Click here for a WebMD slideshow on Skin Cancer.

Click here for a WebMD slideshow on the affects of smoking on your skin.

Click here for a WebMD video on how smoking ages your skin.

Click here to watch a Sun Burn video from the Skin Cancer Foundation.

Sunlight and smoking have a profound effect on the skin aging, skin cancer and sagging skin on the face and body. Sunlight and smoking account for over 90 percent of the symptoms of premature skin aging.

How does sunlight have an affect my skin?

Both the UVA and UVB cause skin damage that includes wrinkles, pigmentation, lowered immunity against infection and cancer.

In the dermis, UV radiation causes collagen to break done faster than it should for your actual age. Sunlight damaged collagen fibers cause abnormal elastin to form. When abnormal elastin accumulates, an enzyme called metalloproteinases is produced in large amounts. Normally metalloproteinases remodel sun damaged skin by making and rebuilding the collagen. Due to the over production of metalloproteinases, the process does not work well and collagen is actually broken down instead of built up. This results in the formation of disorganized collagen fibers known as wrinkles.

UV radiation also is one of the major creators of free radicals. Free radicals are unstable oxygen molecules that have only one electron instead of two. The oxygen molecules then scavenge other molecules stealing electrons to make a pair. This process is repeated and repeated and causing damage to cell function and altering genetic material of the cell, causing cancer of the skin.

How does smoking affect my skin?

Smoking speeds up the normal aging process of your skin and body. These changes can start happening after only 10 years of smoking. If you start smoking in your teens, your skin will start to age in your mid twenties.

The nicotine in cigarettes cause the blood vessels to narrow in the outermost layers of the skin. This impairs blood flow to the skin. With less blood flow, your skin does not get as much oxygen and important nutrients such as Vitamin A. There are as many as 4,000 chemical in tobacco smoke that cause damage to collagen and elastin, which give you skin its tone, strength and elasticity. Skin will begin to sag, on the face and body areas including breasts and arms. Smoking has proven to be associated with increasing baldness in men.

How can I repair the damage, prevent further damage and maintain my skin?

Taking care of skin health is extremely important for men and women of all ages. There are medical products, prescription medications, medical laser procedures and cosmetic surgical procedures available to reverse the signs of damaged skin. These treatments are available at the Age-Less Clinic under the direction of Dr. Marc DuPéré, Board Certified Cosmetic Plastic Surgeon.

Obagi Skin Care

Chemical Peels

Laser Skin Resurfacing, Microlaser Peels, Fotofacials, and Fraxel

Restylane and Perlane

Botox

Cosmetic Plastic Surgery