Psychodermatology explores the link between mental health and skin—shifting aesthetics from surface-level to emotionally restorative.
Courtesy of Thanyana at Adobe Stock
Facial plastic surgeon Steven Dayan, MD is probing beneath the face and looking at the interaction between mental health and skin conditions, referred to as psychodermatology. Working alongside dermatologist Sabrina Fabi, MD, the two set out to uncover how certain botanicals can elicit an oxytocin response, similar to the brain’s natural mechanism, through topicals. Dayan and Fabi have created XOMD, a skincare product line that launched in 2025. The OX Factor formula, as the two describe, feels like a hug for your skin.
Aesthetics, from Dayan’s point of view, is more about how you feel and less about how you look, as below each patient’s desire for symmetry and surface perfection is the need to feel confident and aligned with their self-perception. It comes at no surprise that one's perception of themselves and their stress levels play a large part in how the skin presents itself. But could skincare ingredients trigger the hormone that makes us feel good, while clinically treating the skin simultaneously? Dayan and Fabi say yes.
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Facial plastic surgeon Steven Dayan, MD is probing beneath the face and looking at the interaction between mental health and skin conditions, referred to as psychodermatology. Working alongside dermatologist Sabrina Fabi, MD, the two set out to uncover how certain botanicals can elicit an oxytocin response, similar to the brain’s natural mechanism, through topicals. Dayan and Fabi have created XOMD, a skincare product line that launched in 2025. The OX Factor formula, as the two describe, feels like a hug for your skin.
The Duo Behind Skincare That Targets Skin Health and Emotional Wellbeing to Redefine How We Treat Self-Perception in Aesthetics
Aesthetics, from Dayan’s point of view, is more about how you feel and less about how you look, as below each patient’s desire for symmetry and surface perfection is the need to feel confident and aligned with their self-perception. It comes at no surprise that one's perception of themselves and their stress levels play a large part in how the skin presents itself. But could skincare ingredients trigger the hormone that makes us feel good, while clinically treating the skin simultaneously? Dayan and Fabi say yes.
Fabi, a board-certified dermatologist practicing in San Diego, California, joined Dayan in 2022 before launching the XOMD OX Factor formula in 2025, including a cleanser, serum and moisturizer. Together, the two clinicians combine Fabi’s knowledge in clinical dermatology, while Dayan weighs in his familiarity with the science of attraction, psychosocial wellness and its link to skin health.
“It is well established in the dermatology literature that skin disease is linked to mental health,” he says. “For years we have known that we can inhibit neurotransmitters in the skin and prevent dermatologic disease and influence mood, so why have we not leveraged this knowledge for topical cosmetics?”
Dayan, who published the book Subliminally Exposed—exploring the logic behind why our appearances allow us to communicate and manipulate each other at a subconscious level, points to the fact that this area of dermatology is growing, and recent studies within the last two years reflect this focus on mind-body correlation, specifically its implication on skin health.
The Missing Diagnosis: Why Treating Skin Without Addressing Mental Health Leaves Half the Story Untold
Steven Dayan, MD, founder of XOMD.Courtesy of XOMDIn 2023, it was estimated that approximately 30 to 60% of dermatologic conditions have psychiatric aspects, as the neuroendocrine and neuroimmune systems interconnect [1]. Psychiatry maintains this estimate in 2025, reporting more than one-third of dermatological patients have psychological concerns [2]. Yet, although dermatologists have an increased awareness about the psychological aspects of skin conditions, many mental health disorders that occur alongside skin conditions are still undiagnosed and left untreated, the study says [1].
Stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions have been shown to exacerbate inflammatory conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, acne and urticaria by dysregulation of neurotransmitter pathways. Neurotransmitters, including dopamine, serotonin, epinephrine and cortisol are essential in mood regulation and skin homeostasis [3], and oxytocin falls into the list of essential hormones, too.
“When your skin is healthy you feel healthy, when your body is healthy you feel healthy, and when your love life is healthy you exude healthiness, happiness, vigor and beauty; you glow, and this is at the basis of why we created XOMD,” Dayan recounts.
How Jasmine and Carob in XOMD Tap Into the Skin’s Sensory System to Boost Mood and Magnetism
XOMD, though its products do not artificially contain the oxytocin hormone, nor does it reach the neural pathways to transmit such a response, it uses two important botanicals to rather invite the “feel-good” hormone. Jasmine derivatives and carob-derived isobutyric acid are what drive a psychological response close to the effects of the natural hormone, Dayan says. Jasmine derivatives have been studied for its ability to stimulate skin mechanoreceptors and mimic oxytocin-like effects—promoting hydration, calm and radiance.
Volunteers in a 2022 study applied a cream containing jasminum grandiflorum extract at 2%, who were compared to a group of volunteers applying a placebo cream. After one month of use, people who used the formula with jasminum grandiflorum extract felt better overall, according to a wellness questionnaire. They also had higher levels of oxytocin in their saliva compared to those who used a placebo [4].
“Jasmine stimulates piezo sensory receptors in the skin to upregulate oxytocin receptors and support oxytocin activation,” Dayan says. “Oxytocin, the love hormone, is unique in that of all the neuropeptides that reside in the skin, and there are many, oxytocin uniquely creates a positive feedback loop with the hormone releasing centers in the brain.”
Ultimately, Fabi and Dayan concluded from their clinical trials, published in Wiley in 2024, that Jasmine works via the mechano-sensory receptors known as piezo1. The skin essentially transmits the sensation of touch to sensory neurons through the piezo1 mechanoreceptor found in the plasma membrane of epidermal keratinocytes and fibroblasts. This, in turn, stimulates the skin's wound healing process, modulating inflammation, tissue proliferation and scar formation as well as increasing oxytocin levels [5].
Carob-derived isobutyric acid, the jasmine’s companion in this formula, is a compound found in natural copulins, known as sexually communicative chemicals, with pheromonal properties—contributing to enhanced intimacy and attraction. Carob is an evergreen tree belonging to the legume family in Western Asia and the Mediterranean basin.
Interestingly, the carob tree fruit emits a distinctive aroma that may mimic the chemical signals naturally released by females to indicate reproductive readiness. The trials conducted by Fabi and Dayan explain that copulins act as an important messenger or pheromone in primates [5]. Odorous and nonodorous chemical compositions within copulins can trigger behavioral and physiological responses in males, and this explains why this ingredient excites attraction from the individuals applying the OX Factor topicals, impacting their romantic lives, and in turn nurturing connections, touch and hugging that stimulate oxytocin.
Thirty-nine subjects demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in skin quality following four and eight weeks of use [5]. With 86% of subjects reporting increased confidence, product users found random people of the opposite sex to be more attractive 88% of the time and reported improvement in sexual satisfaction in 90% of the categories [5].
XOMD’s OX Factor uses jasmine and carob-derived botanicals to mimic oxytocin’s mood-boosting effects—like a hug for your skin.Courtesy of XOMDBuilding a Mood-Boosting Lifestyle Loop Through Targeted Topicals
Together, these ingredients work synergistically to address the skin–brain–social axis. “We all know the mood-elevating benefits of sitting in the sun,” Dayan says. “Even though we disdain the long term negative benefits, there is no doubt everyone gets a mood boost when first in the sun; well, that works via the serotonin pathways in the skin.”
Phospholipids, also found next to the duality of feel-good botanicals, are solely there to strengthen the skin barrier, reduce inflammation, support cellular membranes and soothe the skin. Fruit extracts are also incorporated, such as watermelon, grape and apple, as well as anti-oxidants to reduce redness, tyrosinase inhibitors to even out skin tone, polyphenols and flavonoids to support collagen growth and peptides to stimulate fibroblast.
“When oxytocin levels go up in the skin, it triggers the body to double down and release more oxytocin systemically…so we look at our formulation as a way to get a hug from your skin care,” Dayan mentions.
Emphasizing that while these ingredients are meant to externally elicit an oxytocin response, this creates a loop, Dayan explains. As romantic satisfaction is shown to increase in the clinical studies, perhaps increasing the likelihood to conceive, Dayan says “if you feel good in general, it leads to lifestyle changes and a better way of living, which becomes habit forming in a good way; a positive feedback loop is created between living good and feeling good.”
At the Core of Aesthetics Lies the Universal Desire for Confidence and Self-Acceptance
Aesthetic medicine is evolving as a field past the simplified increase in collagen and elastin, Dayan says, and more toward tapping into the influences of skin health, looking deeply at biological mechanisms and how our environment and social norms impact our external appearances and perception of self.
“Patients desire to look themselves but better… and we set out to prove we can meet the needs and desires of our patients as well as the sophisticated consumer; this is the future of all aesthetics, not just skincare: it is to improve people’s lives, and that starts with skin care,” Dayan says.
Steven Dayan, MD, founder of XOMD.Courtesy of XOMD
XOMD’s OX Factor uses jasmine and carob-derived botanicals to mimic oxytocin’s mood-boosting effects—like a hug for your skin.Courtesy of XOMD
XOMD’s OX Factor uses jasmine and carob-derived botanicals to mimic oxytocin’s mood-boosting effects—like a hug for your skin.Courtesy of XOMD
