Skin and Health Tip: If you smoke…QUIT!
Hundreds of millions of people around the world smoke. Some of us do it all the time while others are social smokers. Whether you do it regularly, once in a while or second-hand beware of the ramifications of cigarettes, including the damages done to your skin’s appearance and health.
Smoking robs the skin of oxygen and nutrients, thus causing poor skin complexion and tone. It can also destroy collagen and elastin, causing sagging of the skin. Premature aging, such as fine lines around the eyes and mouth as well as age spots, is another side effect.
Quitting smoking will improve your appearance. Once you quit smoking, blood flow will improve and your skin will start to receive more oxygen and nutrients. Your complexion will improve and look healthier after a few days. In addition, the yellow stains on your nails, fingers and teeth will gradually disappear.
When you stop smoking your skin will become less prone to premature aging. As for the damage (e.g. wrinkles and age spots) you’ve already caused by smoking, don’t worry! There are post-smoking treatments for former smokers to improve their skin or to undo the damages. These include topical retinol and antioxidants, such as MD Beauty Secrets’ Retinol Plus Smoothing Serum and Eye Serum as well as Cell Repair Therapy and Triple Antioxidant Cream.
You should also moisturize regularly and always wear sunscreen.
For former smokers who want instant noticeable results, laser skin resurfacing, chemical peels and microdermabrasion are suggested. These painless and simple cosmetic procedures remove the top layer of your skin, where the damage is most visible, repairing your skin quicker than your body normally would. Such cosmetic procedures and instant fixes are available at DR GUL A. ZIKRIA, M.D., FACOG’s medical clinic.
Note: Smoking affects practically everything in your body. Smoking can cause brittle bones, heart disease, strokes, lung problems (e.g. emphysema, COPD, asthma and other lung diseases), reproductive problems, oral diseases, and cancer. Quitting improves your health substantially. In fact, in just 20 minutes of quitting, your blood pressure and heart rate return to normal. Within 24 hours, your heart attack risk declines. In the first weeks after quitting, tiny cilia start back to work sweeping irritants out of your lungs. Within a year, your risk of heart disease drops considerably. And after a decade of being smoke-free, you’re likelihood of getting lung cancer is incredibly low, as probable as someone who never smoked. Moreover, by quitting smoking you may have added 10 more years to your life as on average, smokers die 10 years earlier than nonsmokers.