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Due to regulatory guidelines, we are unable to list specific brand names on our website and have used replacement terms instead. To find out what these terms refer to, please contact us directly.
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5 Surprising Effects of Vaping on Your Skin

By SL Aesthetic Clinic
  • Published Date:
Last Updated:
October 6, 2025
5 Surprising Effects of Vaping on Your Skin

TL;DR 

  • Vaping accelerates skin ageing, triggers skin conditions and weakens the skin barrier.
  • Recovery is possible; your skin improves after quitting.
  • Treatments like skinboosters can speed up hydration and collagen repair.

Table of Contents

In Singapore, vaping is illegal, and for good reason. Most discussions focus on lung health and addiction, but guess what else is on the receiving end of those chemicals? Your skin.

As a doctor, I often see patients puzzled by stubborn skin issues. They’ve tried every moisturizer, every cleanser, but haven’t thought to connect the dots to vaping. The truth is that vaping can quietly damage your complexion—but it’s also incredible how quickly your skin can recover once you stop.

If you vape and are wondering why your skin looks older, duller, or more reactive than it should, keep reading. The answers may surprise you.

1. Vaping accelerates skin ageing and collagen loss

Collagen and elastin form the scaffolding that supports our skin, keeping it firm, plump, and smooth. The chemicals in vape aerosols – including nicotine, heavy metals, and free radicals – attack this scaffolding relentlessly.

  1. Nicotine narrows blood vessels, resulting in reduced oxygen and nutrient delivery and impaired healing.
  2. Fibroblasts, the cells responsible for producing collagen and elastin, become sluggish.
  3. Free radicals directly damage the proteins your body needs to function properly.

Your skin becomes less capable of making collagen, while your body’s natural resources are damaged and destroyed.

Over time, as the scaffolding of your skin weakens, fine lines and sagging appear earlier than expected. The skin appears tired and prematurely aged, even when you sleep, eat, and drink well. It’s very similar to what we see in long-term cigarette smokers.

Vapers are not immune – the device may differ, but the oxidative damage remains the same.

2. Increased risk of allergic and atopic dermatitis

Vape liquids are not just nicotine in water vapour. With flavours like “Taro ice Cream” and “Fruity Mango Blast”, they might sound like harmless candy. But the reality is that these products contain propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, flavourings, metals and more.

Here’s why these ingredients become harmful when vaped:

1) Propylene Glycol (PG)
When heated and inhaled, PG breaks down into formaldehyde and other aldehydes, irritating the lungs and skin, which can worsen eczema and cause allergic contact dermatitis, eg, itchy, red rashes in areas where irritants accumulate, such as around the mouth, chin, or dominant hands.

2) Vegetable Glycerin (VG)
When vaporized, VG decomposes into acrolein, a chemical that damages the airway lining and inflames tissues. Thicker VG aerosols also deposit more deeply, irritating the lungs and skin.

3) Flavourings
Some flavourings are toxic once airborne. For example, diacetyl (buttery flavour) is linked to “popcorn lung“; cinnamaldehyde and other flavourings trigger oxidative stress and inflammation in our cells.

4) Metals (nickel, chromium, lead, cadmium)
When released from heating coils and inhaled directly into the lungs, heavy metals accumulate in the body, causing harm to the lungs, kidneys, nerves, and skin. Nickel and chromium also cause allergic skin reactions.

For people with eczema or naturally sensitive skin, vaping could be akin to pouring salt on a wound. I’ve seen patients switch moisturisers ten times, convinced their skincare is to blame, when vaping was their hidden trigger all along.

3. Dryness, dehydration, and barrier damage

Think of your skin barrier as a brick wall: skin cells are the bricks, and lipids are the mortar that keeps everything sealed in. A strong skin barrier retains moisture effectively and prevents irritants from entering.

Here’s how vaping undermines that:

  1. Nicotine causes vasoconstriction, meaning the tiny blood vessels supplying your skin narrow, reducing oxygen and nutrient delivery, which is essential for barrier repair.
  2. Vape liquid components trigger oxidative stress and inflammation in the outer skin cells (keratinocytes).
  3. While studies on direct TEWL (transepidermal water loss) data for vaping are still emerging, cigarette smoke exposure disrupts barrier lipids, leading to significant moisture loss. This strongly suggests vaping may have similar effects.

When vaping, your skin leaks water more quickly than it can retain.

4. More inflammation — acne, rosacea, psoriasis worsen

Inflammation is at the core of so many skin problems, and vaping fuels it. Research shows that vape aerosols activate inflammatory pathways, releasing cytokines that cause the skin to become redder and angrier.

If you’re acne-prone, this can mean more clogged pores and breakouts that look more inflamed than usual. If you have rosacea, nicotine dilates blood vessels, triggering flushing and making skin feel hot and reactive. And if you live with psoriasis, the immune dysregulation from vaping can make plaques more active and stubborn.

Even online communities echo this. On Reddit, a user shared: “If you have stubborn acne and vape, try putting down the vape for a week… I quit vaping 4 months ago, and it was like night and day for my skin!”

Stories like this demonstrate just how quickly the skin can heal when the primary trigger is removed.

5. Slower wound healing — spots and scars linger longer

Healthy skin heals itself efficiently. But when nicotine and toxins constrict blood vessels, less oxygen reaches damaged areas. Healing slows down.

This is why acne marks and scars linger, insect bites take longer to fade, and scratches heal poorly.

For many patients in Singapore, especially those with Asian skin types prone to pigmentation, this delayed healing also increases the risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.

Can your skin recover if you stop vaping?

Yes, and the improvement often becomes noticeable within weeks. Once you quit, circulation improves, fibroblasts become more active again, and the skin barrier begins to repair itself.

However, if you’d like a helping hand, treatments such as skinboosters can help accelerate recovery and make skin improvements more noticeable.

Skinboosters are micro-injections that contain hyaluronic acid (HA), a substance naturally found in our skin. Injections are delivered just beneath the surface where moisturisers cannot reach, and this directly restores deep hydration, plumps up fine lines, and recreates the supple “bounce” that dehydrated, vape-damaged skin often loses.

Beyond HA, skinboosters also stimulate collagen production. This is particularly important for ex-vapers, since collagen is the very protein that nicotine and free radicals break down relentlessly. By helping the skin to produce more collagen, skinboosters not only smooth texture and soften scars, but also rebuild the scaffolding that keeps your skin firm and youthful.

In essence, quitting vaping stops further damage, while skin boosters actively regenerate what has been lost. For patients who want to see and feel results more quickly, be it a plumper glow or improved overall resilience, skinboosters are one of the most effective, scientifically backed therapies we offer at our clinic.

Want faster skin recovery after quitting vaping? Book a consultation to explore skinboosters.

The bottom line

Vaping is often marketed as the “less harmful” alternative to smoking. But when it comes to your skin, the reality is equally sobering: accelerated ageing, flare-ups of chronic conditions, dehydration, and slower healing.

If you want your skin to stay clear, youthful, and resilient, quitting vaping is the single most powerful step you can take. And if you’d like professional support to restore hydration and collagen, we’re here to guide you safely.

If you’re thinking about quitting but don’t know where to start, the I Quit Programme by HealthHub Singapore offers free resources, counselling, and ongoing support. Your skin and your health will thank you.

Other resources:

  1. Let’s Get Real About Vaping (HealthHub)
  2. Vaping Can Cause Serious Illnesses (SingHealth)
  3. Vaping Among Youth in Singapore (SGH)
  4. HSA Vaping Enforcement
  5. Are E-cigarettes Harmful? (HealthHub)

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