You don’t have to be a smoker to suffer from ‘smoker’s skin’: passive smoking causes dry skin and premature ageing in all of us. But what can we do to minimise the damage?
WHEN you look in the mirror, does your skin tell you that you had too much fun this festive season?
Have you got that haggard post-party face that makes you think a good detox is in order? There may be more to blame than a few late nights and a couple (oh ok, half a dozen) large glasses of red wine.
We all know that passive smoking is bad for the lungs, but did you know it’s also bad for the skin? The latest findings from Clinique Laboratories show that there’s a definite link between smoke from someone else’s cigarette and the skin damage we know as ‘smoker’s skin’.
Passive smoking is dangerous because chemicals in smoke are often released into the air in far greater concentrations than experienced by the person smoking. And a non-smoker who lives in a smoky environment will have a blood nicotine level as high as a moderate smoker.
Tom Mammone, executive director of Clinique Biological Research says, ‘Exhaled smoke contains significant levels of nicotine, tar, nitric oxide and carbon monoxide which disrupt and weaken the skin’s barrier, leading to the breakdown of collagen, resulting in the symptoms of smoker’s skin.’
In fact smoke contains around 3,000 different chemicals, most of which are toxic. ‘Passive smoking has a direct toxic effect on the skin,’ says dermatologist Dr Dennis Gross, of MD Skincare. ‘Tars themselves cause free radicals, and they are very harmful to the skin. These free radicals are proven to cause both wrinkles and skin laxity.’
In other words, if you live with a smoker or are often in smoky environments such as pubs and bars, you are at risk of facial lines and saggy skin, not to mention a yellowish, coarse complexion, dehydration and chronic irritation.
The best way to avoid smoker’s skin is simply to avoid cigarettes altogether. ‘The further distance you are from a smoker, the more diluted the airborne toxins become,’ says Dr Gross. ‘Basically, ventilation and distance are the best things you can do.’
But until the Government finally bans smoking in public places or you stop going to bars and pubs, how can you minimise smoke’s toxic effects?
Firstly, remove free radicals from your skin as soon as you get home from the pub, by cleansing and exfoliating, as the harmful particles can continue to do damage even once you leave the smoky environment.
Lorraine Doherty from Skinworks Naturally (www.skinworksnaturally.com) says, ‘The most important issue is to cleanse the skin regularly. A very effective way to do this is by using olive oil, whatever your skin type. The olive oil will cleanse and lift dirt and make-up off the skin without penetrating the epidermis. Dab off the excess with cotton wool and the vitamin and mineral content of the olive oil will benefit the skin greatly.’
And, after cleansing, you should always use a good moisturiser, preferably one containing ingredients like shea butter, ceramides, fatty acids and cholesterol. These strengthen your skin’s natural barrier, and will also plump out the cells, making your skin look smoother.
Another way to help counter the effects of ‘oxidative stressors’ (ie the harmful particles) is with anti-oxidants. ‘Anti-oxidants provide vital protection from not only smoke but also from other internal and external aggressors that are known to cause premature ageing,’ said Dr Karyn Grossman, consultant dermatologist with Prescriptives.
‘Advanced anti-oxidants, including rosemary extract, resveratrol and vitamin E, help skin to neutralise free radicals which boost skin’s ability to defend against environmental damage. Free radicals created by smoke attack skin’s collagen.’
Another great source of anti-oxidants is green tea. ‘Green tea extract not only can fight both environmental and metabolic free radicals but it also repairs DNA,’ says Dr Gross. ‘Damaged DNA promotes ageing, reduces your defence against free radicals, diminishes you cells’ regenerative ability, and can even result in skin cancer.’
But there is another, more direct way to get your anti-oxidants. ‘Ingesting these ingredients cannot compare to applying the ingredients topically( to the skin),’ says Dr Gross. ‘For example, one would have to consume 100 Vitamin C capsules at 250 mg each to get the same level of Vitamin C that could be applied topically in a 10% Vitamin C Gel.’
So make sure to spend as little time as possible in smoky environments and, if you have to, cleanse your face properly, moisturise intensely and stock up on those anti-oxidants. Then simply try to stick to a sensible lifestyle that includes two litres of water every day, a healthy diet and good amounts of rest and exercise, and you should have firm, healthy looking skin for many years to come.
And don’t worry if you’re already showing sign of getting smoker’s skin, or even if you smoke yourself – it’s never too late to start out on a new path, says Noella Gabriel, director of treatment and product development at Elemis. ‘The skin responds very quickly to any adjustments made to our lifestyles, keeping in mind that ‘we are true products of it’. It’s never too late to reverse the damage.’
Clinique Lab Reports are available at Clinique counters. For your nearest stockist go to www.clinique.co.uk
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