You know smoking is bad for your overall health, but do you know what it does to your skin? Premature aging is one of the most common effects of smoking on the skin, causing wrinkles and fine lines to appear. Ultherapy skin tightening treatment is an effective non-invasive procedure that can reduce wrinkle visibility around the eyes as well as lift loose or sagging skin around the eyebrows, neck, or chin. However, to maintain results, patients are reminded to take care of their skin, and that means eliminating harmful habits like smoking from their lifestyle.
4 ways smoking damages the skin
1. Oxidative stress
Oxidative stress has various effects on the body, and while it is a part of the natural aging process, smoking causes it to prematurely occur. On the skin, oxidative stress means your skin isn’t receiving the right amount of oxygen it needs to stay healthy. This in turn causes a host of aging-related problems to appear, particularly wrinkles.
In general, oxidative stress occurs when there are more free radicals than antioxidants in the body. This leads us to the second effect of smoking on the skin…
2. Production of free radicals
The toxins found in nicotine and cigarette smoke cause the body to produce free radicals, which are molecules that aren’t paired with electrons. In order to survive, so to speak, they need to attach to an electron. They “steal” electrons from healthy cells, these cells then break down thus negatively impacting the body.
For the skin, more free radicals means premature aging; and with premature aging comes crow’s feet and smoker’s lines.
3. Smoker’s lines
With your skin dealing with oxidative stress and dehydration, common aging-related skin issues like wrinkles develop and become more visible over time; especially if you are a heavy smoker. Smoker’s lines are those vertical lines on the upper lip. There are two primary causes for these. First, the puckering action your lips make when you inhale smoke from your cigarette. Secondly, the dehydration caused by toxins from nicotine and smoke.
4. Loss of skin elasticity
Smoking negatively affects blood circulation as well as the production of elastin and collagen, which are all important factors in keeping the skin healthy and supple. When your body is producing fewer collagen and elastin, your skin will have a weaker resistance to the effects of gravity. What all this means is that your skin will begin to sag or droop as you continue smoking. For smokers, sagging skin is more prominent under the eyes.
Ultherapy skin tightening
Ultherapy skin tightening treatment can effectively address some of these smoking-related skin issues, particularly crow’s feet and sagging facial skin. For consultation, please feel free to call Rejuvé at (408) 740-5320 to schedule an appointment with Dr. John Tang. Rejuvé is proud to serve the San Jose Bay Area CA and the surrounding communities of Saratoga, Los Gatos, Campbell, Cupertino, Los Altos, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and Boulder Creek.