Smoking - A Major Cause of Wrinkles

By: Christopher Evans - Drug-Aware.com

Smoking is bad for you: No surprises there! It is a major cause of cancer, emphysema as well as a whole host of other health related problems. It smells, it costs an ever increasing amount of money and is fast becoming a social taboo. What fewer people appreciate is that smoking is also a leading factor when it comes to aging of the skin. Wrinkles, sagging and lines are all a result of the ravages of cigarette smoke. Worse still, it does not require us to even be smokers ourselves to suffer. Simply being in a smoky environment has a negative effect on our skin. (Another hoorah for the UK public smoking ban!)

Cigarette smoke, much like other pollutants in the atmosphere, damages the skin in part, because of its production of free radicals. The damage caused by these free radicals is present throughout our bodies. The skin, as our outermost layer, shows this damage most prominently: In particular, the face.

So what is a free radical and how does it promote these lines and wrinkles in the skin? Simply put, a free radical is a molecule with an imbalance of electrons. These unbalanced molecules react with cells in the body to “steal” electrons which in turn causes damage to the body’s cells.

According to Dr. Nicholas Perricone, dermatologist and author of The Perricone Prescription (HarperCollins), the effects of smoking in terms of ageing are significant. When we inhale just one puff of cigarette smoke, more than a trillion free radicals are produced in our lungs, which then trigger an inflammatory response that circulates throughout the body.

Over time, this damage extends to the collagen in our skin. Collagen is a protein which acts as the building block of our bodies. Amongst other things, it is responsible for both the elasticity and smoothness of our skin. Effectively, the more collagen we have, the smoother and tighter our skin is. i.e less wrinkles.

In 1985 the term ’smoker’s face’ was added to the medical dictionary. The characteristic of a smoker’s face, which tends to make people look older than they are, was defined as the following:

Lines or wrinkles on the face, particularly radiating at right angles from the upper and lower lips or corners of the eyes, deep lines on the cheeks or numerous shallow lines on the cheeks and lower jaw.

It is not just the production of these free radicals that reduces collagen production. Smoking also depletes the body’s stores of Vitamin C. In one study, smokers with similar intake had consistently lower blood Vitamin C levels compared to non-smokers. Vitamin C is involved in the synthesis of collagen and is a powerful anti-oxidant in itself.

Collagen production does slow down over time, regardless of it’s exposure to smoke. Hence, the older someone gets, the more likely they are to develop wrinkles. Promoting collagen production is the key to delaying this natural process as well as tackling the unnatural causes such as smoking.

Microdermabrasion, anti-oxidants and certain vitamins all found in various creams can fight both the development and existence of wrinkles by promoting the production of collagen in the skin. Furthermore, new techniques such as micro-needling also promote the development of new collagen.

There are a number of invasive and expensive techniques to help resurface the skin, such as chemical peels, laser resurfacing and microdermabrasion, but these are all a trauma to the skin and are beyond the average budget.

The good news is that we offer an amazing product that can help to remove wrinkles, stretch marks, and scars quickly and easily in the comfort of your own home. Learn more about Smoking - a Leading Cause of Wrinkles at derma-rollers.com.