The Effects of Smoking on Your Looks

Everybody knows that smoking causes some serious damage to the body. Every time you light up a cigarette, not only internal organs take a beating, but skin too. The effects are not as life threatening as heart and lung disease, still they can lead to disorders, while noticeably ageing your look. This article will motivate smokers to quit once and for all… Hopefully.

Wasted appearance
Tobacco can damage the physical aspect in so many ways. Firstly, the toxins released into the organism hammer the blood flow, thus blocking essential nutrients and oxygen from reaching the cells. And skin gets a greyish look. Secondly, it dries the epidermis. That may be the reason behind those one or two blackheads around your mouth and on cheeks.

Premature wrinkling
A recent study with twins has proven that smoking accelerates ageing: smoker twins looked 1.4 years older on average than the respective non-smoker brother/sister. That is caused by the 4,000 chemicals contained in just one cigarette, which change the structure of skin, causing a decline in its natural glow and the emergence of wrinkles, which can also be induced by the facial expressions, such as pursing lips, people make when inhaling. Basically, the more a person smokes, the greater the risk of developing deep lines, especially around the mouth and between eyebrows.

Damaged hair
By blocking the oxygen flow to the scalp, smoking can cause the strands to turn brittle and dull looking. Conclusion, your hair ends up lacking the nourishment it needs, thus becoming thinner and grey sooner than in non-smokers. According to another research, men who smoke are about twice as likely to lose their hair as non-smokers.

Turning yellow
Have you ever noticed that smokers get yellow fingers and nails? Just by holding the cigarette. Imagine what smoke can do to teeth. Not only will your smile darken, but the risk of developing oral problems such as gum inflammation and infection, which may eventually lead to tooth decay, loss and bad breath, increases.

Bigger tummy
There are a lot of people who start smoking because of their desire to slim down. In fact, although overall weight lowers, smoke tends to push fat towards the central areas. Nicotine inhibits insulin, the hormone that breaks the sugar in the blood down, so the sugar stays in the blood, giving a feeling of fullness. When smokers fatten, they show bigger tummies for the same weight gain than non-smokers.

Looking and feeling tired
According to a Johns Hopkins study, smokers are four times as likely as non-smokers to feel unrested. Nicotine is like caffeine, it stimulates and activates the nervous system, making a person toss and turn during sleep. Besides that, smoking makes the heart pump rapider: organs need more oxygen, but the toxins in the cigarettes prevent that from happening, and you wind up feeling exhausted.

Retake your beauty
All those unpleasant consequences add up to what some doctors describe as a smoker’s face, meaning that it is often easy to identify a smoker just by looking at his/her face. The bad news is that an already wasted appearance will not get better by just stop smoking; the good news is that we can help you get your young look back.

Beverly Wilshire Medical Centre offers a wide range of cosmetic surgeries. Our staff of experts is specialised in healthy ageing, hair transplantation and face lifting. Get in touch with our doctors to find out the best treatment option for you.