Are you asking the question “is smoking bad for your skin?” We have heard about the health risks of smoking, but in addition to contributing to adverse or damaging effects on virtually every system of the body, smoking also has negative effects on the appearance and health of the skin. Cigarette inhalation causes different types of damage to the skin, accelerating the aging of the skin.

If you have decided to start smoking, you might want to consider how it can affect your health and appearance. The negative effects of smoking are serious, especially for those who smoke for many years. In a few years you will probably look older than your peers who do not smoke, and the effects will certainly continue to affect you, and create cause skin problems.

Oftentimes, the detrimental effects of smoking on the skin are overshadowed by the health issues that this addiction can cause. Smoking tobacco products, including cigarettes, has many adverse health effects on the skin. Tobacco use impairs blood flow, and commonly lead to various skin conditions.

Wrinkles – Smoking can hurt your skin, potentially doing more damage than you think. The evidence smoking leaves on the face is enormous. Wrinkles begin to appear because smoking results in less blood flow and minimizes the amount of oxygen and nutrients that reach the skin. So, smoking starves your skin of the oxygen and nutrients it needs to remain healthy. After many years of regular smoking, the skin will start to show signs of premature aging.
Sagging – Blood vessels under the skin start to constrict, causing your skin to look uneven and pale. The toxins contained in cigarette smoke make the skin dry, dull and more susceptible to wrinkles. These toxins also cut down the production of collagen and elastin, causing less-elastic, sagging skin and deeper wrinkles or leathery skin. Collagen is an extremely valuable chemical that helps your skin to look young. A decrease in collagen supply results in wrinkle formation and this causes the skin to lose its elasticity.
Discoloration – Other ways that smoking negatively affects the facial skin is when you squint to prevent cigarette smoke from getting into your eyes, you’re causing stress to your facial skin. Inhaling cigarette smoke causes Crow’s feet around the eyes. Another negative effect of smoking are deep lines that are visible on the sides of the mouth, making you look older than your age.
Smoker’s Face – Smokers who have smoked for many years, up to ten years or longer, may often develop what is commonly known as the smoker’s face. This condition is usually characterized by skin that looks red, grey or yellowish.
Depletion of Vitamin A and Vitamin C – This is another of the adverse effects of smoking. Vitamin A is essential for skin self-repair. The skin also needs Vitamin C, a vital antioxidant, which helps us to better absorb iron. Smokers can develop anemia, which is often characterized by dry, cracked or flaking lips. Also, smoking can dehydrate your body too, depriving your skin of needed moisture.
Cancer – smoking has been proven to be a carcinogen – a cancer causing agent. This includes skin cancer.

Considerations: Is Smoking Bad For Your Skin?

When you think about the negative or adverse effects of smoking on the skin, it is advisable to consider before you decide to smoke that cigarette how your skin will look in 10 or 20 years. Although effect on appearance alone is not life-threatening, it is obvious that smoking will change your skin appearance in a negative way.

Using a topical dermatology treatment can help to increase collagen production, and restore elasticity of the skin. Despite all of this, the best thing you can do to reduce the damaging effects of smoking on your skin is to quit. This is considered by most dermatologists and medical practitioners to be the best way to minimize the effects of smoking on the skin. Though facial cosmetic surgery options can help offset these effects, it is important to quit smoking if you want to reverse the aging process with cosmetic procedures.

Reference:

http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/features/is-smoking-dragging-you-down?page=2