Black Don't Crack, Part Two: Yes, it does -- if you smoke!

So what did we learn from my recent blog entry Black Don't Crack, Part One? WEAR SUNSCREEN.

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: If you want wrinkle-free skin, you have to get all -- and I mean ALL -- toxins and carcinogens out of your life and get physical every day.  Why am I telling you any of this? So when I'm 70 years old, you won't have to wonder why I look like I'm 35 and hound me about it, like my blackness is the reason why it all came together for me. The truth is, yes it is -- and no, it's not.  Melanin is wonderful stuff but none of that matters if I don't take care of it. And that's that.

Here's your next order of business -- and yes, this is even more important than wearing sunscreen all the time: DON'T SMOKE.

Research has proven that smoking wrecks your looks in general but what you probably don't know is that it damages your skin more than the sun, and the sun damages your skin horribly.  Think about it: if you smoke, literally thousands of toxins and carcinogens are pumped through your bloodstream with every puff you take, sending your body into a state of shock with each inhalation.  Please note: carcinogens are defined as any substance that can cause or aggravate cancer. There are over 70 carcinogens in cigarettes -- stuff like formaldehyde (a chemical used to preserve dead bodies), benzene (which is found in pesticides and causes leukemia) and vinyl chloride (a man-made chemical in cigarette filters that used to make plastics). Yummy!

It doesn't matter how many cigarettes you've smoked or how long ago you quit. You can't completely undo the damage you've already caused by smoking, which is why it's a pretty good idea to not smoke in the first place. Cigarettes  cause deep body wrinkles, too. (Yeesh!) Don't be fooled, hipsters -- hookahs are just as toxic as cigarettes. And marijuana is more toxic than either one of them.

Get this: a study has found that when it comes to cigarette-induced skin damage, white people are affected more than black people, and women more than men. (Wow. That kind of explains a lot, now doesn't it.)

I don't smoke. I've never smoked.  I live in a smoke-free home with a non-smoker, so there's no second-hand smoke, either. Visitors who simply must have a cigarette while they're in my home must leave my home because there's no smoking in my apartment.  They are reduced to getting their nicotine fix whilst perched on the front steps, because there's no smoking in my building, either.

Toxins and carcinogens, be gone!

Don't be fooled: If you're a passive smoker -- someone who is subject to second hand smoke -- you're in big trouble, too.

Up next -- Black Don't Crack, Part Three: Yes, it does -- if you drink alcohol!