Collagen: What Exactly Is It?

COLLAGEN. WE’VE ALL HEARD OF IT. LOSING IT IS BAD, WE NEED MORE TO LOOK YOUNGER.BUT WHAT IS IT REALLY?

I get alot of questions regarding why our skin wrinkles and sags as we get older: “Can I stop it? Why does it happen? Is it reversible?” So I thought we’d look at one of the main reasons we get wrinkles: loss of collagen.

Collagen is one of the most abundant proteins in our skin, making up about 25% of all of our bodies protein. It connects and supports our tendons, muscles, and cartilage working hand-in-hand with keratin and elastin; basically it is the glue that holds everything together, skin-wise.

As we naturally age, however, collagen degrades and the spaces between the fibers in our skin get larger. Sun damage and overexposure can also exacerbate collagen degradation creating spaces in the collagen/elastin layer. These spaces create depressions allowing the skin to sag, and wrinkles are the most extreme form of skin sagging and aging.

So, what can we do? Knowing that collagen is very important to our skin health, and that with aging it degrades, what can we do to maintain a dense, thick layer of collagen in our skin?

Wounding.

I know. It sounds kind of extreme, but let me explain.

Wounding is the process by which our skin repairs itself. When the skin is damaged, it naturally repairs itself is by sending collagen and elastin to the area wounded. Now, as an esthetician, I’m not talking about intensive wounding. I’m talking about creating a stimulus that will encourage the skin to repair itself via collagen production. Chemical peels, microneedling, and dual modality chemical peels are just a few of the things that we do at 360 Skin to help stimulate collagen growth.

Encouraging collagen production as we age is so important to keeping our skin looking youthful, natural, and vibrant…something everyone wants. At 360 Skin we want you to look your absolute best, age slowly, and proceed forward with the most minimally invasive processes available.

Knowledge is power and now you know.

This post was written by Brandon