How Smoking Ages Your Skin

We all know that smoking is a bad habit. It causes a slew of health and aesthetic issues, such as lung cancer, respiratory problems and of course, premature aging of the skin. Without a doubt, smoking can add years to your face, but do you know why it wreaks such havoc?

Well, to start there are more than 4000 chemicals in tobacco smoke. These toxins damage collagen (the principal protein of the skin and connective tissues) and elastin (the fibers that give your skin elasticity and strength), according to the Mayo Clinic. This loss of collagen and elastin causes your skin to wrinkle and sag prematurely. They also noted that the nicotine in cigarettes causes the blood vessels in the very outer layers of your skin to narrow. What this narrowing does is restrict blood flow to the skin and in turn, your skin doesn’t get the oxygen that it needs, which means that it doesn’t get crucial nutrients, like vitamin A.

Additionally, exposure to smoke, repeated expressions and muscle contractions you make while inhaling and exhaling - pursing your lips and squinting your eyes, for example, may contribute to wrinkling. These facial muscle contractions commonly create strong frown lines between the eyebrows and crow’s feet around the eyes.

To put this information in context, let us tell you about a study that was conducted in 2013 by researchers at the Department of Plastic Surgery at Case Western Reserve University on 79 sets of twins who were between 18 and 78 years old. In this analysis, one sibling in each set smoked and the other one either didn’t smoke or smoked for at least five years less than their brother or sister. Photographers took headshot pictures of each twin and a panel of three blinded judges then analyzed each sibling’s photograph, rating wrinkles and age-related facial features on a four-point scale.

When comparing smoker siblings to their non-smoking counterparts, the judging panel said that twins who smoked here looked older 57 percent of the time. They also had worse scores for lower lid bags, upper eyelid skin redundancy, malar bags, nasolabial folds, upper lip wrinkles, lower lip vermillion wrinkles, as well as jowls. The differences were also significant when comparing siblings who both smoked. Judges determined that twins who smoked for at least five years longer looked older than their less experienced counterparts more than 63 percent of the time. Twins who smoked longer had worse scores for malar bags, lower lip vermillion wrinkles and lower lid bags.

“Smoking reduces the collagen formation, results in collagen degradation and reduces the skin circulation,” Dr. Bahman Guyron, the lead researcher on the study told CNN. “Additionally, nicotine reduces the skin thickness. All of these reduce skin elasticity and (cause) premature aging.”

As studies have shown, the longer you smoke the more likely it is that your skin will age faster. However, do not fret. Your skin will look youthful longer if you give it the proper care it deserves. This includes not smoking (or quitting if you have smoked), eating healthy, getting plenty of sleep and regular exercise, wearing sunscreen and developing a solid skincare regime, which includes moisturizing and exfoliating your skin regularly with products that contain natural ingredients that are gentle on your skin.

It sounds simple, but it really does work. Take good care of your skin. You deserve it.