You know, that post-drama waiting for their text peace hits different. A 2023 study from the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships found that nearly 30% of adults in the U.S. have experienced ghosting in a romantic context. Which means a surprising number of people are walking around in the throes of rejection... and glowing.
Yes, glowing.
Because while heartbreak hurts — with ghosting as a form of modern grief wrapped in silence — something strange often follows the ache. The skin clears. The eyes soften. The nervous system, against all odds, begins to breathe again.
The story is almost always the same.
You start talking. It’s new, exciting. The replies are quick, the banter’s good and suddenly you're building something — or at least it feels that way. You let your guard down. You overthink the punctuation in your texts. You start doing your night routine with just a little more care, imagining what it would be like if they noticed.
And then — they disappear.
No goodbye. No closure. Just a lingering “seen” and the quiet realization that you've been left to connect the dots yourself.
It stings. You spiral. You re-read every message. You start wondering if you’re hard to love or just too much.
And then… it stops.
Not all at once. Not dramatically. But slowly, you start waking up with your face a little less puffy. You sleep. You stop bracing for their name on your screen. You light a candle not for ambiance, but for calm. You wash your face and mean it.
Something in you — something hormonal, maybe even spiritual — begins to regulate.
According to Dr. Keira Barr, dermatologist and mind-body medicine expert, “Emotional stress triggers a cascade of physiological responses in the body — particularly the release of cortisol — which disrupts the skin’s barrier, dulls the complexion, and exacerbates inflammation.”
When the stressor disappears, so does the inflammation.
Before the skin clears, the body whispers.
A subtle shift: the first deep sleep in weeks. A day where food tastes like food again. The absence of that nervous flutter before checking your phone. You’re not okay yet, not entirely — but you’re returning. To your body. Your breath. Your mirror.
It’s not a revenge glow. It’s not a transformation for someone else's attention. It’s a recovery. A restoration. You stop hoping they’ll see your Stories. You start moisturizing for yourself. You start reclaiming your peace, layer by layer — like a barrier repair cream for the soul.
So yes, ghosting hurts.
But it also ends something that needed ending. And in its place, something unexpected grows. Not bitterness. Not beauty.
Balance.
Was it closure? Maybe.
Or maybe it was just hydration.
* Thinking of that post-ghost ritual from Matte Equation? Here it is! Grab your Function Flow Cleanser and cleanse with tension release, especially along the jawline. Then use your Infinite Dimensions Moisturizer for skin that's been holding too much.