Skincare 101 Wellness

How Alcohol And Smoking Change Your Skin

Healthy, radiant skin is a reflection of overall well-being, influenced by factors such as quality sleep, balanced nutrition, regular exercise, and proper skincare. However, habits like alcohol consumption and smoking can significantly undermine your skin's health and appearance.

These bad habits take a toll on our bodies, but what most people aren’t aware of is how they can alter our skin in the worst ways. Both alcohol and smoking introduce toxins and oxidative stress that accelerate premature skin aging, impair skin repair, and contribute to various skin conditions. Understanding how these substances affect your skin is crucial for making informed decisions to protect and improve your skin’s vitality and resilience.

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The effects of alcohol on skin

Alcohol is an oxidizing agent that dehydrates the skin, stops normal skin repair mechanisms, reduces collagen production and skin plumpness and increases the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It’s one of the key factors that cause premature aging, so it’s important to keep that in mind when you’re thinking about ordering your second or third drink at the bar.

Excessive alcohol intake is also known to cause eye puffiness, inflammatory skin conditions such as acne and rosacea and it reduces antioxidants in the skin – particularly vitamin A which helps with skin renewal and cell turnover. A lack of this compound inhibits your body’s ability to ward off free-radical damage and protect your skin from environmental stressors.

The effects of smoking on skin

Another habit to kick to the curb is smoking. If you drink a lot, you’re most likely smoking more as a habit. Smoking robs the skin of oxygen and nutrients, diminishes plumpness, diminishes the thickness of the epidermis, speeds up skin aging and gives skin a dull, lifeless quality.

Soft skin might change to a thicker texture, as the inside of your body catches up with the outside. Crow’s feet are likely to worsen and under-eye puffiness may become more noticeable.

Both cigarette smoking and vaping introduce harmful substances to your body that can damage your skin’s health and appearance. Cigarette smoking and tobacco smoke expose your skin to many toxic chemicals, including nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide, which reduce blood flow to the skin by constricting blood vessels. This deprives your skin cells of oxygen and essential nutrients, leading to dullness, premature aging, and impaired wound healing. Prolonged smoking also accelerates the breakdown of collagen and elastin, the proteins responsible for skin elasticity and firmness, resulting in deeper wrinkles often referred to as "smoker's wrinkles" seen in heavy smokers.

Vaping, while often perceived as a safer alternative, still delivers nicotine and other chemicals that may negatively affect the skin’s barrier function and immune response. Both vaping and smoking increases oxidative stress, which leads to a higher risk of inflammation and can exacerbate chronic inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis and eczema. Moreover, smoking is linked to an increased risk of developing skin cancers, including squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma.

Stopping smoking and vaping (electronic cigarettes) can significantly improve skin health by restoring blood flow, enhancing collagen production, and reducing inflammation as well as other health benefits.

Smoking cessation is recognized by the World Health Organization as one of the most effective ways to reduce health risks, including those affecting the skin. Incorporating a proper skincare routine alongside quitting can help repair skin barrier damage and promote a healthier, more youthful complexion.

Quit smoking and reduce alcohol consumption to prevent skin aging

To revitalize your skin from excessive drinking and smoking, you’ll need to:

Drink plenty of water to flush out the alcohol and keep the skin from dehydrating.
Remove your make up before bed to prevent pores from clogging and let your skin breathe.
Replenish your skin with the nutrients and hydration it needs to keep your immune system strong.

Formulas to lock in moisture and detoxing the skin

Omega Hydrating Oil: an ultra-hydrating non-greasy oil that provides a bath of hydration for the skin while allowing you to topically take your vitamins ( Omega
Hydrating Oil is full of Vitamins A, B, C, D, E)
Intensive Night Treatment: An anti-aging cream that deeply hydrates and moisturizes skin, providing a smoother, plumper appearance.
With a blend of diamond powder, shea butter and caffeine, the Eye Contour Lifting Cream will help hydrate the eye area, smooth crow’s feet and brighten dark circles

The formulas above will help tremendously, but you’ll also need to kick the bad habits to the curb for good if you want to enjoy youthful skin, a strong immune system and other health benefits. With the right skincare regimen, amount of sleep, nutrition, exercise and positive health choices, your skin should be on its way to feeling and looking healthier.