Good Skin Care for Smokers Starts With Quitting

Many doctors advise people to quit smoking to maintain healthy skin. Although it's proven that smokers have drier skin that wrinkles and ages more quickly than that of non-smokers, the exact reasons for this are unknown, but there is enough information to know that quitting smoking should be part of your natural skin care plan.

Although tobacco in itself does not cause dry skin, studies have shown that people who smoke 10 or more cigarettes per day for a minimum of 10 years are more likely to develop wrinkled, leathery skin than a non-smoker. In fact, the process starts much earlier – one study found that facial wrinkling is visible under a microscope in smokers as young as 20. Additionally, research has shown that those who smoke for a number of years tend to develop an unhealthy yellowish hue to their complexion.

What do we know about it? Smoking causes biochemical changes in our body that accelerate aging. Nicotine constricts the blood vessels, including the tiny capillaries that feed the skin, thereby decreasing the blood flow. This, in turn, decreases the amount of oxygen going to the skin, and also inhibits the flow of nutrients. Damage to the elastin and collagen can also result, which weakens the skin's structure and causes it to lose elasticity.

Smoking can also produce free radicals, which are very destructive to all cells in the body, and are probably the reason why smokers are advised to supplement their diets with free radical fighters such as the anti-oxidant vitamins C and E. Researchers have also acknowledged the possibility that the heat from the smoke may damage skin over time. The last influencing factor is the facial gestures – pursing the lips to inhale, and squinting to avoid the smoke getting into the eyes.

One vital element that is not mentioned in much of the research is the fact that the smoke is toxic. A smoker's skin is exposed to it several times a day and, like exposure to any other environmental pollutant, this damages the skin.

What can you do about it? Fortunately, the damage can often be at least partially reversed by quitting smoking – obviously the best solution. However, if you're not up to that yet, you can help control the damage by increasing your intake of anti-oxidants and by using an air purifier to lessen the toxins in your immediate environment.

As with exposure to any air-borne pollutant, it's also vital to add a good shielding lotion to your natural skin care routine to decrease contact with and absorption of these pollutants through the skin.
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Author Bio:
Author, Gloria MacTaggart, contributes articles on skin care for the National Skin Care Institute. For more information, visit www.skincarenet.org.