Here's How Your Appearance Will Change When You Quit Smoking

Smoking affects your overall health, and your appearance takes a toll. WebMD points to a study on twin sisters — one who smoked and one who didn't — as a perfect example of this. The difference is immediately visibly apparent. The twin who smoked used 10 cigarettes a day for 14 years. As a result, she had loose skin under her eyes, uneven skin tone, deep lines on her upper lip, and deeper forehead wrinkles than her twin.

The Mayo Clinic notes that smoking speeds up your skin's aging process, and the acceleration becomes severe the more and longer you smoke. Nicotine, the heat from the smoke, and other chemicals in cigarettes damage the skin, contributing to premature aging and other problems. Verywell Mind points out other negative effects of smoking: the skin may yellow or develop dark spots, wounds take longer to heal (possibly causing scarring), and smokers are more likely to develop psoriasis, skin lesions, spider veins, eczema, skin cancer, cold sores, rosacea, and a slew of autoimmune diseases. In addition, The Healthy adds that smokers can get yellow teeth, dark under-eye circles, dull-looking skin, stretch marks, thinner hair, sagging breasts, age spots, yellow nails, a higher possibility of warts, and a higher risk of cataracts. None of that sounds good, but what happens when you quit smoking? Here's how your appearance will change.

When you quit smoking, your skin will no longer be affected by the nicotine and chemicals in cigarettes. Your skin's premature aging, reduced elasticity, and health will slow to a normal aging process (via the Mayo Clinic). According to Smokefree, you'll have a cleaner mouth and clearer skin. In addition, you might notice some blemishes caused by smoking starting to disappear. Your skin will start to look healthier overall because your heart rate, circulation, lung health, and heart health is returning to normal, and you'll reduce the inflammation in your blood vessels (via Verywell Mind). In addition, any new wounds will start to heal at a normal rate, leading to less scarring. According to First Derm, you'll also gain the benefits of getting a better night's rest because when you quit smoking, your sleep is no longer interrupted by withdrawal symptoms. The stains on your fingers and nails will go away. And increased blood flow to your hair follicles will give you fuller, thicker hair. 

If you want to quit smoking, there are a plethora of helpful online resources (per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). You can also visit your doctor to discuss options and whether medication might help you on your journey (per WebMD). So make an appointment and get started today.