The Nervous System Beneath Your Skin: Why How You Cleanse Matters More Than What You Cleanse With

by Dr. LaSonya Lopez, MD

April 11, 2025

We often treat skincare as chemistry: the right product, the right pH, the right active ingredients. But what if true skin wellness wasn’t only about ingredients, but about information—the kind your body receives through touch, rhythm, and sensory connection?

Welcome to the overlooked intersection of somatic awareness and skincare. Beneath the layers of oil, makeup, sunscreen, and sweat is more than a barrier—there’s a bodywide communication system that your cleansing ritual either soothes or overstimulates.

In this post, we explore the surprising truth that your nervous system plays a central role in how your skin heals, glows, and reacts. And that how you cleanse—your pressure, your presence, your pace—might matter more than the cleanser itself.

The Skin Is a Sensory Organ—Not Just a Surface

Your skin is your largest organ, but more importantly—it’s your most sensory organ. It holds over 45 miles of nerves and is wired directly to your brain and spinal cord through a vast network of mechanoreceptors, thermoreceptors, and nociceptors .

Every swipe, scrub, or stroke sends a signal. Fast, harsh cleansing can trigger micro-inflammatory responses and stress reactions. Slow, rhythmic, intentional touch tells your brain: we are safe now.

This is where oil cleansing becomes more than a method—it becomes a message.

Oil Cleansing: Not Just Chemistry, But Communication

When done properly, oil cleansing offers more than just a surface-level clean. It's an opportunity to activate parasympathetic dominance—a state of rest, repair, and cellular regeneration.

Here's why:

• Touch regulates cortisol. Gentle facial massage during oil cleansing has been shown to reduce stress hormones, improving skin tone and inflammation .

• Pacing affects the vagus nerve. Slow, mindful motions stimulate this key nerve, calming the body from the neck down .

• Warmth opens lymphatic pathways. Applying a warm cloth after oil cleansing supports lymphatic drainage, reducing puffiness and improving nutrient delivery to skin cells .

The Nervous System and the Mind-Skin Axis

The skin-brain connection, also known as the mind-skin axis, is a growing area of research. Emotional stress is now recognized as a key factor in conditions like acne, eczema, and rosacea. Stress hormones like cortisol impact sebum production, inflammation, and wound healing .

That means your nervous system isn’t just influencing your mood—it’s impacting your moisture levels, barrier function, and even how quickly your skin regenerates.

Oil cleansing allows for nervous system regulation through physical interaction with the skin, which influences both local (dermal) and systemic (neurological and endocrine) responses.

Your Lymphatic System: The Skin’s Secret Drainage Highway

Underneath your skin is a vast lymphatic network that removes waste, filters toxins, and supports immunity. But here’s the catch—it doesn’t move on its own. It relies on your movement, your breath, and yes—even your facial massage .

Oil cleansing becomes a powerful ally here:

• Use upward, sweeping strokes to support lymphatic flow.

• Target areas like the jawline, under eyes, and collarbone where stagnation often collects.

• Avoid fast or aggressive rubbing, which can overload the skin's sensory nerves and increase inflammation.

When you cleanse with intention and slowness, you’re not just “cleaning.” You’re opening pathways for detoxification and cellular resilience.

Somatic Skin Care: A New Approach to Beauty

Somatic awareness is the practice of tuning into your body’s internal sensations. When applied to skincare, it becomes a ritual of listening, not fixing. Of nurturing, not forcing.

This shift helps counter the effects of body dysmorphia, burnout, and overexposure to unrealistic skin standards. Instead of judging your skin, you’re dialoguing with it.

Imagine this:

• Your evening cleanse becomes your cue to downshift from fight-or-flight to calm.

• Your fingers apply oil like an offering, not an obligation.

• You stop thinking about “good skin” as something to achieve—and start experiencing it as something you already hold, just waiting to be revealed through gentleness.

This is the nervous system beneath your skin. And it’s asking for softness.

Integrating Sensory Rituals for Skin and Nervous System Health

Let’s look at how to transform oil cleansing into a complete somatic wellness ritual:

1. Temperature Matters

Use warm (not hot) water and oil warmed between your palms. Warmth triggers relaxation and promotes vasodilation, which increases nutrient delivery to skin tissue .

2. Breath is Your Anchor

Breathe slowly while cleansing. Synchronizing breath with touch helps entrain the nervous system and activates interoception—the internal sense of your body’s state .

3. Pressure = Information

Too light and the skin won’t respond; too firm and you trigger the sympathetic nervous system. Medium pressure with slow circles communicates safety and intention.

4. Repeat with Reverence

Ritual over routine. Repeat your cleansing practice not as a to-do but as a moment of presence.

From Beauty Chore to Healing Ritual

The skincare industry often sells us transformation through topicals, tools, and technology. But sustainable skin wellness begins with safety. And safety begins in the nervous system.

By shifting from aggressive, fast-cleansing methods to slow, oil-based rituals, you tap into the ancient biology of self-soothing, repair, and deep nourishment. What you put on your skin matters. But how you touch your skin matters more.

Final Word: You’re Not Just Cleansing Your Skin—You’re Rewriting the Signal

The next time you stand at the sink, oil bottle in hand, ask yourself: Am I just cleaning—or am I caring?

Because the way you touch your face teaches your body how to feel. And in a world that constantly demands more, perhaps the most radical act is to touch your skin like it already belongs.

Glow is not just a result—it’s a response.

So slow down. Oil up. And let your nervous system catch up to your beauty.

References:

1. Montagu, A. (1971). Touching: The Human Significance of the Skin.

2. Field, T. (2010). Touch for socioemotional and physical well-being: A review. Developmental Review, 30(4), 367-383.

3. Arck, P. C., & Paus, R. (2006). From the brain-skin connection: The neuroendocrine-immune misalliance of stress and itch. Neuroimmunomodulation, 13(5-6), 347–356.

4. Sefton, J. M., Yarar, C., Berry, J. W., Pascoe, D. D. (2010). Therapeutic massage of the neck and shoulders produces changes in peripheral blood flow when assessed with dynamic infrared thermography. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 16(7), 723–732.