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The most common concern for smokers is the different types of cancer they can develop. However, there are other problems that are not so readily talked about.

This article will discuss some of the lesser known topics related with the effects of smoking on the skin. The main points we will discuss are the importance of skin color in the aging process, the difference of aging between both genders and how smoking can decrease the healing process.

Skin Damage is Affected by Skin Color

It may not seem too important, but skin color is a vital factor when it comes to the amount and speed of damage your skin will suffer. It has been proven that darker skin is much more resistant to aging because its dermal structure is much thicker that fairer skin. Lighter skin, on the other hand, has a thinner dermal structure making it more frail and susceptible to skin damage such as wrinkling, blotches and irritation.

Males Suffer less Skin Damage than Females

Unfortunately, women smokers are also more susceptible to skin damage, including wrinkling, than male smokers. The male hormone androgen produces a thicker dermis making it more resilient to damage. Meanwhile, a decline in estrogen leads to irritated and dry, cracked skin.

Wrinkling is not only due to the constriction of blood vessels caused by smoking, but also to the constant puffing and squinting that a smoker executes while smoking. The term "smoker's face" is used to describe the wrinkled, gaunt aspect of a chronic smoker. Nevertheless, there are certain wrinkle treatments that you can use to help promote facial rejuvenation.

Smoking affects the Healing Process

The rate at which your body heals, especially after surgery, is another problem for smokers. Due to the reduced blood flow, the amount of nutrients that the damaged area receives is also reduced. For this reason, doctors recommend that their patients to quit smoking so that their post op healing process increases.

Dealing with the Consequences of Chronic Smoking

The ideal choice for your skin is to quit smoking or never to start. However, you may be one of the people who have found it impossible to give up this habit. If this is so, there are other options that you can try to combat the consequences derived from chronic smoking.

Products containing alfa hydroxy acids and retinoids have been successful in dealing with the consequences produced by chronic smoking. Skin peels and dermabrasion can help aid facial and overall skin rejuvenation by stimulating the regeneration of skin.