The Damaging Effects of Smoking to the Skin

 It has been a known fact that smoking damages the body, and this does not spare the skin from its harmful effects. Our physical appearance is important to our whole well-being, whether one would admit it or not. What could be the reason why so many people, both men and women invest lots of money for anti-aging products. What could be behind all the efforts exerted by people to slow down aging and to protect their skin and their whole physical appearance from different damaging factors? This is simply because we care so much of our physical appearance. Our concern to our physical look can be equated to how much we care for our overall health. And this is something that everyone is aware of. In most cases, smokers only think that smoking gives them different kinds of cancer and other diseases. Without them knowing it, smoking kills them from the inside to the outside.


Smoking for a long time carry detrimental effects on the skin. The effects on the skin is known as the “smoker's face”, coined in 1985. This is the result of smoking that makes the skin dehydrated and deprives it from its needed oxygen. Thus, smoking makes the skin old.

Makes the skin old
The nicotine present in a cigarette smoke adds years to the skin of a person. As a result of smoking, the production of the collagen in the skin, the substance responsible for giving a glow to the skin is being cut down. When the supply of collagen is reduced, wrinkles start to form and the skin begins to lose its elasticity. In addition, develops a sagging pale look and starts to lose its colors. Lines also appear, radiating at right angles from the corner of the eyes. There are also shallow and deep lines that appear in the lower jaw and the cheeks.

Diminishing Skin Nutrients
Too much consumption of cigarette smoke can diminish the amount of Vitamins A and C. Vitamin A is important to help the skin repair while Vitamin C is considered to be an antioxidant that helps in the absorption of iron in the blood. As a result, people who smoke tend to develop anemia.

Affecting Areas of the Eye
Smoking is responsible for the occurrence of dark circles under the eye. These dark circles cannot be easily concealed because the skin in the eye area is very thin and reacts to any kind of change in nutrient supply and blood consumption. In addition, smokers have the tendency to narrow their eyes when they release the smoke from the cigarette and thus, wrinkles form.

The Tooth
People who smoke have yellowish teeth as well as lips which are both unpleasing to the eye.

The Lip
Smokers have puckered mouth wrinkles. This is because of the fact that while they smoke they pucker their mouth, thus lines start to develop. At the same time smoking causes flaky and dry lips.

Skin becomes Thin
Due to poor circulation of the blood, the skin of a smoker is thinner. This is the same reason why wrinkles and lines become more visible. The worse is, it can lead to cancer in the skin known as carcinoma.

Smoking might not have life threatening effects on the person's skin in contrast to its effects to the parts of the body, but it does not change a thing that it changes one's appearance badly. This surely do not sound attractive and the fact that this can make a person look older than his real age.