Nicotine Impairs Blood Flow
The nicotine inhaled with cigarettes causes vasoconstriction, or narrowing of the blood vessels, particularly those located in the outermost layers of the skin. This impairs circulation and reduces the flow of blood, depriving the skin of oxygen and nutrients such as vitamin A, according to the Mayo Clinic. Vitamin A is responsible for maintaining smooth, youthful skin, and when your skin doesn't receive the nutrients it requires to rebuild and regenerate in a healthful fashion, the aging process speeds up and leads to premature wrinkles. The skin of your entire body is affected, but damage is especially evident in the face.
Collagen and Elastin Damage
There are around 4,000 chemicals in cigarette tobacco that enter the bloodstream immediately after being inhaled. They are then transported to the skin and other organs. Many of these toxins are known to damage collagen and elastin, the fibers in skin that give it strength and elasticity. The body's ability to rebuild new collagen, a protein which is the skin's main structural component, also suffers due to tobacco use, causing the elastin to thicken and break apart, according to Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Free Radical Production
Upon inhaling just one puff of cigarette smoke, harmful free radicals are immediately produced in your lungs, triggering an inflammatory response that circulates throughout the body. Free radicals are highly charged particles that wreak havoc in the body and damage skin cells. Over time, the cumulative effect of receiving deficient amounts of oxygen and nutrients increases the formation of these destructive free radicals, causing the skin to age quickly, lose its tone, sag and wrinkle.
Gestures and Smoke Contact
The repeated facial gestures of pursing your lips to suck the smoke into your lungs and squinting to protect your eyes from the irritating smoke aggravates wrinkling around the mouth and eyes. The area around the mouth is subject to further damage due to the physical contact with the smoke itself which is absorbed by the skin, leading to deep and permanent wrinkles.
Nicotine Is a Diuretic
Since nicotine is a diuretic, inhaling it causes the body to shed water, resulting in layers of the skin drying out, compounding the appearance of wrinkles. A study was done on identical twins at St. Thomas' Hospital, testing skin moisture of two siblings. The sibling who smoked had skin that was 25 to 40 percent thinner than that of the nonsmoking twin, according to UAB Health Systems, the largest academic medical center in Alabama. Thinner skin ages quicker, leading to premature wrinkles.
