Smoking: What happens to your looks?

Smoking changes the skin, teeth, and hair in ways that can add years to your looks. It also affects everything from your fertility to the strength of your heart, lungs, and bones.

Take a look at these side-by-side photos.  Can you pick out the smoker? 















Twin B smoked half a pack a day for 14 years, while her sister never smoked. The loose skin under her eyes is typical for smokers, according to Bahman Guyuron, MD, of Case Western Reserve University. It's one of several visible signs -- shown on the following slides -- that tobacco byproducts inside your body are harming your appearance. Twin B also got more sun, damaging her skin from the outside, too. The combination of sun exposure and cigarette smoking causes:

• Poor skin tone
• Sagging skin and deeper wrinkles
• Sagging arms and breasts
• Lines around the lips
• Age spots
• Hair loss
• Psoriasis
• Crow's feet eye wrinkles

When you quit smoking, you make your skin more resistant to premature aging. As for the wrinkles and age spots you already have, all is not lost. Topical retinoids and antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E can be used to treat existing spots. Wear sunscreen every day. You can also undertake treatments such as Laser skin resurfacing, IPL Photofacial, and chemical peels remove outer layers of skin, where the damage is most visible.

Courtesy of WebMD: ways smoking affects your looks.