Smoking and skin - a dermatologist's view

Smoking not only affects the lungs, but also the condition of the skin.

Smoking causes premature aging and the formation of facial wrinkles. This was first noted back in 1856. In 1965 M. Ippen proposed the term "cigarette skin", "smoker's skin" to denote pale gray wrinkled skin. Such skin was found in 79% of smokers and only in 19% of non-smoking women aged 35-84 years.

Smoker's skin

Research N. Daniell in 1971 showed that pronounced wrinkles on the face are much more common in smokers than non-smokers, regardless of age, gender and climatic conditions. It was found that the number of wrinkles is related to the number of cigarette packs smoked per year. The authors found that smoking has a greater effect on wrinkle formation than sun exposure.

In his research, the author determined the presence of "smoker's skin" in 46% of smokers, in 8% of those who smoked in the past and in no non-smoker. The association between smoking and having a "smoker's face" was independent of sun exposure, age, social status, and recent weight loss.

Smoking increases the risk of wrinkles

The risk of premature appearance of wrinkles increases with an increase in the number of cigarettes smoked per year, and those who smoke more than 50 packs a year are 4.7 times more likely to have wrinkles than nonsmokers of the same sex and age. Some authors consider exposure to sunlight to be a more powerful factor in the appearance of wrinkles than smoking. It is obvious that the interaction of these factors leads to an even more pronounced effect of aging.

Smoking and woman's body

Studies have shown that women are more sensitive to the effects of cigarette smoke than men. The true mechanisms by which smoking causes premature skin aging are still unknown, but this is most likely a multifactorial process. It was found that elastin in the skin of smokers is denser and more fragmented than non-smokers. These changes in elastic fibers are similar to the changes that occur during photoaging from exposure to sunlight, with the only difference that in smokers they affect the reticular layer of the dermis, and not the papillary, as is the case with actinic elastosis. Cigarette smoke increases the activity of neutrophil elastase, thereby contributing to the formation of defective elastin. In vitro, cigarette smoke blocks cross-linking in elastin. Chronic ischemia of the dermis contributes to damage to elastic fibers and also reduces collagen synthesis. Smoking wrinkles can also appear due to the prooxidant effect of cigarette smoke, as well as a decrease in vitamin A levels and therefore protection from free radicals. A pronounced decrease in the water saturation of the stratum corneum of the skin in smokers also leads to premature and excessive formation of wrinkles.

Smoking and women's health

The increased destruction of female sex hormones caused by cigarette smoke causes women to experience a state of relative hypoestrogenism (low levels of female sex hormone), which possibly causes dryness and atrophy of the skin, potentially contributing to this formation of wrinkles. The fact that not all smokers develop a "smoker's face" suggests a possible role for genetic factors in the mechanisms of wrinkle formation.

What procedures are indicated?

First of all, it is recommended to quit smoking!

Photorejuvenation is a hardware procedure that will reduce skin laxity, improve skin tone and tone.

Biorevitalization is an injection procedure, the essence of which is the introduction of hyaluronic acid preparations into the skin. The procedure is safe and allows you to quickly restore skin turgorand.

Mesotherapy with antioxidants and vitamin C reduces the negative effects of free radicals on skin cells, collagen and elastin.

GliSODin helps protect your skin from free radicals damage.