Smoking cessation and acne

Are you interested in how smoking cessation affects skin condition – especially how are smoking cessation and acne connected? This article is bound to help you with determining the effect smoking cessation will have on your acne.

It’s wildly known that smoking is the cause of so called smoker’s acne.

The first thing you should know is that smoking cessation will stop their appearance for sure. There are big chances your smoker’s acne will disappear and won’t leave even a scar – if you stop. Thus smoking effect on inflammatory acne is undetermined – some studies have even shown that smoking decreases acne severity by deceleration of inflammatory processes in one’s body.

Smoking cessation and acne is not the only thing – you should also take into account that smoking makes skin age faster. Smoking cessation has plenty good affects on skin besides it helps with non-inflammatory (smokers) acne.

Now – some people say that smoking cessation and acne appearance are connected.

Here is what I have seen on the Internet recently: “Now that I've quit smoking, why am I getting acne like I'm a danged teenager?!”.

“As we've all learned, the act of smoking introduces all kinds of nasty pollutants into our bodies. Being the miracles of nature that they are, our bodies adjust as best they can and do whatever they can to shed the nasty chemical toxins we pour into them with every puff we take on a cigarette. Unfortunately, each cigarette we smoke retards the detoxification process that our bodies are *trying* to engage in. The net effect is an accumulation of toxins inside our bodies along with a shift in the chemical balance inside us (including our hormones.)

One day, we quit smoking. This is a Good Thing but, as we have also learned, it throws our bodies into an upheaval. Suddenly the chemical balance is thrown out of whack again while, at the same time, our bodies start the detoxification process. You've heard people tell new Quitsters to "drink lots of water to help flush out all the toxins". This is good advice and it helps a great deal. However, it's just not fast enough for you body when begins to excrete the toxins in any way it can. Sometimes the toxins are ejected through the soft tissues inside our mouths and through the pores. This causes the well-known Quitzits many Quitsters suffer from. It can also cause tremendous mouth discomfort as cold sores and canker sores erupt inside the mouth and on the lips. This coupled with the hormonal changes that happen (akin to the changes that happen during a woman's menstrual cycle, another time when she's likely to experience more acne than is typical) can lead to some pretty pimply periods. Sore throats are also quite common during this time.

There is also some evidence that there are chemical agents absorbed from cigarette smoke that inhibit the formation of cold sores which only makes their occurrence more likely once you Quit. Finally, many Quitsters suffer from Quitstipation. Since this slow downs a major toxin shedding process, this is one less avenue for the body to rid itself of the nasty chemicals it has been absorbing. If it's any consolation, smoking Quitsters aren't the only people to experience this phenomenon - recovering heroin addicts have been known to develop raging cases of acne, too”

He also wrote that it’s better to wait this effect out. Read full Smoking cessation and acne

How smoking damages skin

I’ve found an interesting article about new service which will allow you to look at yourself after 40 years of smoking. Smoking heavily. Here it is.

The harsh reality of swapping football for fags made a lasting impression on a pair of Rotherham United stars as they tried out ageing software offering a shock insight into their potential future selves.

Stephen Brogan, aged 21, and David Haggerty, 18, saw themselves as 60-year-old regular smokers using the high-tech kit - with startling results.

The technology allowed them to compare how they would look in 40 years' time as smokers and non-smokers, and the difference was marked. They also got some sort of pimples and smokers acne as smokers.

The Millers players used the software at The Quit Stop, on Bridgegate, to pledge their support to Rotherham NHS Stop Smoking Service, which provides a range of free support services for smokers.

They want to spread the message that smokers are four times more likely to quit when they seek specialist NHS support.

Stephen said: "I was really shocked when I saw the image. I didn't realise smoking could have that sort of impact on the way you look.

"Seeing how I might look in 40 years' time makes me realise how important it is not to smoke. If more people saw this process I think they would definitely think twice about smoking."

The service is using the ageing software at regular group meetings.

Read full How smoking damages skin