No matter what your age, having firm bouncy skin puts a smile on your face. And collagen is largely responsible for that bouncy skin. If you’ve wondered, “What is collagen and why it’s important for healthy, beautiful skin?” then read on.
What is Collagen?
It is a protein. And it’s the most abundant protein in your body. It’s the main protein in bones, ligaments, tendons, and in the skin. It makes up around 25% of the proteins in your body. Making it the most abundant protein in your body.
What It Does for Your Skin
Collagen is a protein that holds everything together, giving skin support, shape and that bouncy bulk. It keeps the skin soft, moist, smooth, and firm. It also helps skin cells repair and rebuild. This is why it makes your skin so beautiful - basically everything it does relates to youthful looking skin.
3 Reasons It Decreases
#1 Age
As we age its production decreases. The lack of it results in signs of aging including wrinkles and sagging skin. According to one study, “The overall collagen ...is known to decline approximately 1% per year.”
#2 Sun Exposure
Unprotected sun exposure is harmful for skin for many reasons, in particular it breaks down the collagen fiber, making it unravel. This unravelling and weakening of these fibers leads to further signs of aging like fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging or loose skin.
#3 Smoking
We all have heard that smoking is so bad for our health. Smoking actually speeds up the aging process of the skin.
How? Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen and nutrients that get to the skin. Without those the skin begins to rapidly decline.
Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, leading to further damage of the collagen. The skin sags even more. Besides age, smoking is a main predictor of facial wrinkling in men and women. In one study, the rate of collagen was lower by 18% in the smokers compared with the non-smokers.
How to Increase Collagen as You Age
Get it Through Skincare
Yes, many ingredients now available in skincare encourage and stimulate collagen production. One 3 month study proved that skincare containing collagen building peptides improved the look of fine lines and wrinkles around the eye area.
Key ingredients you need to boost collagen production through skincare are retinoids and peptides.
Retinoids, a form of vitamin A, are the gold standard of skincare, meaning they are good for everything. Retinoid studies show that topical use of retinoid products increases skin cell turnover, helping the skin to rejuvenate more like when it did when it was younger. This improves the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, while bringing back that bouncy appearance too.
Collagen Peptides are skincare ingredients that send signals to the skin to increase the production of collagen. Because peptides interact directly with it, they are fantastic for firming and plumping skin and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Get it in Supplements
Collagen supplements have shown their ability to stimulate your body to produce more on its own, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and increasing moisture retention. More moisture in your skin means your skin looks plumper.
In one study, women who took 2.5–5 grams of collagen for 8 weeks experienced less skin dryness and a significant increase in skin elasticity compared with those who did not take the supplement.
The best types of these supplements are made from animal proteins. To date, plant-based supplements offer no research to back up their efficacy.
Start Today
Collagen makes skin beautiful in every way. Regardless of your age, you can take action today to boost the levels in your skin, helping skin to remain bouncy, full, and plump. Collagen in skincare works. It’s been proven. So don’t wait for time to take its toll give your skin a boost today!
