Is anyone around you smoking? Do you know how does it affect your skin?

1.Premature aging and wrinkles

Toxins in cigarettes can cause premature aging and other skin conditions, including skin cancer. When you smoke, you can aggravate your skin condition.

If you have a smoking habit and notice that your skin is suffering, you should consult your doctor if. You can also find help centers and counselling to help you quit smoking. Your skin will definitely start healing once you break the habit.

2. Wound healing

Yes – smoking habit delays the wound healing process. It takes a lot of time for smokers to heal from skin injuries and surgical wounds in comparison to the time it takes for non-smokers. Wound infections, flap or graft failure, tissue death, and blood clots are more likely to occur if you have the habit of smoking. Though not proven, these facts may be the key cause for the slow wound healing process for smokers:

• Skin cells lack oxygen because of vasoconstriction and reduced blood flow

• Delaying in keratinocyte migration

• The production of collagen has decreased

• The wound's blood vessels fail to grow quickly enough.

3. Skin cancer

Compared to non-smokers, people who smoke cigarettes are at twice the risk of developing a skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma. There is also a higher risk of oral leukocytosis (precancer) and oral cancer. Approximately 75% of cases of oral cancer and lip cancer occur in smokers. 

Signing off

Let’s face it – smoking is harmful and in the long run, your body will have the telltale signs asking you to try and quit or control this habit because there is no way to reverse the skin damage caused by smoking. If you quit smoking, you may prevent worsening of the damage. Do write to us if you have any more questions and we will be happy to help!