India, April 9 -- A puffy face after a long week, under-eyes that don't quite bounce back, skin that looks dull for no clear reason - welcome to what the internet now calls "cortisol face." The term has now gone viral, with experts now saying that the term oversimplifies a complex hormonal system.

Stress does leave its mark on the face, and it doesn't look the same for everyone. Dermatologists say the face is often the first place chronic stress shows. "The 'cortisol face' trend is the internet's crude shorthand for a real phenomenon: chronic stress accelerates aging," said Dr Satish Bhatia, Dermatologist and Cosmetologist, Indian Cancer Society, Mumbai.

And this is often a combination of subtle, visible changes - puffiness around the c...