How Smoking Cigarettes Affects Your Permanent Makeup – Especially Your Brows

Let’s talk about something that doesn’t get mentioned enough in the world of beauty and brows: smoking and its effect on permanent makeup.

As a permanent makeup artist, one of my goals is to help you achieve long-lasting, beautifully healed results—especially when it comes to your brows. But did you know that smoking cigarettes can interfere with your healing process and shorten the life of your PMU? Yep, it’s true. Let’s break it down.

1. Poor Circulation Means Poor Healing

Cigarettes contain nicotine, which constricts your blood vessels. When blood flow is limited, your skin doesn’t get the oxygen and nutrients it needs to heal properly. This can lead to longer healing times, more scabbing, and uneven color retention in your brows. Translation? Your brows might not heal as crisp or symmetrical as we’d like.

2. Increased Risk of Infection

Healing skin is vulnerable, and smoking compromises your immune system. That means your body’s natural defense is weakened, leaving you more prone to infections, inflammation, and complications during healing. No one wants that—especially not around your eyes!

3. Color Fading and Discoloration

Smoking can alter the way pigment sets in your skin. It may cause your permanent makeup to fade faster, or even shift in tone (think ashier or duller than intended). You’ve invested time and money into your brows—why not do everything you can to keep them looking fresh?

4. Premature Aging of the Skin

The chemicals in cigarettes speed up the aging process, breaking down collagen and elastin. This can cause your skin to become thin, dry, or wrinkled—which not only affects how your brows look now, but how well future touch-ups will take.

So What Can You Do?

If you’re a smoker and thinking about getting permanent makeup, I’m here to work with you—but I always recommend cutting back or quitting if possible before your appointment. Even just a few weeks of clean, smoke-free healing can make a huge difference in your results.

Your brows deserve the best chance to heal beautifully. Healthy skin = better pigment retention, crisper strokes, and longer-lasting results.

Have questions about healing, prep, or aftercare? Let’s talk about it! At Brow Catching, we’re here to guide you every step of the way—because we’re more than just brows, we’re beauty.