Build Better Collagen with These Tips!

Collagen is key in youthful skin as it acts as a “net” for the underlying structure. With age, collagen production decreases. Proactive measures must be followed to protect it. Protecting your skin from the sun every day with sunscreen and avoiding smoking are a few things you can do to help protect the breakdown of collagen.

How Collagen Breaks Down:

1. Damaging factors like the sun, smoke, pollution, free radicals, and even hormonal fluctuations cause small tears in the fibers, which slowly wear down the integrity of the proteins.
2. Fibroblast cells attempt to repair the damaged fibers by creating new fibers. With age, this process slows and becomes less efficient.
3. If the fibers are not repaired optimally, spaces and gaps become present. If collagen production isn’t stimulated, the skin can look saggy and crepey, laden with fine lines and wrinkles, and appear less elastic.

Stimulating Collagen Production

Fillers like Restylane and Perlane cause the body to form collagen around them due to the physical effect that’s placed on the fibroblasts. Even when the fillers break down there still remains some improvement because of the presence of the collagen that formed around the product. Sculptra Aesthetic works to replace lost collagen by reinforcing the skin’s structure.
Fractional Laser and Radio Frequency treatments (Exilis) can also help stimulate collagen production in the skin.

Most think that applying pure collagen to the skin would increase it internally, but that is not the case. Collagen cannot penetrate the skin barrier. Applying it topically may make your skin feel softer but is not going to do much more than that. Products that contain stimulation ingredients such as peptides, growth factors, and even retinol can signal the skin to make more collagen to benefit the overall appearance of the skin.
To learn more about which treatments and products would be best for you, schedule a complimentary consultation today with the best dermatologist in Reno!