Valentine’s Day has got us feeling the LOVE. But since we’re a doctor-founded brand, we got to thinking, what is the science behind feeling chemistry?
In our latest journal entry, we embark on a lesson in love, covering the definition of love in science, love hormones, love’s effects on our mind, skin and body, and how self-care and self-love co-exist.
Love & Hormones
While the heart may be an international symbol of love, attraction actually happens in the brain: happy hormones are released when you’re with someone who brings you JOY - whether that’s through romantic love, the love for friends and family or even a pet.
These hormones prompt your brain’s reward system into action - when it feels good to be with someone, your brain will say, “keep going.”
Definition Of Love In Science
The scientific definition of love is the release of hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain causing you to feel everything from that initial infatuation to comfortable contentment.
There are three stages to romantic love: lust, attraction, and attachment, each characterized by the release of different hormones.
What Are Love Hormones?
There are five key “hormones of love:”
Testosterone and estrogen: Released in the first stage, lust, and linked to desire and physical attraction.
Dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine: Released during the attraction stage to create warm and fuzzy feelings. Dopamine provides the rush of happiness, serotonin delivers feelings of well-being and contentment, whilst norepinephrine prompts physical reactions often associated with love, such as an increased heart rate.
Oxytocin and vasopressin: Released in the attachment phase, with oxytocin giving a burst of positive emotions, and vasopressin supporting behaviors that help us protect our partnership and create a sense of security.
What Does Love Do To Your Body?
While we primarily associate love with feelings, there are physical effects too:
The heart: As mentioned above, our hearts race when we feel romance thanks to the hormone norepinephrine.
Our health: Falling in love positively impacts your physical health, with less risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure, improved immunity, lower perceptions of pain and even a longer life span.
The skin: The first flush of love is the ideal skin care formula. The release of oxytocin can improve microcirculation and skin barrier function as well as reduce inflammation.
The nose: Love is in the air - literally. Pheromones start to send you positive messages associated with your new partner's scent (more on that below).
Fragrance & Hormones
Fragrance can directly impact your feelings, so it stands to reason that scent plays a part in feeling sentimental.
Pheromones prompt happy feelings when we detect our loved-ones scent, and compel us to get closer to them. This is because olfactory stimuli directly affect our limbic system and our hippocampus to form feelings and memories, as well as stimulating desire.
Made With Love & Science
There is increasing evidence that investing time in self-care and generating feelings of self-love improves both psychological and dermatological quality of life.
Just like romance, Joonbyrd is the ideal combination of love and science. In fact, we call our products Science With Soul, created with dermatological expertise and an extra dose of JOY - reinforcing the mind-skin connection and delivering smooth, soft skin.
If you’re looking for a body care routine to fall in love with - our founder, Dr Alexis, recommends the following:
Embark On A DOUBLE DATE: DOUBLE DATE Body Serum Duo is the perfect partner for a JOYful daily ritual. Smooth on DAYDREAMER Body Serum’s potent toning serum, and follow with a skin-stimulating, stress-relieving massage with our amethyst-crafted HEARTWARMER Body Gua Sha Tool.
Give Your Skin A LITTLE LOVE: Start each day with an uplifting ritual with LITTLE LOVE Body Lotion’s caramel latte fragrance. Imbued with milky vanilla, maple syrup, caramel and roasted coffee bean, this will leave you feeling energized and centered for the day ahead
Don’t Go It Alone - Try BETTER TOGETHER: Perfect for self-care on the go, BETTER TOGETHER set includes our doctor-developed, JOY-designed self-care in mini sizes, for major skin and soul boost.
Discover formulas that will make you fall in love with your skin.
