The Bad Habit Gwyneth Paltrow Wishes She Hadn't Dabbled In For The Sake Of Her Skin

Gwyneth Paltrow might be one of the world's most famous wellness influencers, but that doesn't mean she never makes a beauty misstep. In fact, the "Shakespeare In Love" star revealed there's one big piece of beauty advice she wishes she could give to her younger self. "Not to smoke!" she told InStyle in 2026. "I'm battling those cigarette lines from my youth."

While there are plenty of sophisticated anti-aging beauty products, it's usually easier to prevent fine lines than erase them. That's why quitting cigarettes is up there with wearing sunscreen when it comes to the best tips for keep your skin youthful as you age. Smoking can age you by dulling your complexion, exacerbating the appearance of fine lines, and diminishing collagen. It can also, as in Paltrow's case, create wrinkles from repeatedly pursing your lips.

Of course, it's never too late to quit smoking for the sake of your skin. Paltrow is one of many ladies in Hollywood who managed to quit smoking and reaped the rewards. Even if you're dealing with lingering damage, you can tweak your skin care routine accordingly. "Using an antioxidant serum with help with the free-radical damage encountered from the smoke chemicals blowing back in your face," dermatologist Dr. Emily Wise advised The Cut.

Quitting smoking for the sake of your skin isn't exactly new advice. After all, it was one of Bettie Page's old school beauty tips that's still relevant today. Still, cigarettes were far more commonplace when Gwyneth Paltrow began smoking in the mid-'80s as a prep school student. The goop founder even confessed that smoking remained her go-to guilty pleasure for years. "I often have a glass of red wine in the evening and smoke a cigarette on Saturday," she wrote in an essay for The Telegraph in 2013. "I love those moments because they are just the right amount of naughty. That balance keeps you vibrant. You have to live your life, after all."

But the star did eventually quit for real. When she updated her life insurance for her 2018 marriage to Brad Falchuk, it was a wake-up call about the serious downsides of smoking. "It said that if anything happened to me and they knew that I had smoked a cigarette, it would nullify the whole thing," Paltrow told British Vogue in 2025. "Because I'm such an Enneagram 1 — which is like, 'integrity is everything' — I never smoked again."