Stop Smoking and Transform Your Beauty Regime

We all have a daily routine. Many of us have a daily beauty regime we try to stick to.  For smokers, it’s much the same thing. Lighting up first thing in the morning or during their morning and afternoon coffee break is a part of their daily routine.

What few of us think about is the impact smoking has on our skin, our hair, our teeth or our nails.

Stop smoking with its unpleasant withdrawal symptoms and cravings is easier said than done. Sure, it’s not easy to stop smoking but if you value your daily beauty regime you really should be serious thinking about giving those ciggies the flick.

Health Issues Linked With Smoking

Devon has a smoking problem. According to our health statistics, the entire South West has an above average number of smokers on a per capita basis than the rest of the United Kingdom, at 14.2 per cent, according to official Public Health England figures. That’s well above the average for the rest of England.

By now, we should all be aware of the health problems associated with smoking. They range from cancer, stroke, heart disease, emphysema, even peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a silent killer that can result in leg amputations if not detected.

So, while you’ll experience physical improvements when you stop smoking, improved lung capacity and breathing, lowered blood pressure and reduced exposure to inflammation, you’ll also discover your efforts to quit impacting on what’s on the outside as well.

Though quitting can be challenging and take time, it’s worthwhile. One that can start to improve your health just minutes after you’ve stubbed out your last cigarette.

As you enjoy more and more smoke-free days, you’ll begin to see the positive effects on not just your health but on your overall appearance.

Once you quit smoking, you can look forward to enjoying …

1. Brighter Tighter Skin

If you’ve smoked for many years, you may have noticed your skin gradually becoming dry, dull and even taking on a yellowish tint. That’s due to smoking narrowing your blood vessels. This in turn decreases your blood flow through your skin, limiting the amount of oxygen and nutrients reaching your skin’s surface.

Tobacco smoke contains thousands of chemicals which over time combine to devastate your skin’s levels ofcollagen and elastin. These are your skins natural connective fibers that help keep skin wrinkle-free.

The result is more lines on your face and neck. Moreover, research has shown that smokers also have accelerated signs of aging from their neck down. This can include greater evidence of sagging skin on their breasts and inner arms.

Once you stop smoking, your circulation rebounds allowing oxygen and nutrient in your blood to reach the outer layers of your skin, improving your skin almost immediately.

While your skin may never fully rebound to its original pre-tobacco elasticity, most of your skin damage can be significantly reversed, including seeing your collagen and elastin levels improve. Research suggests that just a few days after you’ve quit your smoking habit, you’ll very likely see your complexion gradually becoming clearer and brighter. You may even discover your skin looks less stretched and saggy.

2. Fewer Lines Around Your Lips

Smoking is disastrous for the skin around your lips. First, you develop the dreaded smoker's pucker. Smokingoveruses the muscles around the lips. This triggers the development of major wrinkles that nonsmokers simply don’t develop. Second, the skin in that area can suffer a dramatic loss of elasticity in that area. The end result? Deep fissures around the lips.

3. Thicker Lustrous Hair

One of the downsides of the aging process, is that our hair gradually starts to thin. In part, this is due to our bodily functions beginning to slow down. That includes the volume of blood flow to our scalp. Its this blood flow that stimulates new hair growth.

The toxic cocktail found in cigarette smoke accelerates our natural thinning process by inhibiting blood flow, damaging our hair follicles and interfering in the body’s secretion of the natural hormones that governhair growth.

Similarly, research has thrown light on a consistent and substantial link between early graying and smoking. However, once you quit smoking, the impetus behind accelerated hair loss is switched off. Graying too may be slowed. Then there’s the simple fact that if your hair isn’t exposed to all of that nasty cigarette smoke, it will inevitably smell nicer, too.

4. Stronger Healthier Nails

We’ve all heard our smoker friends complaining about the yellowed, cracked state of their nails. Smoking inhibits the level of oxygen and nutrients reaching your nails. Much the same way it damages your skin. The result? Brittle, dry nails that are discoloured, cracked, slow to regrow and sadly peeling.

Happily, your problem nails will rebound once you stop smoking. All of these annoying cosmetic issues are largely reversible. So, take comfort in the knowledge that your nails can return to looking their best once again.

Stopping smoking also brings another benefit for your nails. Healthy hands with nails that are peel-free andcrack-free not only look fabulous, they’re less susceptible to fungal infections, which not only look horrible and pose a health problem but can also be extremely painful.

It’s a relief to know your nails can return to looking their problem-free best once more.

5. Stronger Whiter Teeth

Remember, all that nicotine and tar in cigarettes passes through your mouth on its way to your lungs. This results in unsightly stained, yellowing teeth. The good news is dentists agree all these side-effects of smoking are completely reversible once you finally quit smoking.

Final Observation

With every cigarette you don’t smoke, you’re that one step closer to enjoying these changes to your outer appearance. While a brighter complexion, taunt skin and whiter teeth may not be as important to you as a reduced risk of cancer or a healthier heart, they are signs of a healthier more vibrant you. Remember, it’s never too late to stop smoking.