Forget wasting your money on skin treatments

Premature Aging of Facial Skin

“Smoker’s lines” are the vertical wrinkles around the mouth that come from pursing lips to draw on a cigarette over and over again. Crow’s feet are a common type of wrinkling that develops at the outer edges of the eyes. For smokers, this damage usually starts much earlier than it does for other people, who get crow’s feet as they age.

As mentioned above, collagen and elastin damage is a big factor in premature aging of skin. But vascular constriction caused by smoking plays a role as well. Constricted blood vessels inhibit blood flow and oxygen from reaching skin cells, resulting in skin aging.

Sagging Skin

Smoking-related skin damage can cause sagging skin in other parts of the body. In particular, breasts and upper arms are often affected by the loss of skin elasticity due to smoking.

Skin Cancer

If you smoke, your chances of developing squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) can be as much as 52% higher than if you didn’t smoke. This is the second most common form of skin cancer and often appears on the lips of smokers.

Researchers suspect that the increased risk comes from a lowered immune system due to the toxins in cigarette smoke. Smoking is not a known risk factor for the most common form of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma.

Psoriasis is a skin condition that produces itchy, red scaly patches. Stress can bring it on, but smoking is also a risk factor. Smokers are more prone to a form of psoriasis called palmoplantar pustulosis.

Doctors think that the link between psoriasis and smoking may be the nicotine in cigarettes. Nicotine affects the immune system, skin inflammation, and skin cell growth, all of which can contribute to the development of psoriasis. There is also speculation that stress coping techniques smokers employ (i.e. cigarettes) might put smokers at additional risk of developing psoriasis.

Smoking just about doubles a person’s risk of developing psoriasis, with the risk going up depending on the number of cigarettes smoked. Women who smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day are two and a half times more likely to get psoriasis than non-smokers. For men, the risk is just over one and a half times that of non-smokers.

Wound Healing

Vascular constriction caused by toxins in cigarette smoke has a negative effect on wound healing. Lack of blood flow slows the body’s ability to repair itself.

Most doctors will strongly recommend, or even require, smoking patients to stop before a surgical procedure because of the impact cigarette toxins have on healing. Smoking also increases the risk of wound infection, skin graft failure, tissue death, and blood clot formation.

Scars tend to be more pronounced as well. There is also evidence that smoking may increase the risk of stretch marks, which are also a form of scarring usually caused by rapid weight gain.

Acne Inversa

Hidradenitis suppurativa, more commonly known as acne inversa, is a relatively common inflammatory skin disease that affects people in areas of the body where skin rubs against skin, like the armpits, groin, and under the breasts in women.

Often misdiagnosed, acne inversa causes boil-like nodules that drain pus. The condition is painful and can last months or even years. Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for acne inversa.

Vasculitis

Smokers are at an increased risk of Buerger’s disease, a form of vasculitis. All types of vasculitis involve inflamed blood vessels in some part of the body.

Buerger’s disease affects blood flow to the hands and feet. Blood vessels in these areas become constricted or blocked, resulting in pain and tissue damage. Extreme cases of Buerger’s disease can lead to ulcers on the skin of the fingers and toes. Ultimately, gangrene (tissue death) and loss of the appendage can occur.

Telangiectasia is a condition in which small blood vessels in the body widen or dilate, causing damage to capillary walls. It can happen anywhere, but is most noticeable close to the surface of the skin, where you might see permanent purple blotches or traces of veins (also known as spider veins).

Smoking is a risk factor for telangiectasia. Nicotine in tobacco constricts blood vessels, and this action can cause damage that leads to this condition.

Skin Tone and Staining

The skin tone of smokers can be uneven and off, tending toward an orange or grey tone. Lack of oxygen to skin cells no doubt plays a part in why this occurs, along with the negative effects of numerous other chemicals in tobacco. Cigarette smoke is laden with over 7,000 chemicals, including 250 that are poisonous and 70 that cause cancer.

Tar Stains

Years of holding cigarettes between the same fingers can lead to a yellowing of the skin from nicotine and other toxins in cigarettes commonly referred to as tar. This type of staining is nearly impossible to remove with soap and water. The only way to really get rid of it is to avoid holding cigarettes (stop smoking!).

How Quitting Tobacco Improves Your Skin

What improvements to your epidermis can you expect to enjoy once you stop smoking? While wrinkles that have developed may not disappear entirely, the return of normal blood flow to skin cells will bring oxygen and nutrients where they need to go and your skin will begin to look healthy once again. Collagen and elastin production will assist, as they’re no longer being hindered by toxins in cigarettes.

Tar stains will disappear in time too. Your risk of the health conditions that can impact skin will also be reduced once you stop smoking.

Friends and family will probably comment on the healthy glow you seem to have taken on since quitting tobacco because it is often that noticeable. It may take some time, but the benefits to your health and well-being will be tangible and worth the work it takes to quit.