Does Vaping Cause Acne?
Vaping is an increasingly popular way for young people to consume tobacco. It has become so popular that two in every ten Americans between 18-29 use e-cigarettes. Most people are of the idea that vaping is a lot safer than smoking.
However, there are several negative health impacts associated with vaping, which you should be aware of. There have been concerns that in addition to the potential lung diseases it can cause, it also leads to acne and other skin-related problems.
Vaping and Skin Conditions
Which ingredients in the e-liquid affect your skin? How does acne break out due to vaping? Let us delve further into this in the following sections.
Suppose you have been experiencing adverse skin illnesses and other conditions while vaping. In that case, vaping could be the reason for the breakout in the first place. Therefore, understanding what leads to skin breakouts and acne is essential for vaping.
The explanation will help them understand why vaping is bad for their skin, and once they can make the connection, it will be much easier for them to quit.
This post examines how vaping causes acne and other potentially harmful side effects.
Is Vaping Responsible for Acne?
People often ask if vaping can cause acne. While there’s no clear proof that vaping directly causes acne, some things related to vaping might lead to skin problems.
First, many vape products have nicotine. Nicotine can make blood vessels smaller, even those in the skin. This can make the skin dry and upset its balance. When the skin’s balance is off, it can lead to acne.
Next, the heat and steam from vaping can also affect the skin. If your skin gets too much heat, it can dry and irritate. This can make acne worse or even cause new acne.
Also, quitting nicotine can be stressful. This stress can mess up your hormones. When hormones are out of balance, your skin can make too much oil, which often leads to acne.
Finally, vaping can bring bacteria to the skin. The part of the vape pen that goes in your mouth can carry bacteria. When this touches the skin around your mouth, it can cause acne.
More studies are needed to determine if vaping and acne are linked. But vaping can affect your skin’s health. So, if you vape, taking good care of your skin is a good idea.
E-Liquid Components Absorb All Moisture
One of propylene glycol’s main components is a humectant that draws up the liquid. However, despite the excellent function that the humectant has to play in the overall operation of the vape, it still has several other adverse effects.
For instance, it can dry your mouth and throat in a relatively short amount of time since it draws up liquids. However, the chemical will also cause your skin to be dehydrated. As such, this can lead to what we refer to as acne breakouts.
Whenever the skin becomes very dry, the body is triggered to produce an excessive amount of sebum. Sebum is an oily, waxy substance that can clog your pores and hold dirt and dead skin.
This all together can lead to a skin condition known as acne. An acne breakout is standard on dry skin with insufficient moisture to protect itself.
Touching Your Face While Vaping
Vapers also tend to touch their face often as they wipe off the vapor that has settled on their skin. This is possible moving the dirt on their hands to their faces. As a result, this can easily lead to acne.
If you often wipe your face when vaping, you are at a greater risk of developing acne. If you have dirty hands, they might also be bone-dry. That means you will have accumulated dead skin on the surface.
Maintain Proper Hygiene While Vaping
Using a clean handkerchief to wipe your face is also recommended since it will not leave any debris on your skin and will eliminate the vapor on your skin. Doctors recommend proper hygiene for vapers. That prevents getting infections by touch or having too dry skin due to the ingredients within the vape itself.
Does Vaping Age the Skin?
Nearly every vape pen contains nicotine which is also associated with early aging. The nicotine constricts your blood vessels. Tightens them and slows down blood circulation when they constrict and get smaller.
With such a slow blood flow in the tightened blood vessels, your skin will not have the oxygen supply and nutrients it needs for healthy functioning. As a result, the skin will also become pale and show signs of aging.
Nicotine, which is a vapor component, causes skin aging. As a result, even the most minor injuries will take considerably longer to heal.
Vaping Tightens Blood Vessels
People who used to vape usually have unhealthy skin due to the constriction of their blood vessels. Lack of oxygen rejuvenates the skin and promotes proper cell healing and growth on the surface.
With vaping, the skin grows old pretty fast since it is not healthy enough, and someone who has been vaping for prolonged periods will tend to have an aged appearance even when they are young.
We recommend exercise and proper water intake for people noticing their skin age due to vaping. With this, the skin will have an opportunity to grow back, and people will remain much healthier despite their vaping habit.
Ignoring the aging skin can also lead to other health conditions and complications that are harder to treat in the latter stages. Although proper care of your skin should involve leaving behind some habits, such as vaping, the benefits on your skin will be even more significant once you stop the practice.
When you are no longer vaping, your skin will heal, and you will regain your youthful appearance in just a short period.
Does Vaping Cause Dehydration?
Most people using e-cigarettes will notice that they often develop a thirsty feeling and a dry mouth whenever they are vaping. This is because the e-liquid we use in vapes and electronic cigarettes contains a chemical known as propylene glycol.
This is responsible for dehydrating since it has a massive potential to absorb water molecules. As such, they deprive the body of the much-needed water and cannot use any water itself. Dehydration is also the reason for the development of acne on the skin when it has gotten too dry.
Dehydration is a Cause of Acne on the Skin
Even a little dry friction will cause a small acne outbreak beneath the surface. We notice this only later when it’s severe. Dehydration is a harmful psychological side effect. Since dehydration, the brain needs to stay hydrated.
The lack of water to the brain and the skin will cause you to be dull, and you will easily do anything much productive with your time. As such, vaping reduces your focus.
Beware of Dry Skin When Vaping
Dry skin is a hazardous sign for many vapers since this usually means that the vaping has absorbed all their water. Therefore, the vaper should stay dehydrated afterward to ensure that all the water depleted from their body systems has been restored and put to the right uses, such as keeping the skin succulent and the brain fueled.
Effects of Vaping
Vaping and e-cigarettes have, for a long time, been a way to quit smoking. Still, there are many health risks with this habit. As a user, it is essential to remember that you are not the only party at stake when you vape.
Others around you might incur injuries from the vape pens aerosols. Knowing all the risks associated with vaping will quickly realize that the thirsty feeling is not the only side effect. Many other body organs and parts are affected when you vape, which can have several harmful and potentially life-threatening effects on your long-term health and well-being.
As such, it is useful when you are fully aware of all the side effects of vaping so that you have a better reason to say no to vaping and resort to healthier methods of quitting your smoking habit.
Some of the possible effects of vaping that you should be aware of are:
– A weak immune system:
Vaping leads to a weakened immune system, making your lungs more susceptible to infections which it could easily fight off under normal conditions. Vaping also weakens the lungs and as such, fighting off the flu becomes more complicated for the body.
Additionally, the people involved in vaping will be more prone to infections such as COVID-19, and they will not be strong enough to fight these infections. A weak immune system is dangerous and places the person at a greater risk of catching other diseases and illnesses that might lead to further health complications.
– Exposure to metals:
The aerosols included in e-cigarettes contain metals such as lead, copper, aluminum, manganese, arsenic, zinc, and iron. When you breathe in such metals, you are at a greater risk of lung damage and several cancers.
Several studies have reported that the aerosols in e-cigarettes tend to have excessive amounts of metals, which is not healthy for the users. Furthermore, the metals were also found in the vapers’ blood, urine, and saliva, which led to the conclusion that vaping is not a safe or healthy habit, even when it is said to help people quit smoking.
– Lung disease:
According to research and other studies carried out by scientists, it was established that vaping relates to lung injury. Vitamin E acetate is a component in the vaping e-liquid, which can lead to permanent lung scarring. The metals that are part of the aerosol can also accumulate in your lungs over continued usage, which means you will have a persistent cough to deal with for some time.
– Cancer:
E-cigarettes have glycerin and propylene glycol in them, and whenever these substances are heated, they lead to forming other substances, such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein. These chemicals, the byproducts of the initial chemicals in the vape pen, are more dangerous and can even lead to deadly cancer.
– Brain Damage:
Nicotine is still harmful to your brain, no matter your intake. It is hazardous for teens and young adults since their brains are still developing. When you vape, you will have increased chances of developing a much worse neurodegenerative disease.
– Heart Issues:
Almost all of the e-cigarettes sold in the US are known to contain certain levels or amounts of nicotine. Even the ones marked to be nicotine-free still contain nicotine. Nicotine is a dangerous chemical that causes your adrenaline levels and blood pressure to rise.
Consequently, you will be at a greater risk of a heart attack as well as other complications of the blood vessels. In addition, when the blood vessels constrict due to vaping, blood flow is slowed, which means that other conditions of the blood are also likely to develop. For instance, these blood circulation problems due to using e-cigarettes can cause coronary artery disease.
Conclusion
The e-cigarettes will cause more harm to the user than good. The chemicals in the vape are very effective water absorbents and will lead to excessive skin drying. As a result, this leads to breakouts on the skin, known as acne, which tends to change someone’s appearance by a bit. Vaping also has other dangerous side effects, all owing to the chemicals that are in the vape pen to begin with.
These chemicals will produce other even deadlier and more toxic chemicals when heated. As a result, it can lead to more significant health hazards for the vaper in the long run. Your skin determines your appearance, and you must always stay hydrated. Vaping removes the moisture content from your skin, making it all wrinkled, dry, and looking old. Get off the vape and salvage your skin from the scourge of acne.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does vaping cause acne?
While there’s no direct scientific proof that vaping causes acne, some aspects might lead to skin problems. These include the effects of nicotine, heat from the vape device, stress from nicotine withdrawal, and bacteria from the vape pen.
How does nicotine in vape products affect the skin?
Nicotine can make blood vessels smaller, including those in the skin. This can dry the skin and upset its balance, leading to acne.
Can the heat from vaping cause acne?
Yes, too much heat from vaping can make the skin dry and irritated. This can make acne worse or even cause new acne.
Can quitting nicotine lead to acne?
Quitting nicotine can be stressful, which can mess up your hormones. When hormones are out of balance, your skin can make too much oil, which often leads to acne.
Can the vape pen itself cause acne?
The part of the vape pen that goes in your mouth can carry bacteria. When this touches the skin around your mouth, it can cause acne.
What can I do to prevent acne if I vape?
It’s always a good idea to take good care of your skin. This includes keeping your skin clean, moisturizing regularly, and avoiding touching your face with dirty hands. Also, keep your vape device clean, especially the mouthpiece.
Is more research needed to understand the link between vaping and acne?
More studies are needed to determine if vaping and acne are linked. But vaping can affect your skin’s health.