Today’s topic – A Smoke, A Coke & Your Skin. Well, I’ll bet you are hoping for a positive response. Something like, “Smoke all the cigarettes & drink all the coke you want”! WRONG! Unfortunately, I’m going to be Debbie Downer today & give you some hard core truths. Don’t get me wrong…social smoking and sipping some bubbly caffeine is fun! But once you know what it does to your skin, you may JUST SAY NO to the smoke & coke.
I’m going to be really truthful here. Some of my readers know me well..too well. And to my patients who don’t know my ugly past, here it goes. I was a smoker! Ugh! The shame! I smelled & sounded like a dirty trucker and loved every minute of it! I absolutely loved the action of smoking. It gave me something to do. It was my after dinner treat, my in the car pastime, icebreaker at gatherings, and my excuse to get a break. Thankfully, many years ago, I decided that I wanted to kick the habit. I knew how bad smoking made me look, sound & feel. But I didn’t know how my skin would suffer the brutal consequences of my habit. And now that I know, I want to share with you! Here are reasons why smoking is bad for your skin:
• Smoking thins blood vessels, reduces circulation and decreases the oxygen level in your blood. This means you are suffocating your skin and starving your skin from oxygen. By asphyxiating the skin, you are inhibiting circulation and breaking down collagen. Hello wrinkles!
• When you smoke, the constant act of pursing your lips and furrowing your brow makes for some gnarly lip wrinkles and #11’s! What are #11’s? Those are the two lines that are seen in between the brows that resemble a #11. And those mouth wrinkles are super attractive and a great way to label you a smoker.
• Because smoking is extremely addictive, smokers actually experience nicotine withdrawal in their sleep. This causes the smoker to feel & appear sleep deprived. And what gift does no sleep give? Under eye bags!
• Smoking also releases a toxic cloud of tobacco, chemicals, & nicotine that forms a film on not only the smokers skin, but the lovely family & friends that are around the smoker. This film is not easily removed and can cause the skin to become congested, impact pores, black heads, breakouts & cysts. So, give your smoker friend a “Hi-Five” for the pimples!
• Smoking severely affects the immune system, as it depletes the skin of vitamins & nutrients we need for our bodies to heal. So, the breakouts & cysts you have from the smoke film will take a very long time to heal. It’s just the gift that keeps on giving!
• And finally, smoking can exacerbate psoriasis, cysts, staph, hair loss, and rosacea.
Did I scare you? Good! Above having healthy skin, I want my patients to be physically healthy. And smoking will destroy your health. If you are a smoker, don’t lose hope! I’m here to help get your skin back to a healthy state! Once you quit smoking, it takes about 20 -30 days for your red blood cell count to increase. After that, you will start to see improvement in the tone of your skin. And the wrinkles left behind will be no more once you’ve been treated at Timeless Rx! I know, first hand, that quitting isn’t easy. But you have me…your esthetician cheerleader to help! If you or someone you know needs help quitting smoking visit QUIT SMOKING to get started. It’s NEVER too late!
Now that the worst is behind us, let’s tackle coke. Coca Cola, Coke, Soda, Pop whatever you call it is terrible for our skin! I’m not innocent over here. Every now and then, I indulge. And every single time, my skin rats me out! I’ll have a pimple the next day! Here are a few reasons why Coke is bad for your skin:
• Drinking coke (specifically dark sodas) cause a chemical reaction in your body called glycation. Glycation happens when a sugar attaches to a protein. Over time, we are expected to experience glycation. However, the sugar content in the soda causes too much glycation and the result is a change in how your skin cells function. Then, over time, this will destroy the elastin you have and stop collagen production. Bottom line, it causes dull, wrinkled skin. Yikes!
• And don’t think it’s just the sugary soda that is problematic. All soda contains high levels of caffeine that can dehydrate the skin. When skin is dehydrated, our wrinkles become more prominent.
• Drinking all soda also increases inflammatory properties in the body & skin. Inflammation in the body is awful. Inflammation in the skin can exaggerate eczema, irritated skin, & cystic acne.
The good news is, fixing this problem is easy – stop drinking coke! You will notice a difference and feel better soon after giving up the poison. Instead, drink water. Don’t like water? Spice it up by infusing your water with fruit. This treat not only aids in hydration, but rids the body of the toxins you have from smoke & coke!
Now that you know what A Smoke & A Coke does to your skin, make a change! Give up the addiction that will destroy your skin & overall health! You have me & your friends at Timeless Rx to help! If this blog doesn’t apply to you, I encourage you to share it with someone you know. Once you know the nasty truth, it makes it a little easier to quit. At Timeless Rx, our #1 priority is our patient’s health. We look forward to helping you quit & make better choices.
Your Esthetician,
Sam