The Brutal Effects Smoking Has On The Face

Most of us know about the detrimental effects smoking has on our bodies. Among the health issues caused by tobacco use, we can find severe ones, such as cancer, coronary heart disease, or COPD. Nevertheless, smoking also has another significant downside — it can negatively affect our looks.

One element of our visage that smoking can change for the worse is our face. Poor skin tone, more wrinkles, loose skin under the eyes, and lines around the lips are only a few of the telltale signs of a smoker. The natural conclusion to learning about all of these disadvantages would be to stop smoking altogether. Unfortunately, it is easier said than done.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 34 million American adults smoke cigarettes. And while more and more people are using vaping products from brands like Element or Vaporesso instead of traditional cigarettes and quitting, the situation is far from perfect.

Below, we share some insights about tobacco use that might convince you it is the right time to drop your smoking habit. Let’s get started.

Loose Skin Under The Eyes

Loosed skin under the eyes is one of the outcomes of smoking. This is because collagen is broken as chemicals of cigarette reacts with oxygen. It furthers removes elasticity from the skin which makes the face look older.

Poor Skin Tone

Another adverse effect of smoking is poor skin tone. If you appear pale even though it is the middle of the summer, smoking cigarettes is probably the cause. Similarly, if you have uneven colouring, the chemicals rolled up into a cigarette are most likely the source of this issue.

Lines Around The Lips

The reason why smoking can create lines around the lips is twofold. First, as we already mentioned, smoking leads to the loss of elasticity. Because of this, the skin around your mouth becomes weaker.

Second, smokers use specific muscles while practising their smoking habits. While they are smoking, they inhale the smoke by making a characteristic face. As a result of this muscle movement, they end up with something called ‘the smoker’s pucker’ — dynamic wrinkles around the lips.

Age Spots

Age spots are small, dark areas on the skin that may vary in size. They usually appear on the body parts that are exposed to the sun, including the face. While they are not harmful by themselves, they might make you look less attractive.

Smoking can make you more susceptible to age spots or patches of darker skin as it deprives your skin of nutrients. Consequently, your skin is not strong enough to protect itself from sun damage, resulting in age spots.

Damaged Teeth And Gums

Image by Daniel Alvarez via Pixabay

Regular smoking may also cause the teeth to get yellower. Other than that, smoking can be the cause of harm for gums as well. Furthermore, it also causes bad breath.

Hair Loss

Although losing hair is a natural process, smoking can accelerate it and make you go bald a lot sooner than you might expect. For many, it means losing one of their most attractive features and looking older for their age.

In this study, researchers explain how smoking can damage hair follicles and argue that the connection between smoking and hair loss might be one of the most compelling arguments against taking a smoke break. As losing hair is always an unpleasant experience, it is not hard to see their point.

Image by Martin Slavoljubovski via Pixabay

Crow’s Feet

Crow’s feet are wrinkles that appear at the outer corners of the eyes. Everyone develops them sooner or later, but smokers usually have more of these tiny creases. Additionally, smokers typically have deeper crow’s feet and develop them earlier than non-smokers. It is all because of the constant squinting to keep smoke out of their eyes.

Cataracts

Cataracts are cloudy areas on the lenses of the eyes. They prevent light from reaching the retina, resulting in clouded vision. Besides their harmful effects on your eyesight, they are also considered an unattractive feature that can make you look older.

The Bottom Line

Smoking can bring significant changes to how you look. Sadly, most of these changes stand in contradiction to what we would call appealing. Instead, they are seen as unhealthy and bad-looking.

Luckily, there are ways to fight off these changes and improve your looks. For instance, you can use various creams, undergo cosmetic procedures, or quit smoking. After you increase blood flow and give your skin the nutrients it needs, a healthier complexion and fewer signs of ageing will follow.

If you are unsure how to go about it, visit your doctor. They will give you personalized advice and share with you some of the most effective strategies you may use to become tobacco-free.