high cortisol? 

A lot of the fear-baiting pseudoscience floating around TikTok is exactly that – fear-baiting. For more clicks and views, many are targetting common symptoms and insecurities by diagnosing them as something we may never have heard of otherwise, such as cortisol in this instance. We are more commonly turning to the internet as a quick fix for our health queries given the long wait for GP appointments and strain on the NHS, with all the supposed knowledge and even medication available to order in the same place. 

Using confusing medical language and an issue we all experience (stress), users can gain virality as we all scramble to understand this issue that could quickly fix all our worries. But really, we are just making ourselves more worried altogether by constantly monitoring our health. Our mental health may take more of a toll with this culture of wellness self-surveillance, and maintaining a balanced lifestyle is the best preventative measure we could take. 

What do we do moving forward? 

Instead of turning to promoted vitamins and powders on TikTok shop that may appear at the end of a high cortisol advice video, there are simple daily measures we can take to have an overall balanced lifestyle. A 2024 study has shown mindfulness, meditation, and relaxation interventions are the most effective at changing cortisol levels. You should target the root of the problem as opposed to quick fix TikTok hacks, utilising a healthy balanced diet, regular low-impact exercise, a regular sleep cycle, guided meditation, limiting caffeine, taking regular breaks, and socialising often to keep your cortisol levels in check.