Convinced your cortisol levels are high? Hormone imbalances are complicated — and viral cocktails aren't a quick fix

Face looking a little puffier than normal? “You’re not fat, you just have cortisol face,” is something you might hear on TikTok, where users have taken to diagnosing a rounder-looking appearance as the result of having high amounts of the stress hormone called cortisol — and encouraging people to take measures to lower it.

TikTokers have been blaming this spike in cortisol levels on a number of factors, including excessive phone use, early morning caffeine and high-intensity workouts. Doing these things, they claim, is putting unnecessary stress on the body and contributing to overall weight gain — including in the face.

Are they right? Is your face appearing puffy and swollen because your lifestyle habits are stressing your body out? (And if they’re not, what the heck is causing that puffiness?) Experts give us the scoop.

What’s happening?

• People are sharing before and after photos of their faces and discussing why they now appear less rounder, puffier and inflamed.

• They’re blaming their past appearance on having too much cortisol, and claiming that their faces slimmed down after making simple fixes to lower those levels.

• Social media users are promoting lifestyle changes, like low-intensity workouts and drinking less caffeine, that they believe lower stress and reduce puffiness. Some also credit supplements containing magnesium, L-theanine and ashwagandha for promoting “healthy hormone levels.”

• What is cortisol? It’s the “stress hormone that helps your body cope and respond to stressful situations,” according to Dr. Laura Purdy, a specialist in family medicine. If you’re experiencing higher levels of stress, your body releases cortisol.

Is there any truth to it?

Sure, but it’s more complicated problem than you would know from being on TikTok.

Your cortisol levels can be affected by factors such as “your circadian rhythm, sleep quality and quantity, exercise and overall health,” Raj Dasgupta, an internal medicine physician at the University of Southern California, tells Yahoo Life. “[Cortisol] plays an important role in regulating metabolism and your immune system’s response to threats and stress,” he says.

Purdy adds that while inflammation can be seen in the face as a result of too much cortisol, “this is just one of the symptoms, so it is not necessarily the primary cause.” That said, what’s medically referred to as “moon face” can be “both a symptom and a side effect of a condition” — such as Cushing’s syndrome (which Amy Schumer was recently diagnosed with) or hypothyroidism, both of which are associated with elevated cortisol levels — says Purdy. However, these are chronic conditions and likely more serious than the puffiness some people on social media are highlighting.

“A huge issue is so many people are trying to diagnose themselves,” Sue Decotiis, a New York City-based physician who specializes in weight loss and hormone health, tells Yahoo Life. “Cortisol fluctuations aren’t as big of a deal as they’re being made out to be online.”

Simply put: A couple of bad nights of sleep doesn’t have the same health implications as experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic anxiety or depression, which Decotiis says “significantly changes the circadian rhythm” and poses a threat to cortisol levels, most often in older adults.

“Discussions about a ‘cortisol face’ online sometimes oversimplify the causes of facial puffiness,” adds Dasgupta. “Other reasons could include infections, allergies, fluid retention due to your diet, alcohol consumption and side effects from certain medications you may be on.”

The takeaway

Much like any other medical-related conversation on social media, the advice TikTokers are dishing out should be taken with a large grain of salt. And even if a high cortisol level is truly at fault, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution (ahem, supplements) that will work for everyone.

Most important, there are legitimate ways to diagnose real cortisol abnormalities “through blood, saliva or urine tests, if deemed necessary by your physician or endocrinologist,” says Dasgupta.

Stressing about your stress levels and what that might be doing to your face sounds a bit counterproductive, anyway.