Does smoking / vaping cause cellulite?

How nicotine causes cellulite, either via vaping or smoking

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• Smoking, vaping, fat accumulation, weight gain and cellulite

• Does nicotine cause cellulite and/or water retention?

• Smoking, dieting, fat accumulation / weight gain and cellulite

• Smoking/vaping, heredity and cellulite

• Vaping and cellulite

• A multilocus candidate approach identifies ACE and HIF1A as susceptibility genes for cellulite

• Cellulite, smoking and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion polymorphism

• Check our professional consultancy in radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, cellulite and skin tightening

Smoking, vaping, fat accumulation, weight gain and cellulite

Many women notice that vaping / smoking has made their cellulite worse, sometimes in a matter of months.

There is a lot of misinformation about everything to do with cellulite, so in this article we will examine how smoking (and vaping) affects cellulite and weight gain.

Does nicotine cause cellulite and/or water retention?

Nicotine not only does cause cellulite, it is in fact one of the most important causes of cellulite and poor circulation.

In addition, for those who smoke, smoke components, such as PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), HCA (heterocyclic amines), AGE (advanced glycation end-products) found in tar, cause skin and blood/lymph vessels to suffer:

• Oxidative damage

• Inflammation

• Glycation

• Fibrosis

This results in impaired circulation and lymph drainage and deterioration of the quality of skin’s collagen and elastin.

Since fibrosis/connective tissue deterioration, poor circulation/lymphatic drainage, glycation and inflammation are all major causes of cellulite, it is easy to understand why smoking - and vaping to a lesser extent - are so bad for cellulite.

Smoking, dieting, weight gain, topical fat accumulation and cellulite

On the other hand, smoking and vaping may indeed decrease appetite and reduce fat absorption by fat cells in the more "genetically gifted" (i.e. naturally slim) women.

However, in women with a propensity to accumulate fat, this effect is diminished.

In all cases, in the long run the negative effects catch up with all women, regardless of genetics, wreaking havoc on skin, blood vessels and cellulite - not to mention overall health.

Smoking / vaping, heredity and cellulite

In two studies examining heredity and cellulite (details below), smoking was identified as a key factor for causing cellulite in a large number of genetically predisposed women, specifically due to its effect on skin and blood vessel fibrosis, oxidative damage, glycation and inflammation.

As nicotine is contained in both traditional and electronic cigarettes, vaping would have the same effect, regardless of the absence of tar.

In one study comparing 123 women with moderate to severe cellulite (~34 y.o.) to 109 women with no cellulite (~33 y.o.) it was found that:

• Women who smoke but DON‘T have a genetic predisposition have equal probability to develop moderate/severe cellulite as women who don’t smoke! So it is not the smoking per se (however bad it is for health) but the smoking PLUS the genetic predisposition.

• Women who don’t smoke but DO carry a genetic predisposition have 2x more probability of developing moderate/severe cellulite. So just the genetic predisposition itself is enough to double your chance of developing moderate/severe cellulite. However, the most important finding is the following:

• Women who smoke and DO carry a genetic predisposition have 13.5x more probability of developing moderate/severe cellulite!

So if you have the DD or ID polymorphism of the ACE gene (rs1799752, aka rs4343), the one that also controls blood pressure*, you most probably will develop cellulite at some time. If you also smoke, it is almost certain that you will develop cellulite, especially after the age of 40.

(* With the DD polymorphism you have higher ACE levels and higher chances of heart disease.)

In the other study, this time looking at 200 slim women with cellulite and 200 slim women without cellulite, it was found that:

• the ID type of the same ACE gene (rs1799752, aka rs4343) was also associated with higher prevalence of cellulite (1.8x higher)

• the HIF1 gene polymorphism rs11549465 decreases the odds of developing cellulite by 40%

Clearly smoking/vaping does not affect all women the same in regard to cellulite, but it does affect genetically susceptible women quite severely and quite quickly.

And over time it affects ALL women who lead the ‘Western lifestyle’, to a greater or lesser extent and regardless of genetics.

Vaping and cellulite

Despite the absence of tar, vaping is only marginally better than smoking, as it still delivers nicotine to the body, which directly affects blood vessels and cellulite in a negative way, including affecting genetically predisposed women, as we discussed above.

So the best solution is to quit altogether.

A multilocus candidate approach identifies ACE and HIF1A as susceptibility genes for cellulite

• Research paper link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20059631/

• Abstract: Cellulite is a common complex cosmetic problem for many post-adolescent women characterised by relief alterations of the skin surface, which give the skin an orange-peel appearance. Although genetic factors have been suggested to play a role in the development of cellulite, the genetic background of this condition remains unclear. We therefore conducted a multi-locus genetic study examining the potential associations of candidate gene variants in oestrogen receptors, endothelial function/adipose tissue hypoxia, lipid metabolism, extracellular matrix homeostasis, inflammation and adipose tissue biology, with the risk of cellulite. Using a case-control study of 200 lean women with cellulite and 200 age- and BMI-matched controls (grade 0 according to Nurnberger-Muller scale), we examined the association of cellulite with 25 polymorphisms in 15 candidate genes. Two of the 25 polymorphisms were significantly associated with cellulite at the P < 0.01 level. After allowance for age, body mass index, the prevalence of contraceptive use and smoking in logistic regression analysis, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratios for cellulite were 1.19 (95% CI: 1.10-1.51; P < 0.01) for ACE rs1799752 and 0.61 (95% CI: 0.45-0.88, P < 0.01) for HIF1A rs11549465. This study, which demonstrates an independent role of ACE and HIF1A in predisposing to cellulite, may provide novel information on the pathophysiology of this common cosmetic problem, and offer a topic for research for novel beautification interventions.

Cellulite, smoking and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion polymorphism

• Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-3083.2010.03827.x

• Abstract: Unavailable

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