Beautiful Skin – 5 More Reasons To Quit Smoking

Do you want your skin to look:

* dull?

* tired?

* wrinkled?

* saggy?

* coarse and generally unattractive?

I doubt very much that you do, but if you are a smoker that is exactly what you can expect – if it doesn’t look that way already!

I’m not going to preach about the health dangers of smoking – unless you have been living under a rock (which I know you haven’t) that’s an absolute no-brainer – but I am going to point out 5 ways that smoking damages your skin.

1. smoking increases production of an enzyme which breaks down the supply of collagen in the skin. Collagen is what give’s the skin elasticity and ability to bounce back. Collagen production naturally decreases with age but smoking speeds up the process.

2. smoking restricts blood flow through the tiny veins near the skins surface, which prevents oxygen and nutrients getting to the skin – these are the skin’s food and it cannot function properly without them.

3. smoking depletes the body’s stores of vitamin A – a vital anti-oxidant that provides protection from skin damage.

4.smoking depletes and interferes with the absorption of vitamin C – another important antioxidant for skin protection and health, vitamin C is also involved in collagen synthesis.

5. smoking causes deep lines and wrinkles around the mouth and eye area as a result of the constant dragging on the cigarettes and squinting to avoid the smoke.

Patches, pills, support groups, books, hypnosis – there are a ton of resources available to help people quit. Apart from the awesome health benefits and amazing skin that will result from quitting smoking, all that money can be spent on eating well and enjoying some well deserved treats like a trip to the day spa or a new outfit.

I know which one I’d prefer!