Everything you need to know about collagen!

We are constantly bombarded in the media with this miracle ingredient in skincare, supplements and treatments: collagen! 

What is collagen, and what does it do?

Collagen is a protein found in the skin that gives the skin its elasticity. Unfortunately collagen declines in your mid to late 20’s by 1% each year. We also lose about 30% of collagen in the first 5 years after menopause. The amount and quality of collagen that we have is affected by ageing: intrinsic ageing (an individual's genetic heritage, which a person cannot act on) and extrinsic ageing (the individual’s work/play lifestyle eg. UVR, environment, diet, disease, and how she or he copes with this lifestyle). 

In my opinion there is no quick fix to reverse the clock. But the first step is to look at your extrinsic ageing factors.

Unfortunately, you cannot apply collagen topically. Collagen cannot penetrate the skin; the molecules are simply too big. We need to boost collagen production from the inside out. 

Fibroblast cells in your skin produce collagen. To synthesise collagen, they require proper nutrients. These nutrients are brought to the skin via a microcirculation system. You can see now where this is going … that's why I always tell my clients how important diet and facial massage are to keep young!

Do collagen powders or drinks actually work?

Collagen is a large molecule that needs to be broken down into amino acids, similar to other proteins before they can be absorbed. These collagen powders and drinks simply provide protein, just like any other protein powder or protein from your diet. A lot of these powders also contain sweeteners and additives that are not great for the skin. Instead, to make strong healthy collagen, use “collagen builders” in your diet or as a supplement:

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is essential for collagen production. Without it we would literally “fall apart”. It promotes beautiful glowing skin by boosting your collagen production. Because Vitamin c is an antioxidant, it also decreases the damage to existing collagen. It is not only great for collagen production but also repairs UV related DNA damage. Vitamin C is found in organic citrus fruits, guava, kiwi, papaya, pineapple, red peppers, sea buckthorn berries, strawberries, and more.

Because this vitamin is water soluble and is not made by the body or stored easily it is important to consume these foods regularly. Studies have shown the effectiveness of topical application of vitamin C. 

Vitamin A

It increases the amount and quality of collagen production as well as decreasing collagen breakdown. Because this vitamin cannot be made naturally by the body, it needs to be consumed in food, either through animal sources like egg yolks, fish, liver, and meat, or plant sources, like darkly coloured fruits and vegetables, including carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and tomatoes.

Certain topical Vitamin A products can cause skin irritation. I recommend products that contain retinaldehyde. 

Amino Acids

Like any protein, collagen consists of amino acids like proline and glycine. Supplying these amino acids which are found in meat, dairy and fish in abundance will help stimulate collagen.

Copper

Minerals like copper are essential for collagen production. Copper activates one of the enzymes required for collagen formation. Copper peptides applied to the skin were shown to promote collagen synthesis.

Zinc

Zinc is also involved in collagen production, making sure collagen fibres are strong and stable. This is found in seeds, legumes, dairy, nuts, etc.

If we don't have enough essential collagen builders in our diets, the collagen that our body makes will be fragile and break easily, leading to wrinkles, sagging, lack of resilience and bounce in the skin, and poor healing. Providing the skin with these essential nutrients is an important way to support our collagen. 

What else can you do to preserve and stimulate collagen production?

Stop glycation 

The largest threat to collagen are refined sugars and foods with a high glycemic index. Sugar attaches itself to the proteins collagen and elastin and forms damaging by-products, known as AGE’s. Flexible protein becomes rigid and brittle. Sagging and inflexible skin is the result. 

Stay out of the sun

UV exposure can damage collagen and accelerate ageing.

Stop stress

Stress increases your hormone cortisol, and cortisol reduces collagen utilisation/formation. We can't always control our stress levels, but there are, of course, plenty of stress-reducing techniques you can try. Read my chapter "Stress: the beauty killer". 

Improve your sleep

Prolonged insufficient sleep leads to decrease in reproductive hormones which affects collagen formation. When we do not sleep enough, the skin isn't able to fully function. It can cause inflammation in the skin which decreases collagen quantity and quality.

Read more about this subject in my chapter "The truth about beauty sleep". 

Stop smoking

Smoking eats away at collagen and other skin proteins, leaving the skin looking wrinkled and leathery.

Facial massage to boost collagen

Massage is like exercising your skin! This helps stimulate and boost the circulation in your skin to keep it fresh, plump and young. Massage also Improves muscle tone and oxygenates the skin from within to increase the production of collagen and elastin. 

Chemical peels

Medium to deep chemical peels can stimulate collagen production. The slight trauma the peels induce on your skin triggers your body to repair the micro-wounds with new collagen. This makes your skin stronger, healthier, and more elastic.

Collagen Induction Therapy (CIT) / Microneedling 

Microneedling naturally works to stimulate and re-fortify collagen production.  It works with your body to naturally boost collagen levels for younger-looking skin. Sagging skin and deep lines caused by glycation can be reduced. 

The treatment creates thousands of controlled wounds in the skin to naturally trigger the body’s collagen production. Collagen can continue to develop up to 2 years after one procedure, promoting better skin quality, functionality, regeneration, and integrity. 

We can't change the fact that we are getting older but we can minimise the factors that damage collagen to keep skin healthy and strong. Pairing these lifestyle factors with “collagen builders” and treatments is essential to preserve our collagen!