Collagen
How to Naturally Build Collagen
Scientific Name: {Collagen hydrolysate}
Common Names: {Hydrolyzed, Soluble, Vegetable, Marine, Collagen fiber}
Collagen is an essential component of our body. It is a connective tissue that not only holds our muscles to our bones but also fills out the face and keeps your skin looking young and beautiful. However, as we age, our collagen stores begin to disappear. Once gone, they are tough to replace.
Collagen is naturally found in the skin. It is essential for helping us stay looking young and vibrant. It's also the structure that makes skin look full and firm. Our skin will sag and wrinkle if natural processes do not replace it.
The loss of collagen in your face makes you look older. It makes your skin look dull and rough. Some women resort to injections to retain that full, plump look. However, there are less intrusive methods that can produce similar results.
Natural Rebuilding
Our skin stops producing collagen because it lacks the structures to do so. Applying a cream can deliver the nutrients the face needs. Transdermal delivery helps nourish the deepest layers of skin.
As those structures are created, the skin cells can begin to rebuild the collagen layer that has broken down over time. Using collagen-boosting creams combat the early signs of aging. Additionally, topical treatments may be from liquid-soluble or vegetable sources.
How quickly your skin loses its collagen depends on how it stores elements, your genetics, and how much sun exposure you have had throughout your lifetime. Sun exposure is dangerous since the UV rays penetrate deep into our skin, causing cross-linking and wreaking havoc on our collagen stores.
There is some debate about whether applying collagen topically affects the inner collagen layer of the skin. But, studies have suggested that the correct formulation can improve skin elasticity, thickness, and resiliency.
What Does It Do?
Topical collagen has some skin benefits that cannot be found in any other ingredients. However, some ingredients may encourage collagen production in the skin or protect the skin from the aging sun.
Regular facial expressions' daily wear and tear can cause us to look older than we are. First of all, collagen improves the skin's elasticity. Then, over time, skin loses its elasticity or tautness. Restored flexibility makes the skin look much younger and less susceptible to wrinkles.
Secondly, collagen fights individual wrinkles. As the skin begins to wrinkle and crease, restoring it to a smooth appearance can seem impossible. However, you can fill the look of those fine lines from the inside out.
Plus, collagen boosts the skin's plumpness, allowing it to look far firmer and fuller than before.
Why Does Out Skin Lose Collagen?
The collagen layer is constantly being broken down and replaced, even when we are young. As we age, the body no longer sees the need for this layer and stops replacing it. As it breaks down, it becomes cross-linked — the skin sags.
Photoaging from the sun can exacerbate this. If we spend lots of time outside in the sun, the UV rays can speed up destroying this important layer of skin. What else is collagen used for?
- Treating uneven texture: If you have a spot on your face (or marks from acne), you can soften their appearance using a topical cosmetic. Rough texture manifests itself as hardened pieces of skin. Moreover, they will often become more pronounced as the surrounding area loses elasticity. Acne marks will look less prominent by restoring some elasticity and increasing the dead skin cell turnover rate.
- Elasticity: Elastin is mainly responsible for keeping the skin healthy, firm, and flexible. As collagen levels disappear, the face is more susceptible to sagging. Adding this as an application will retain its bounce and strength.
Collagen is the perfect ingredient for whether you are looking for a great natural anti-aging ingredient or something to keep the signs of aging from appearing.
Building Collagen Naturally
Lack of collagen is one of the most significant factors in aging, sagging, and wrinkled skin. So, what is collagen, and how does it keep your skin looking young and fresh?
First, the body produces a naturally occurring protein. It works with keratin to hold connective tissue together to keep your face and the skin on the rest of your body firm and youthful.
Unfortunately, as we age, our bodies stop producing as much collagen, and they can't regenerate or hold tissue together as firmly as they once did. As a result, we start to see bags under our eyes, even when we've gotten enough sleep. We notice the apples of the cheeks fall, and our jawlines become loose and saggy.
But you don't have to sit back and watch your face fall to age. And you don't have to go under the knife to repair your aging skin. Instead, use one (or all) of these simple at-home solutions to help your body produce more collagen for younger-looking and feeling skin.
Daily Moisturizing Serums With Peptides
Firstly, you should always use a good moisturizer and serum to penetrate your skin deeply. Moisturizer will help keep your complexion hydrated and healthy. Dry skin looks dull, flaky, and aged, but that's not the only reason to use a moisturizer or serum infused with peptides.
Heavily processed collagen is the only way to beneficially penetrate the skin. However, peptides are more quickly absorbed into the pores and the connective tissue than collagen. Further, they do a great deal to promote collagen production.
Most products can't just introduce new collagen into your body. But you can use topical products that help your body produce more for younger-looking skin.
Natural Sources
Marine or Fish
Sources from marine or fish can be obtained from a laboratory in Europe. Marine Collagen is the closest to human collagen and absorbs into the skin at 100%. Efficient anti-aging serums and collagen-boosting creams are formulated for application on the face, neck, and whole body.
Human
Human collagen cannot be absorbed; only injected. Collagen injections are common in the United States and around the world. They plump lips, add volume to the face, and you can even treat the back of your hands. Injections provide very localized results. Unfortunately, the injections are often costly and painful.
Animal
Wrinkle cream and bovine collagen do not mix. You can find other sources that don't cause side effects and reactions. Plus, it has a low absorption rate. Better suited for injections.
Eat These Foods
You can also boost your collagen production by increasing your intake of a few healthy foods, including:
- Dark leafy greens – Regularly eating kale, spinach, asparagus, and other dark leafy greens increase your vitamin C and lutein consumption. Both of which will fortify your body's ability to produce more collagen.
- Red fruits and vegetables – red-colored fruits and vegetables are high in lycopene and other healthy antioxidants and vitamins, which boosts production.
- Beans – A natural source of hyaluronic acid, which helps tissue retain moisture, stay firm, and plump with volume. Aim for two tablespoons or more of beans each day.
- Soy, milk, and cheese – The genistein in soy products help with collagen production and supports block activity by enzymes that cause the tissue to break down. This breakdown leads to a complexion appearing aged.
These foods are all delicious, nutritious, and age-defying. Try adding at least a serving of each to your daily diet.
Avoid These Habits
While we're on the subject of how to build collagen, let's talk about what you should not do, too. Smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol excessively are terrible for aging your face and breaking down collagen in your skin.
These habits will also cripple your immune system and dehydrate you. So, for younger, healthier skin, stay away from nicotine and alcohol as much as possible.
Take Supplements
Finally, you can significantly improve your collagen levels by taking supplements. There is still some question in the scientific community about these supplements' efficacy, but recent studies point to people experiencing younger-looking, firmer complexions after taking these supplements.
Some people have reported that they are even more efficient when combined with vitamin C and vital skin-enhancing vitamins and nutrients.
Sources:
https://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/problems/treating/naturally-boost-collagen.htm
https://www.healthcentral.com/skin-care/c/742375/55533/increase-eating/
https://www.livestrong.com/article/485132-foods-that-build-collagen-elastin-after-age-50/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3583892/
About the Author
Kari Thomas wrote this article.