Carlson Laser Aesthetics

It's always easy to talk to clients about the extrinsic, premature signs that appear due to sun exposure or poor diet because they continually hear the statistics about UV damage rays and skin damage, as well as the connection between a healthy diet and healthy skin.

Messages such as these have been a part of the mainstream media - in consumer women's magazines and on television - for decades, and for good reason. But the topic of smoking and the skin has never been widely discussed. Of coarse, it is commonly known that smoking is bad for your health, but it's specific effects on the skin are rarely discussed in detail.

In research released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2010, 21% of adults 18 and older smoke cigarettes. A person may be a 20-something social smoker who has only a few cigarettes on the weekends when he/she is out with friends and doesnt feel the need to quit because she sees no signs of aging. Or, she may be a pack-a-day smoker who's coming to you because she sees the deep lines, rough texture and skin discoloration. Either way, it's time to begin treatments of smoker's for smoker's skin with ingredients that will imoprove skin function and appearance.

How to talk about smoking

How do you begin to talk to clients about their smoking habits? It starts with the facts. During your initial skin assessment, as you discuss your client's history, concerns and goals, take the opportunity to talk about smoking's long-term effects. Here, broken out into talking points youcan use, is what inhaling 4,000 chemicals in a cigarette does to the skin.

Smoking chokes skin. The fountain of youth is in the bloodstream, but smoking cigarettes causes a restriction of the blood vessels, “choking” them, which then reduces blood supply to the skin. This results in a reduction in oxygen, which is necessary for cell regeneration and the ability to carry away damaging free radicals, so toxins build up and accelerate aging.

Even smoking a single cigarette can result in vasoconstriction for up to 90 minutes. Smoking for 10 minutes decreases tissue oxygen for almost an hour.¹ That means a pack-a-day smoker will have skin with a reduced oxygen supply for most of the day.

Smoking thins skin. A recent British study focused on 25 pairs of identical twins, one a lifetime smoker and one who never smoked. Using an ultrasound to gauge skin thickness, the smokers’ skin was 25% thinner than the nonsmokers’, and was as much as 40% thinner in a few of the cases.²

Smoking destroys skin’s collagen and elastin. The appearance of wrinkles and loose or sagging skin is caused by the destruction of collagen and elastin—complex structural proteins that are necessary to keep skin firm, elastic and strong. Smoking robs skin of vitamin C, which is necessary for collagen production, and keeps skin soft and revitalized. It also interrupts the production of the matrix metalloproteinase enzyme, which regulates collagen production.

Smoking causes vertical lines around the mouth. When smokers take a puff from a cigarette, it forces the lips to pucker and form the same lines around the mouth over and over again. Throughout time, these contractions become permanent wrinkles. Pucker lines are a dead giveaway that someone is a smoker.

Smoking slows skin healing. Smoking delays the skin’s ability to regenerate. Wounds take longer to heal, and scars are more likely to form. Many good cosmetic surgeons won’t even operate on a smoker.

Even if you don’t see age signs yet, they can take up to 10 years to appear. This is a great fact for young clients who feel if they don’t see the damage yet, they don’t have to worry.

How to treat the smoking client

So how do you treat smoker’s skin—the dryness, lines and wrinkles on the cheeks, loss of firmness, lip lines and thin skin?

First, be frank with your clients. If they continue to smoke, their skin will continue to age prematurely. There is no miracle treatment or ingredient that will completely reverse the damage caused by years of smoking. However, for clients who are making the choice to save their skin, you can help with treatments that will rehydrate the skin, revitalize the complexion and deliver the needed oxygen that’s been robbed by cigarettes.

Oxygenate. Apply a targeted oxygenating treatment that’s formulated with stabilized hydrogen peroxide and essential oxygen that will infuse skin, and revitalize dullness and sluggishness. This will refresh smoker’s skin, and leave it smooth and hydrated.

Making the recommendation

Above all, recommend that your client quits smoking. Even one recommendation can make the difference. There is plenty of smoking cessation help online, includingwww.smokefree.gov and women.smokefree.gov, so providing these types of resources may be all the client needs to get started on the road to a smoke-free life.

Article Written By: Barbara Salomone, SkinInc. Magazine