It’s an appropriate time of year to write about one of the best things you can do for your skin that is also a common new year’s resolution: STOP SMOKING! That’s right, smoke can be one of the fastest ways to age your skin. People often focus on its’ countless other harmful effects (cancer, lung and heart disease, expense, smell…. (must I go on?), but rarely think about smoking’s ability to tan our hide! Stopping this one behavior is like finding the world’s the best skin cream.

How Does Smoking Age Your Skin?

Smoking ages the skin making it look droopy, causing wrinkles and can change the color of your complexion. The nicotine in cigarettes causes vasoconstriction, your blood vessels to constrict, which limit the amount of oxygen that reaches the outermost layers of your skin. Without this essential blood flow and oxygen, your cells don’t get vital nutrients they need like vitamin A and C. Additionally, there are more than 4,000 chemicals in tobacco that can cause damage to the collagen and elastin fibers in your skin. Think of these fibers as the trampoline that holds your face up. Without those taught strings, you lose firmness, elasticity and that’s when you see with droopy skin and wrinkles.

Smoking and Your Immune System

There is also the inner, less visible, way that smoking effects your skin and that is the weakening of your immune system. We are starting to figure it out that when your immunity is alive and kicking, it shows in a glowing complexion and clear skin. Smoking effects your body’s ability to heal quickly and this goes for break-outs and  scar healing too. The slower your immune system, the more likely you are to break out and the slower your blemishes tend to heal.

What Else!?

Those are the biggies, BUT, there are so many other factors! Did you know that smokers are four times as likely to report restless sleep as non-smokers? How much do you think your sleep is affecting your skin? Ahem… Bags under your eyes? How about the effects of the smoke itself next to your skin? Ever take a look at smoker’s hands and see the yellowed stains on the habitual fingers? It’s true! Just like tanning a hide! Smokers also tend to have hair that is thinner and goes gray faster than hair of non-smokers.

Apples to Apples
(Or Marlboros to Marlboros)

Still not convinced? I ran across these interesting pictures the other day from a study on identical twins with different smoking habits and specifically comparing their skin texture.

 

Wow. What a difference. You can find more information and pictures in Dr. Bahman Guyuron M.D.’s study: Facial Changes Caused by Smoking: A Comparison between Smoking and Nonsmoking Identical Twins (You can tell it is legit since it has such a long title 😉 ).

Now What? How Do I Stop Smoking?

Ok, there are tons of other things that I could list here but if I haven’t lost you yet, you probably most want to know what to do about it? Quit! And before you jump down to the comment section to rip me a new one on how hard it is… etc., you should know that I am not bagging on you or preaching from an ivory tower. I was a smoker for years! More than I care to admit and quitting smoking was one of the hardest things I have ever done but also one of my proudest accomplishments (I always think that is a little funny but it is really true!).

There is no magic formula. You have to try several things and find out what works for you. I tried a number of ways to quit smoking from the patch to hypnosis. My grandfather (like a badass) just went cold turkey! It takes different things for different people. The thing that finally worked for me was a book that made me mad. Wait, what? Yes, you read that right. One day I was in the bookstore (back when bookstores were a thing), and I saw a book on the shelf called “The Easy Way To Stop Smoking” and man was that title infuriating! Oh Yeah! The easy way! But, based on anger alone, I picked up the book and read it cover to cover.

It worked. It was the only thing that had ever worked for me. I’m not going to say that it was completely easy or that I’ve never had a smoke or two since, but I can honestly say that I am a happy non-smoker now AND my skin thanks me for it. I have better skin now as a thirty something non-smoker than back in my twenties with a nicotine habit.

Give it a shot. Reading a book is about the least expensive smoking cessation program you can find and you can quit that at any time too! Psst- There’s also an audio version! Think, compared to one bottle of moisturizer, this skin treatment is a steal! Believe me, I do know how hard it is to stop smoking but if for no other reason than your skin’s health (and I’m assuming that is why you’re here on this website), give it a shot and clear the air. You will clear your skin in the process. Good luck!