The Effects of Smoking and Alcohol On
Your Skin
Although smoking is best known for causing lung cancer, this habit is also among
the biggest threats to your skin. Next to sun and chemicals, tobacco is one of
the major accelerators of your skin's natural aging process and it's thought to
be one of the fastest acting threats.
Young people start showing signs of early skin aging after as little as 10 years
of smoking. If you think this is a long period of time, you should keep in mind
that many young people start smoking in their teen years (16-19 year olds) and
are still below 30 when the first signs appear.
Smoking causes the narrowing of blood vessels throughout your body, including
those that supply the outermost layers of the skin with oxygen and nutrients.
Thus, your skin is slowly starved of vital oxygen and other substances, such as
immunity-boosting Vitamin A. Alcohol has a similar effect by destroying the
body's supply of Vitamin A. This will lower your skin's role as the first line
of defense against bacteria and infections.
The same Vitamin A is used in the skin turnover process to help generate the new
cells that replace the dead ones. This vitamin provides a temporary boost in the
production of collagen and can lend the skin a more youthful appearance for a
while.
Over time, the lack of oxygen and nutrients would allow the formation of harmful
free radicals that slowly damage the elastic fibers and collagen, which keep the
skin strong and flexible. The result is usually the appearance of premature
wrinkles. It's also likely that the repeated pursing of lips when
inhaling smoke helps build wrinkles around the mouth, while the heat of the
burning cigarette tip is also damaging the skin.
The bottom line is that every person who wants to enjoy healthy skin for as long
as possible should refrain from alcohol and tobacco consumption and should also
take the basic steps in skin protection. There's no reason to harm yourself with
unhealthy smoking and drinking and to damage your face with premature wrinkles.
It's so simple to stay healthy. Eat right, exercise daily, avoid smoking and
alcohol, and use only products that are good for your skin.
Read about some
Skin Product Reviews to help you choose the one that's right for you!
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