You may be doing this every day that makes your skin age quickly!

Hello, this is Science Popularization China. Smoking is a bad habit, and we have heard about its harms, but did you know that your appearance is also related to smoking?

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In 2010, an article titled "Research Progress on Smoking and Skin Aging" summarized several mechanisms by which smoking causes skin aging. The chemicals produced after tobacco combustion will first stimulate our oral mucosa, nasal mucosa, upper respiratory tract and lung tissue. In this process, some substances can enter our blood circulation through free diffusion or gas exchange. Once in the blood circulation, these chemicals will combine with various blood cells or transport proteins, affecting tissues, organs and skin throughout the body.

Specifically, smoking can cause ischemia to the skin, reducing the skin's renewal function; reducing the collagen content in the skin, making the skin bumpy; and inhibiting the synthesis of estrogen, making skin aging more serious.

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In addition to the effects mentioned above, the repeated action of sucking and inhaling when smoking will cause our cheeks to sink in. The action of holding a cigarette in the mouth itself will also cause wrinkles on our face, which aggravates the degree of skin aging to a certain extent.

In addition, smoking is also closely related to hair loss. An article called "Research Progress on the Effect of Smoking on the Pathogenesis of Skin Diseases" points out that smoking and ultraviolet radiation are the main external factors that cause hair loss.

Smoking is very harmful to both hair volume and skin. Compared with appearance, skin health is also a very important issue. For the sake of our health and appearance, we should not smoke if we can.

Image source: unsplash.com Photographer: Mathew Macquarrie

Review | Feng Jun, Deputy Chief Physician, Dermatology Department, General Hospital of Datong Coal Mine Group Co., Ltd.