The Impact of Smoking on Skin Health

Your skin often gives away your age, with wrinkles and sagging becoming more apparent as you get older. Smoking, however, speeds up this process significantly. 

It contributes to premature skin ageing, causing dryness and pigmentation issues. Additionally, the chemicals in cigarettes can slow down the healing of wounds.

If you’ve noticed that your skincare products aren’t working as effectively as they used to, smoking could be the culprit behind their reduced effectiveness.

In this post, we’ll delve into how smoking impacts your skin and discuss how quitting can help preserve and even restore your skin’s youthful glow.

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What Does Smoking Do To Your Skin?

Skin Ageing and Sagging

Smoking can speed up the ageing process and make your skin look older.

If you’ve noticed your once-smooth, glowing skin becoming dry and saggy, smoking might be to blame. It damages the collagen and elastin in your skin, which are key to keeping it youthful and firm.

On top of that, smoking messes with how your body absorbs vitamin D, which is important for repairing your skin.

If you want to get your skin’s hydration and treatments back on track, quitting smoking is definitely the way to go.

Does Vaping Cause Wrinkles?

From what we know, vaping itself doesn’t seem to directly cause wrinkles. 

The main culprit behind skin ageing and sagging is the array of harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke. These chemicals are what typically damage your skin over time.

When it comes to nicotine vaping products (NVPs) from pharmacies, they’re a different story. These products don’t contain the same harmful chemicals found in cigarettes.

As a result, they don’t have the same impact on your skin. 

So, while vaping might not be wrinkle-free, it’s the harmful chemicals in traditional smoking that are the real troublemakers for your skin.

Acne Growth

Smoking can indeed cause acne. If you’re a long-time smoker, you might notice more frequent breakouts on your face, back, and other areas of your body.

According to a dermatology journal, there’s strong evidence suggesting that regular cigarette smoking is linked to an increase in acne outbreaks.

The reason behind this is the harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke, which can alter the density and composition of your skin’s oils. 

When these oils become imbalanced, they can block your pores, leading to more frequent acne.

One of the notable improvements you may see after quitting smoking is a reduction in acne. 

As your skin’s oil composition begins to normalise, you might find that those pesky breakouts become less common.

Frequent Infections

Regular smokers might be much more prone to skin infections than non-smokers. They typically see excessive inflammations and increase their risk of skin diseases.

A smoker’s skin is more likely to have infections due to the chemicals present in the smoke. Cigarette smoke suppresses the immune system’s activities and circulation in the body. The effect is similar to emergency services being delayed by the many potholes left unrepaired on the road. 

One of the best effects on the skin after quitting smoking is having a healthy and protective skin barrier and an active immune system that lowers the risk of contracting skin infections.

Increased Risk of Psoriasis

If you or anyone in your family have psoriasis, you might want to quit smoking before it makes things worse.

Studies have shown smokers to be at double the risk of having psoriasis than non-smokers. 

The National Psoriasis Foundation of the United States has also found that smoking inhibits the activity of cytokines, a cell-to-cell interaction regulator, slowing the immune system’s response.

It’s also good to keep in mind that aside from cytokines, smoking can also affect your hormones in various ways. Aside from affecting cell communications, chemicals in cigarette smoke can also affect the performance of psoriasis treatments. 

With this in mind, you have all the more reason to stop smoking if you’re already under a psoriasis treatment programme.

Yellow Fingers from Smoking: Why Does It Happen?

Finger staining or yellowish fingers from smoking occurs due to the tar content of cigarettes. The yellowing can become much more apparent the longer you’ve been smoking. A long-term smoker might also have stains on their nails.

Higher Risk of Skin Cancer

Skin cancer is primarily related to ultraviolet (UV) ray exposure, which comes from the sun and tanning beds. You’ve also probably heard that smokers are also at a higher risk of contracting the disease – this is also a fact. 

Heavy smokers who consume plenty of cigarettes daily are at a higher risk of contracting skin cancer than non-smokers. Worse still, smokers who already have skin cancer are 40% less likely to survive than non-smokers.

If you enjoy the beach or love sun beds, you can lower the risk of skin cancer when you stop smoking. You might want to consider limiting your UV exposure to further reduce your risk of skin cancer, too.

Unpacking The Benefits: What Happens To Your Skin When You Quit Smoking?

Quitting smoking offers a myriad of health benefits and prevents many long term effects of smoking on the skin.

From reducing the risk of heart disease to improving lung function, the positive changes are significant and life-changing. 

But there’s one aspect that often goes unnoticed – the benefits of quitting smoking on the skin.

Smoking can cause premature ageing, uneven skin tone, and a dull complexion. So, when you quit, it’s like hitting the refresh button on your skin. The skin benefits of quitting smoking are nothing short of remarkable.

The Day-by-Day Transformation: From Smoker’s Skin To Healthy Radiance

Quitting smoking won’t work overnight miracles on your skin, but the changes you’ll see are worth the wait. After you quit, your skin’s health will improve day by day.

Imagine a time-lapse video of a wilted plant perking up after being watered. That’s your skin after quitting smoking. 

The increased oxygen and nutrient flow helps your skin regain its elasticity and glow.

How Long After Quitting Will My Skin Improve?

Smoking cessation allows your skin to regain its natural elasticity and hydration, leading to a healthier complexion and reduced signs of premature ageing.

It’s a gradual process, but you can see improvements as early as a few weeks. Fine lines may soften, and your complexion may brighten. 

With continued abstinence, these effects become more pronounced over time.

Do You Look Younger When You Quit Smoking?

Absolutely! Quitting smoking can reverse the premature skin ageing caused by smoking, leading to softer lines, less sagging, and brighter, more hydrated skin. 

Summary

The effects of smoking on the skin can make you feel very uncomfortable and possibly lead to preventable life-threatening diseases. 

Shortly after you quit smoking, you’ll start to restore the glow, firmness and health of your skin.

If you’re reading this because you want to know if smoking does make your skin unhealthy, we hope you found it informative. You can access plenty of content with information and tips that can help you quit smoking and start living a healthier lifestyle.

Smokefree Clinic gives you access to many medically reviewed and trustworthy resources that can inform and aid you in your path to wellness, so have a look around! 

If you’re ready to get started, Smokefree can connect you to Australian healthcare professionals who excel in helping patients quit smoking for good.

Link Reference

• https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-4632.2011.05205.x
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2835905/
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5352117/
• https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2147/PTT.S85189
• https://www.psoriasis.org/advance/smoking-and-psoriasis/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32458137/
• https://news.cancerresearchuk.org/2019/02/18/smoking-may-limit-bodys-ability-to-fight-dangerous-form-of-skin-cancer/
• https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/premature-aging#causes