Smoking Cigarettes causes skin wrinkles.  There are many reasons why smoking cigarettes causes skin wrinkles, and I’ll do my best to educate everyone with general facts about cigarette smoking and how it pertains to skin care.

I personally quit smoking at age 23, when I started learning about proper skin care.  The thought of putting another cigarette in my mouth hasn’t crossed my mind since the day I viewed gory photos of people’s gums and teeth, followed by photographs of facial wrinkles on people who had smoked cigarettes for the majority of their adult (and sometimes even teenage) lives.

I consulted with the Mayo Clinic’s website on this update just to ensure my facts were straight after all these years.  Doctor Lowell Dale, MD, has a question and answer session currently live on the Mayo Clinic website and it’s among the best resources I’ve seen on the topic.

According to Dale, “Smoking can speed up the aging process of your skin.”

Which Twin Smokes?

The aging process includes wrinkles and fine lines. After affects of cigarette smoking may appear within 10 years of smoking, and as Dale adds

“the more skin wrinkling you’re likely to have — even though the early skin damage from smoking may be hard for you to see.”

Smoking cigarettes also contributes to wrinkles on other areas of the skin, such as the skin on the backside of the arms.  As mentioned in previous wrinkle education updates, any repeated movement of the skin will cause wrinkles.  (Squinting is the most common.)

Nicotine contained in cigarettes narrows the blood levels in the outermost layers of the skin, which in turn impairs the blood flow.  When this happens, the skin doesn’t receive the necessary oxygen to maintain it’s healthy shine and supple state. Nutrients, such as vitamin C, are also lost in this process.

The over 4,000 chemicals and toxins are even more dangerous for your skin.  They deplete collagen and elastin, the fibers that keep your skin strong.  When you lose collagen and elastin, that’s when the skin wrinkles really start to show.

Of course, repeated facial expressions done when smoking cigarettes, such as pursing the lips, squinting, and dragging on the actual tobacco cigarette – all adds up to one more reason why cigarette smoking is a bad habit and terrible for people looking to maintain healthy skin.

This photograph here accurately shows someone who has smoked a few too many heaters!

Of course, for those of you who are looking for an alternative, (because you can’t quit smoking at all costs) electronic cigarettes are an option.  Electronic cigarettes do not contain the vast majority of the 4,000 + chemicals in tobacco cigarettes, PLUS, you can smoke electronic cigarettes without nicotine.  Most electronic cigarettes do contain nicotine, so be sure to find one with a zero mg cartridge.  You may find yourself starting out with nicotine with the goal of waning down to the zero mg cartridges.  I know several people who have used Bull Smoke Electronic Cigarettes and had a lot of success with them.

So, if you have to smoke in some capacity, keep that in mind.