Nicotine is found in cigarettes and cigars and is a drug that causes withdrawal effects when someone stops using it. There are various forms of nicotine withdrawal effects, such as sudden changes in eating patterns and stress.
The stress involved in getting off nicotine drug is the leading cause of developing acne breakouts. Something worth noting is that acne resulting from quitting smoking is treatable, and there are various safer ways of achieving it.
The connection between acne and smoking has been studied for many years. Research has shown that emotional smokers are more likely to experience severe acne. The investigation further revealed that the more a person smokes, the more their ache appeared and more discomfort it felt.
Science explains the side effects of smoking on the smoker’s skin health. Frequent smoking results in constriction of blood vessels, especially those that supply nutrients and oxygen to the skin, thus reducing the skin’s ability to heal faster.
Quitting smoking can drastically boost your skin’s healing power, thus facilitating the quit smoking acne recovery process. However, quitting nicotine addiction is always an uphill task and is characterized by withdrawal symptoms such as frustrations, cravings, mood swings, and sometimes severe acne flare-ups.
After quitting smoking, the body enters into stress mode to try to cope with nicotine deprivation, which can trigger skin inflammation, reoccurrence of skin spots, and acne breakout.
What causes acne breakouts after quitting smoking?
Vaping has adverse effects on skin health, such as triggering the ageing process and facilitating acne breakouts, especially when quitting the habit. Note that any reduction in nicotine consumption puts the smoker’s body in stress mode and the body responds by secreting extra hormones resulting in massive skin oil surges.
This means a buildup of dehydrating products that weren’t bothering your skin while smoking. Besides, some diet also affects the skin after smoking. For instance, diets rich in iodine, such as the common table salt, and seafood such as the shellfish, have been known to trigger acne breakouts after quitting smoking.
How can I treat that acne?
Have you stopped smoking recently, and are you looking forward to restoring your skin’s radiance? Nothing to worry about since it is practically possible to restore your skin to its original healthy appearance.
Once you quit smoking, your skin will begin to restore its bright appearance within a few weeks or months, depending on the diet you are taking. Ensure your diet is plenty in vitamin C, or take vitamin C supplements to enhance the skin restoration process. Besides, embrace these measures to restore your skin’s smooth appearance within a short duration.
- Make sure you sleep at least eight hours. The reason why we recommended eight-hour sleep is because the body restores itself when you are sleeping. Adequate sleep means giving your skin a humble time to fix the damaged tissues.
- Avoid exposure to direct UV light from the sun for an extended period. Ensure your skin and eyes are protected from severe sunlight since this prevents the reappearance of blemishes.
- Ensure you are eating a balanced and healthy diet.
- Drink adequate water to keep your skin hydrated. Water helps remove toxins from your skin through sweating, so ensure to drink lots of water, especially those with low or no mineral contents.

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