If your little guilty pleasure is cigarettes, what follows should be all the convincing you need to quit for good. Beyond its well-known health effects, tobacco has a direct impact on skin quality. A dull complexion, dark spots, premature wrinkles, sagging skin and worsened cellulite are just some of the unwelcome effects of smoking. Discover the many benefits of quitting smoking for your skin!
Benefit of quitting smoking for your skin no1: a porcelain complexion
The smoker’s grey complexion is absolutely not a myth. In fact, it has a very simple explanation: cigarette smoke has a vasoconstrictive effect, meaning it causes blood vessels to narrow. And when vasoconstriction occurs, blood circulation slows down. Yet blood is essential, since it is what delivers to cells (including skin cells) the oxygen and nutrients they need to function and renew themselves. So when you smoke, the skin receives far less blood flow, leaving it with a grey, dull appearance. Quitting smoking allows normal microcirculation to be restored. The skin’s naturally rosy tone and radiance then return. In short: for a glowing complexion, quit smoking!
Benefit no2: goodbye skin problems
For a long time, it was difficult to establish a clear link between tobacco and acne, as some studies suggested that tobacco, through its inhibitory effect on certain pro-inflammatory molecules (prostaglandins), could slow the onset of inflammatory acne. But things are not so straightforward! Because tobacco consumption has a triple effect:
- nicotine stimulates the activity of keratinocytes, the cells that produce keratin found in the epidermis, which gives skin its impermeability. But excess keratin production leads to one thing: clogged pores. Blackheads and microcysts then appear;
- acne is caused by the proliferation of a bacterium found on the skin’s surface, Cutibacterium acnes. Yet blood also carries immune cells (macrophages), whose role is to “kill” harmful bacteria. But smoking reduces blood flow to the skin, which means acne is worsened by tobacco;
- finally, smoking leads to slower and less effective healing, again due to its vasoconstrictive effect. It’s a double blow: more breakouts and more acne scars.
By quitting smoking, you stand a much better chance of achieving beautiful skin that is clearer and less prone to acne, whether it’s occasional (hormonal), inflammatory or chronic.
Benefit no3: stop the wrinkles
It’s well known: tobacco is responsible for premature skin ageing. But how does this happen?
- The toxins found in cigarettes break down vitamin C, an antioxidant vitamin that helps combat excess free radicals. Free radicals attack cell membranes, including those in the skin. As a result, fibroblasts, the skin cells responsible for producing collagen — which gives skin its firmness and elasticity — become damaged. The result: skin becomes softer, more wrinkled, and tends to sag.
- Furthermore, smoking accentuates expression lines, both around the eyes (repeated squinting to avoid smoke, causing crow’s feet) and around the mouth (repeated pursing of the lips, leading to smoker’s lines).
Quitting smoking cannot erase the damage already done. Wrinkles that have already formed are, unfortunately, there to stay. However, quitting cigarettes does stop the premature ageing process, by allowing better absorption of antioxidant nutrients (including vitamin C), greater cell regeneration, and an end to the facial movements that cause expression lines.
Benefit no4: less cellulite, firmer skin
Let’s focus on the body! Because yes, cigarettes don’t only affect facial skin… We’ve already touched on two effects of tobacco: vasoconstriction and the deterioration of fibroblasts. And cellulite is directly linked to a circulatory issue and to a disruption and breakdown of connective tissue structure. By smoking, you tend to worsen:
- veno-lymphatic sluggishness, which impairs the proper drainage of connective tissue and amplifies the effects of water retention, toxin build-up, heavy legs and aqueous cellulite;
- fibrosis, which manifests as a stiffening and reduced renewal of the skin’s elastic fibres, giving cellulite a more entrenched appearance and a painful quality.
Quitting smoking won’t eliminate cellulite, but it does help limit some of its causes, since smoking is a factor that encourages the development of orange peel skin. By stopping smoking, it becomes easier to tackle dimples and regain smoother skin that feels firmer.