How Does Tobacco Affect The Skin? Read It Here!
Tobacco affects the skin of both those who smoke and those exposed to the smoke. Remember that tobacco contains about 4,000 toxic components, of which at least 300 are very dangerous and can have dermatological effects.
First of all, tobacco affects the skin by causing unwanted aesthetic effects. Although it causes skin damage all over the body, its effects are more visible on the face.
There is even a pattern that defines a ‘smoker’s face’. However, tobacco affects the skin beyond its aesthetic effects. In some cases, it causes serious diseases such as skin cancer.
Nevertheless, the good news is that if a person quits smoking in the short, medium or long term, the effects are reversible.
How tobacco affects the skin
The first biological effect of tobacco on the skin is caused by the increase of free radicals. These are chemical elements that damage cell membranes. They even alter genetic information and cause abnormalities in the arterioles of the dermis and epidermis.
Under these conditions, the circulation and nutrition of the skin are compromised. The skin is deprived of oxygen and essential nutrients, leading to dryness and chappedness.
Nicotine also contains a component called vasopressin, which raises blood pressure and lowers estrogen. Low estrogen levels then lead to dry skin.
In addition, tobacco use reduces the absorption of vitamin A and changes elastin and collagen. The result of all this is dry skin with reduced radiance and obvious wrinkles.
Premature Aging
One of the obvious manifestations of how tobacco affects the skin is premature aging. This is more visible in women than in men and is most evident after the age of 39.
The wrinkles that smokers have also differ from those of non-smokers. The grooves are narrower, deeper and more pronounced. A study shows that the wrinkles of some smokers aged 40 to 49 are comparable to those of non-smokers aged 60 to 70.
Also, wrinkles are often more pronounced around the eyes and upper lip. This is often due to the smoker’s attitude to smoking. Meanwhile, premature aging mainly occurs because tobacco causes elastin waste to build up in the dermis, leading to collagen degeneration and wrinkle formation.
Tobacco affects skin healing
Healing problems are another way tobacco affects the skin. Smoke impairs tissue oxygenation, reduces circulation and damages the blood. As a result, wounds, especially surgical wounds, take longer to heal.
Smokers with chronic ulcers, especially in the lower extremities, have a more unstable evolution and are also difficult to heal. People who smoke a pack of cigarettes a day are three times more likely to develop necrosis than non-smokers.
Other problems
Tobacco use can trigger or exacerbate many skin conditions. For example, think of:
- Alopecia or hair loss
- Psoriasis
- Hidradenitis suppurativa
- Chronic hand eczema
Tobacco also causes yellowing of the nails and fingers, as well as your teeth, as it exacerbates bacterial plaque. The heat from the cigarette in the mouth is aggressive and can lead to lip cancer. 80% of people who develop this type of cancer smoke.
Tobacco is also a possible trigger of non-melanoma skin cancer. In particular, it can cause epidermoid carcinoma, a condition twice as common in smokers. It can also lead to cancer of the oral cavity and increase the risk of metastasis.
