TikTok Says Puffy Skin Is Caused By 'Cortisol Face.' Is That True?

A puffy face isn’t exactly a beauty goal for most people. Instead, there are de-puffing face masks, eye creams and other skin care routines, all with the goal of making your face look contoured, smooth and less bloated.

Many things can cause facial puffiness, such as allergies, eczema, high-salt diets and even the simple act of lying flat as you sleep. But now people on TikTok say there’s another reason for puffy, round faces: high cortisol, aka the stress hormone.

Social media users are calling it “cortisol face” and claim that too much of this hormone causes a round face, puffy skin, under-eye circles and acne. But is that true? Yes and no, experts say. Here’s why:

First, cortisol serves a specific purpose.

“Cortisol is what we call a glucocorticoid hormone, and it actually helps regulate your body’s response to stress,” said Dr. Divya Yogi-Morren, the medical director of the Pituitary Center at Cleveland Clinic.

Cortisol is mainly produced in the adrenal glands (which are on top of the kidneys), said Dr. Mehboob Hussain, an endocrinologist at University of California at Irvine Health. And cortisol is essential for day-to-day life.

“Without cortisol, many functions of the body would not be able to occur properly, and essentially no cortisol means you would die if there’s no treatment or remediation of that,” Hussain said.

Cortisol also helps “control the body’s use of fat, protein, carbohydrates and your metabolism,” added Yogi-Morren.

Having too much cortisol can cause a rounding of the face, but it’s not as common as social media makes it seem.

“If your body has too much cortisol, it can just be because of daily stress in life, or it can actually be because of a disease called Cushing syndrome,” Yogi-Morren said.