Collagen production
declines as we age
What is collagen?
Collagen is a protein that is abundant in the human body and plays a vital role in maintaining the structure, strength, and elasticity of various tissues, including the skin, bones, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. It is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up around 30% of the total protein content in the body.[1]
Collagen provides structural support to tissues and organs, giving them strength and resilience. It helps to maintain the integrity of the skin by providing firmness and elasticity. However, the production of collagen in the human body starts to decline naturally as a part of the aging process. The exact age at which this decline begins can vary among individuals, but generally, collagen production starts to slow down in the late 20s or early 30s.
As we age, the cells responsible for collagen synthesis, called fibroblasts, become less active, leading to a decrease in collagen production. Additionally, the quality of collagen produced may also diminish, resulting in structural changes to the existing collagen fibers. These changes result in skin becoming thinner and more fragile with age, along with other factors leading to wrinkles, a natural or intrinsic part of aging.
Prevention
Prevention is always key and will decrease the extrinsic or external factors that affect our skin. These extrinsic factors include, but are not limited to sun damage, tobacco and alcohol use, pollution, and more. So, what can we do to minimize wrinkles?
- Use high-quality sunblock with both UVA and UVB protection with an SPF of at least 35, preferably 50.
- Don’t smoke, as well as the very well-known dangers of cancer and heart disease, to just name two, smoking ages individuals prematurely.
- Drink alcohol in moderation
Slowing the Process
Regardless, aging and its associated wrinkles are all part of the natural process of life, whether we like it or not, however, as well as prevention, there are other things that we can do to slow down this process:
- Microneedling – is a treatment that involves repeatedly puncturing the skin with fine, sterile needles causing trauma to the skin. This stimulates the skin in producing collagen, reducing fine lines, tightening loose and crepey skin, and mild scars (i.e., from acne). As this promotes the natural process of collagen generation, results vary depending on the body’s ability to generate collage (i.e., as we age, this becomes more challenging and may require a more powerful stimulant).
- Morpheus8 – we like to call it microneedling on steroids. Like microneedling, fine, sterile needles puncture the skin at various depths and through a radio frequency (RF) component generate heat into the skin. This causes much more dramatic trauma to the skin as well as destroying fat cells. The process generates larger quantities of collagen producing a much more dramatic effect, decreasing fine lines, plumping and tightening the skin, and a more snatched jawline for a more natural, youthful appearance. The treatment is effective all over the body to also treat crepey skin and stretch marks.
- Sculptra – is a collagen stimulator called, Poly-L-lactic that is absorbed into the body and encourages collagen growth. It reduces deep wrinkles, plumps or elevates sunken areas, and softens contours. As well as being used on the face, it is great at plumping the buttocks, giving the patient a natural “butt-lift”.
Although it is natural in the aging process for our bodies to produce less collagen, these treatments use our body’s natural systems to boost collagen growth, slowing the aging process and giving us a more youthful appearance.
