The Effect Of Smoking On The Skin

Smoking cigarettes ages skin faster than anything else apart from sun damage. There's no gentle way of saying this. If you smoke cigarettes you need to stop. Aside from the many health issues associated with smoking, if you care at all about wrinkles and you want to look younger for longer, then smoking is out. Cigarette smoke contains more than 4000 toxins many of which are absorbed directly into the bloodstream and are taken by the blood right into the structure of your skin.

Nicotine and carbon monoxide (found in the cigarettes) reduce blood circulation by constricting the vessels that carry nutrient-rich blood and oxygen to the top layers of the skin. Collagen's production is affected, and with it the ability to produce new skin. Smoking also provides high levels of matrix metalloproteinase, an enzyme that destroys collagen. What does this all means? Smokers end up with dry, saggy and old-looking skin. The more you smoke, the more it shows, but just because you've been smoking for 2 years an it doesn't show, doesn't mean that you are healthy. You are still being affected by the same things.

Developing wrinkles is a natural part of the aging process but smoking effectively accelerates aging and makes the smoker appear years older than they actually are. Premature wrinkles, with dry, greyish skin drawn across sunken cheeks may all be part of the gaunt visage of the chronic smoker. There can be other, more serious, consequences for smokers, including the increased risk of some types of skin cancer and a thinning of the skin.

In a nutshell, the skin is affected by tobacco smoke in the following ways:
* Tobacco smoke released into the environment has a drying effect on the skin's surface.
* Because smoking restricts blood vessels, it reduces the amount of blood flowing to the skin, thus depleting the skin of oxygen and essential nutrients.
* Smoking reduces the body's store of Vitamin A, which provides protection against some skin-damaging agents produced by smoking.
* The creasing of the mouth when drawing on a cigarette can cause wrinkling around the eyes and mouth.
* The more a person smokes, the greater the risk of premature wrinkling.
* Smokers in their 40s often have as many facial wrinkles as non-smokers in their 60s.
* Smokers' may also develop hollow cheeks through repeated sucking on cigarettes. This is particularly evident in under-weight smokers and can cause smokers to look gaunt.
* Prolonged smoking causes discoloration of the fingers and fingernails on the hand used to hold cigarettes.
* Smoking also results in a yellowing of the teeth and is a cause of halitosis or bad breath.

There's no doubt you won't be able to completely reverse the damage that smoking has done. But - with a good diet, skin supplements and great anti aging skin care you can do a lot to get your youthful skin back. What you will do if you quit smoking is stop the damage getting any worse. Why wait and then quit later when even more damage has been done to your skin?

As well as affecting your general health, quitting smoking can make a big difference to the way you look. The benefits of stopping smoking to your appearance can be gained at any point in life, although, obviously, the earlier you think about stopping smoking, the greater the effect on your looks. Stopping smoking can have positive effects on your skin. You will improve your skin tone and colour. You're less likely to get wrinkles round your eyes and mouth from squinting when smoke gets in your eyes, and puckering up when you draw on a cigarette.

When you look at your skin remember that some damage won't appear until ten to twenty years after you began to smoke. So if you haven't been smoking that long and you don't see much damage yet – don't assume it won't happen. It may be hard, but the best thing you can do for a beautiful, glowing complexion is to stop smoking. Smoking both dehydrates and deprives your skin of oxygen, so you will see real benefits - skin will become smoother and more radiant.