When people think of smoking, they automatically think of the damage that goes on inside the body to the lungs, heart, and brain. Whilst the risk of liver cancer, throat cancer, mouth cancer and lung cancer will never go amiss, smoking has detrimental effects on your complexion too. Though some skin care specialists’ treatments, such as Drip and Chill Richmond, can help reduce the visible signs of smoking, much cannot be reversed. From dry skin, enhanced under eye bags and premature aging, find out the other skin complaints associated with smoking below.
Under-Eye Bags
We all hate waking up after a late night out or night not being able to
sleep at all with purple bags under our eyes – do we not? Well, smoking only increases the visible signs of a lack of sleep. In fact, you are 4 times as likely to feel unrested due to regular contact with harmful tobacco fumes, and are much more likely to have a bad night’s sleep compared to non-smokers – and the moral of the story? Smokeless for a better night’s sleep!
Even though you are at risk of psoriasis even though you have never touched a cigarette, smoking alone increases the risk of developing this scaly skin condition by as much as 20% depending on how often you smoke. So yes – there is a direct link between psoriasis and smoking because nicotine significantly affects the immune system.
Wrinkles & Premature Aging
Another effect that smoking has on your complexion is that it encourages wrinkles, as well as premature aging, and whilst you can not entirely reverse the detrimental effects that smoking has on your complexion when you stop smoking, you can reverse a little bit of the damage. You may be able to get rid of some wrinkles around your mouth and eyes using a chemical peel available online, or washing your face using a moisturizing facial wash.
When you smoke, your wounds will take much longer to heal than if you have never held a cigarette between your fingers in your life. This is because nicotine causes a form of vasoconstriction. For those who are unaware, vasoconstriction is the narrowing of the blood vessels in your body that reduce blood from and to the tiny vessels found in the face. So, not only will your wounds take longer to heal, they will be larger than those of a non-smoker, as well as increase the likelihood of scarring.
It Gets Rid of your Natural Glow
One of the most detrimental effects that smoking has on your complexion is that it will strip your natural glow. If you have noticed that your skin sometimes looks off, you are certainly not alone! Otherwise called ‘Smoker’s Face’, smoking can add a grey appearance to the skin. This is because cigarette smoke contains a high percentage of carbon monoxide, which extracts the oxygen in your skin, and nicotine, which slows down blood flow, and in turn removes moisture from the skin’s surface. To restore lost moisture in your skin, we recommend drinking plenty of water and using a heavy-duty moisturizer at night.