13 Ways To Increase and Maintain Collagen

Collagen has become quite the skin care buzzword recently. Today we are going to dive into what exactly it is, why it’s essential for younger looking skin, and what you can do to preserve and increase the collagen in your skin.

What is Collagen?

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, found in the bones, muscles, skin, and tendons. It’s a fibrous protein that gives the body strength and structure. Collagen is the glue that holds everything together.

What does it do for the skin?

Collagen keeps the skin hydrated, soft, smooth, and plump. It keeps the skin resilient. Unfortunately, collagen starts to degrade with age and the structural integrity of the skin declines. Starting in our twenties, we lose about 1% of our collagen year after year. As we lose this structural protein in our skin, we will begin to develop wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging.

Collagen loss is a natural process, which is inevitable as we age, but there are many ways you can preserve and restore a healthy supply. Here are our top topical products, in office treatments, and lifestyle habits we suggest for maintaining your radiant, youthful skin and to help slow down the aging process.

1/ Vitamin C  Vitamin C triggers collagen formation and stabilizes the existing collagen proteins in skin therefore, having a direct effect on anti-aging. Additionally, Vitamin C’s antioxidant properties fight free radicals that break down our skin’s collagen.  SkinBetter Science Alto Defense Serum combines Vitamin C and E + 17 additional antioxidant shield ingredients designed to provide a new level of comprehensive and dynamic defense against free radicals.

2/ Retinoid Using a retinoid is a powerful and beneficial way to bring collagen back to life as it forces your skin into cellular renewal.  SkinBetter Science Alpharet Overnight Cream combines two gold standard skin rejuvenation ingredients — a retinoid and lactic acid. This creates a revolutionary, double-conjugated retinoid that releases both the collagen invigorating retinoid and the skin retexturing AHA.

3/ Sunscreen Sun exposure without proper protection can accelerate the skins decline and repair. Deeper penetrating UVA rays impact the deeper layers in the skin. This can result in damage to the collagen fiber. Since preventing, or slowing the process of aging, is much easier than trying to reverse changes that have already happened to your face, we recommend SkinBetter Science’s sunbetter line of Advanced Mineral Protection Sunscreen. With some of the highest levels of sun protection, its benefits go beyond UV, including blue light, pollution, and infrared radiation.

4/ Facial Massage Regular facial massage promotes oxygen and blood flow in our skin which strengthen the muscles, ligaments, and underlying tissues, while also spurring collagen production.

5/ Exfoliation Because of its ability to stimulate overall cellular turnover, exfoliation can also aid in collagen and elastin production. In our office, we offer Microdermabrasion and Dermaplaning for regular exfoliation, which you can pair with a facial massage in our Deluxe Facials.  

6/ Chemical Peels Medical-grade chemical peels  are another exfoliation treatment we offer in our office, administered by one of our Licensed Estheticians. This treatment is used to create an injury of a specific skin depth to stimulate new epidermal growth and collagen with more evenly distributed melanin, while also improving skin surface texture and appearance.

7/ Micro-needling A minimally invasive cosmetic procedure that creates tiny micro-injuries in your skin to stimulate collagen production. When utilized as a regular skin care practice, Micro-needling improves everything from wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, and dull skin to issues such as scars, stretch marks.

8/ Sculptra Sculptra Aesthetic an FDA-approved injectable made of poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA). It helps restore the deep, underlying structure of the skin to diminish facial wrinkles. Sculptra works with your body within the deep dermis to help revitalize collagen production and help restore your skin’s inner structure and volume. As the Sculptra microparticles are absorbed, they help stimulate collagen production. Rebuilt collagen strands begin gradually helping to restore facial volume and the look of fullness to wrinkles and folds.

9/ Halo A hybrid fractional resurfacing system unlike any other treatment. Halo is uniquely designed to deliver both ablative and non-ablative wavelengths to the same treatment zone. This dual-wavelength feature means that the laser resurfaces both your epidermis (the topmost layer of skin) and the dermis (the thick layer of living tissue directly under the epidermis) at the same time.

10/ Collagen Supplements There are many varieties of collagen supplements including powders that you can easily mix into tea, coffee, and smoothies. Regular consumption of these supplements may help to increase skin elasticity, hydration, and the density of collagen within skin.

11/ Collagen Rich Foods Consuming foods rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals can help to ward off free radical damage that degrades collagen while also providing the necessary nutrients needed to stimulate new collagen production to naturally help increase collagen levels in the body.

We suggest:

•Vitamin C-rich foods: citrus, strawberries, kale, bell peppers, papaya, tomatoes, parsley, broccoli, brussels sprouts
•Zinc-rich foods: oysters, cacao, pumpkin seeds, watermelon seeds, sesame seeds, spinach, almonds, cashews, chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, oats
•Copper-rich foods: sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, cashews, spirulina, shiitake mushrooms, swiss chard, kale, spinach, cocoa
•Silicon-rich foods: cherries, oranges, apples, beets, eggplant, figs, strawberries, tomatoes, grapes, almonds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cucumber, celery, sweet potatoes
•Collagen rich foods: bone broth, salmon, eggs, pasture-raised poultry and beef

12/ Sleep Say yes to more beauty rest! The repair process happens at night. Your skin’s blood flow increases, and the organ rebuilds its collagen during sleep! Only getting 5 hours per night could lead to twice as many wrinkles compared to 7 hours of sleep.

13/ Healthy Habits Staying hydrated, daily movement, keeping stress low, and limiting alcohol are all habits to adopt when being serious about collagen preservation and production. These habits help keep inflammation low while allowing the body to repair itself.

Want to learn more about our collagen treatments and skincare products? We would be happy to help answer any of your questions and get you on the right path to loving your skin! Schedule a free consultation today! Book online now.