We’ve all seen them…beautifully packaged and yummy smelling body or face lotions (that can also come with a serious price tag!) that promise firmer, younger looking skin. The secret ingredient? Collagen of course!
Collagen is the sexy protein fiber in the skin that gives it structure, firmness and therefor youthfulness! The younger you are, the more of it you’ll have! Due to natural aging, sun exposure, diet and other factors we lose collagen as we age (about 1-2% each year), so doesn’t it make sense to start applying it on our skin every day to stay looking young forever?
Well…no.
I have to give it to the skincare companies marketing angles, I mean it works right? We see the word collagen and immediately think “Anti-aging in a bottle! I must have it!”
The sad reality is this is just a great way to sell products. Similar to other gimmicky ingredients like activated charcoal, 24 karat gold, Australian clay, Co-Enzyme Q10, Himalayan salt, algae, fish caviar extract, plant stem cells, coconut oil, snail mucus…please, someone stop me. I can’t even.
There are simply too many of these ingredients to name but they all serve the very same purpose, to sell sell sell! And unfortunately your skin doesn’t actually benefit much. The size of a collagen molecule is huge when you’re talking about a substances ability to penetrate into the skin, which is meant to keep things out! It would be like trying to get a whole cucumber to fit through a spaghetti strainer, it just ain’t happening.
Why don’t we just say, for fun, that collagen could penetrate into the skin. Skin care products don’t contain human collagen; they typically contain bovine (cow) or fish collagen. Okay, so now we have a different species collagen in our skin. What is it going to do? Is it going to magically intertwine with our own collagen to give us more?? Nope! Even if it was human collagen it still doesn’t work that way.
Collagen is produced in the skin by cells called fibroblasts. Fibroblasts need nourishment such vitamin A, C and peptides to make lots of healthy collagen and elastin. Peptides are chains of amino acids and are specifically formulated into skin care to stimulate collagen production. Laser and light treatments will also stimulate healthy collagen production as this is your skins way of healing, by producing collagen.
Therefore, if you’re going to invest your hard earned money into the health of your skin you should invest in the right products to do so. Don’t go for the hottest trending product. Choose professionals who can sell you medical grade, top of the line skin care proven by science and facts.
Oh, and that collagen laced cream you just splurged on? Best possible outcome is it’s going to bring a little more moisture to the surface of your skin, since collagen does hold some water. That’s about it though.
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