When the facial skin gets the proper collagen, it appears elastic and plump. Unfortunately, as we age, our skin’s collagen levels decline. This lack of facial collagen causes skin laxity and interferes with your skin’s natural glow.
To maintain your youthful appearance and delay the ageing process, you must retain collagen production in your skin. Eating collagen-rich foods, using skincare products, and undergoing clinical treatments are all effective ways to increase collagen production in your skin.
In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know about facial collagen, its benefits, and how you can increase your collagen production.
What is collagen
Before you can understand the benefits and boost collagen in the body, you should first understand this type of protein. Collagen is a protein found in connective tissue, cartilage, tendons, blood, and skin.
Collagen maintains skin elasticity, forms structures in joints and tendons, protects internal organs, and many other functions. It is common for people to lose collagen as they age. As a result, you may require external collagen intake to increase collagen production and maintain your skin’s natural glow.
According to Healthline, there are 28 types of collagen, but these four are the most common types:
- Type I: You will find this type in all connective tissue.
- Type II: This type is noticeable in joints and intervertebral discs.
- Type III: This collagen type is present in the skin and blood vessels.
- Type IV: You will see this commonly in the kidneys, inner ear, and eye lens.
Benefits of collagen
After understanding what collagen is, now is the time for you to know the benefits of collagen. According to Healthline, the following list includes the advantages of collagen that are good for various parts of the body, especially for your skin:
Gives healthy skin
For starters, collagen has numerous skin-benefiting properties. This is because collagen is the main protein in skin tissue. When your skin receives enough collagen, it appears vibrant and soft, reflecting youthfulness.
In contrast, if your skin lacks collagen, it will be prone to dryness, leading to premature ageing. A person who experiences premature ageing may have fine lines and wrinkles faster. As a result, you may need to maintain your collagen intake to delay ageing.
Protects the joints
Next, collagen aids in the preservation of the integrity of your cartilage, which protects your joints. As a result, the loss of collagen as we age causes fine lines and wrinkles and increases the risk of degenerative joint disorders.
You can avoid joint illnesses by meeting your body’s collagen needs. As a result, you can carry out daily activities more comfortably this way.
Prevents bone loss
Following the previous benefits, collagen can also help prevent bone loss because collagen makes up mainly our bones. You can maintain the structure and strength of your bones if you have enough collagen in your body.
In contrast, if you don’t have enough collagen, you’re more likely to develop osteoporosis as you get older. As a result, to promote healthy bone density, you may want to combine collagen intake with calcium.
Boosts muscle mass
Moreover, as collagen is the most abundant protein in the body, it has significant benefits for muscles. You can stimulate your body to gain muscle mass by consuming collagen.
Promotes heart health
Collagen is also present in blood vessels and serves as a structural component of the arteries. When the body gets the proper collagen, the arteries retain their elasticity and flexibility.
As a result of the arteries’ flexibility and flexibility, blood flows become smoother. Smooth blood flow can prevent heart-related diseases such as stroke and heart attack.
Lack of facial collagen effects
Facial collagen deficiency is a common ageing side effect. Many people are bothered by a lack of collagen in their bodies. Typically, a lack of facial collagen causes skin dryness and the presence of ageing signs.
If you need more reasons to care for your skin, you might be interested in learning more about the causes and effects of facial collagen deficiency. That way, you’ll have a better understanding of its downsides and what to avoid to prevent the issue.
Causes
According to WebMD, ageing is the primary reason for collagen deficiency. However, three other factors can lead to a decrease in collagen levels. The following are the three external factors that contribute to collagen loss:
- Sunlight: The sun’s ultraviolet rays (e.g., UVA and UVB) can cause tissue damage and fibre disintegration in your skin. It can cause collagen loss when this happens, resulting in sagging and wrinkled skin.
- Smoking: Cigarette smoke contains harmful chemicals that narrow your blood vessels, resulting in less oxygen and nutrient delivery. As a result, your skin will be less capable of producing and delivering collagen.
- Sugar: Excessive sugar consumption will lead to your skin fibres cross-link and tangling. As a result, less natural collagen production will decrease your skin’s elasticity.
Effects
We previously discussed collagen’s benefits for both the skin and the body. Aside from explaining collagen’s benefits, the effect of collagen deficiency is the opposite of its benefits.
If you read the section on collagen benefits, you will learn about some of the consequences of a collagen deficiency. For that reason, we will focus on the adverse effects of collagen deficiency around the facial skin.
The following issues may arise if you don’t have enough facial collagen:
- Fine lines
- Wrinkles
- Sagging skin
- Dark spots
- Dry skin
Ways to boost collagen
Although collagen levels in the body decrease with age, this does not mean that you cannot maintain collagen levels so that your body receives sufficient collagen intake.
Here are some methods that may effectively increase collagen production from the inside:
Eat foods rich in collagen.
Certain foods, according to Healthline, contain collagen. You can choose to increase your collagen levels by eating the following foods:
- Bone broth
- The connective tissue of animals (e.g., chicken and pork skin)
- Beef
- Fish
- Citrus fruits
- Broccoli
- Bell peppers
Consume collagen supplements
Although you both consume them orally, there are some differences between collagen-rich foods and collagen supplements.
Collagen supplements, according to Healthline, contain hydrolysed collagen. As a result, the collagen has decomposed, and the body can easily absorb it.
Healthline also states that consuming 2.5 – 15 grams of collagen peptides per day is safe. However, if you want to focus on providing collagen for the sake of revitalised skin, a supplement dose of 2.5 grams is sufficient.
Best skincare to boost facial collagen
According to Medical News Today, several skincare ingredients effectively boost collagen production, including:
- Hyaluronic acid: Using hyaluronic acid-rich skincare products will aid your skin in maintaining its natural hyaluronic acid levels. When the level of hyaluronic acid in your body is sufficient, it will stimulate more collagen, resulting in smooth and elastic-feeling skin.
- Vitamin C: Applying vitamin C to your skin in the form of skincare products will not directly increase your collagen levels. On the other hand, Vitamin C has properties that actively stimulate collagen production.
- Aloe vera gel: Using aloe vera skincare products can increase your body’s collagen and hyaluronic acid productions. As a result, you may be able to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles on your face in this matter.
- Ginseng: Applying ginseng-rich skincare products will aid in the production of collagen in your skin tissues. Ginseng skincare products will also give you smoother and more luminous skin.
- Retinol: There are many retinol-containing skincare products on the market, and using one of these products will increase your collagen levels. As a result, you can correct the ageing signs on your skin.
Even though the skincare products above claim to increase collagen, you still need sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 to protect your skin from sun damage. So, you need to apply sunscreen and reapply it every 2 hours.
Clinical treatments to boost facial collagen
Using skincare products may be beneficial in increasing collagen production. However, sometimes skincare products are unable to provide adequate collagen intake.
If you want to boost collagen production, you might benefit from the following clinical treatments:
Sciton Broadband Light
Sciton Broadband Light (BBL) is a non-invasive medical light therapy treatment. It works by producing pulsed light of varying wavelengths, which the skin absorbs to stimulate collagen production.
Furthermore, this procedure is completely safe because it is FDA-approved to treat various conditions, such as sun damage, anti-ageing, and skin rejuvenation.
Revlite Laser
Revlite Laser is a non-surgical skin resurfacing treatment that can address various skin issues by stimulating collagen production in the skin. Patients can improve several skin issues, such as acne scars, hyperpigmentation, ageing skin, and many others, by undergoing this treatment.
Agnes RF
Agnes RF is a non-invasive treatment that employs radiofrequency technology. If you undergo this treatment, your skin will absorb the radiofrequency waves and increase collagen production.
If there’s an increase of collagen in your skin, you may notice its firmer appearance. Besides, you can also expect skin tightening, acne scar removal, and anti-ageing effects from this treatment.
Venus Legacy
Venus Legacy is a treatment that employs patented Multi-Polar Radio Frequency, Varipulse Technology, and Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields to generate a targeted thermal reaction that deeply penetrates the skin and body tissues, stimulating the body’s natural collagen.
As a result of increased collagen production, your skin will have less skin laxity, wrinkles, and other signs of ageing.
Dermal Fillers
Dermal fillers are a treatment that entails injecting hyaluronic acid beneath your skin. The primary intent of this procedure is to replenish the lost tissue volume that causes sunken skin.
Aside from replenishing the loss volume, the hyaluronic acid injections from dermal fillers will stimulate collagen production in your skin as well. That way, you will have firmer and smoother facial skin due to increased collagen production.
Skin Booster Rejuvenation
Skin Booster Rejuvenation entails injecting hyaluronic acid into your skin. The injection will replenish the lack of hyaluronic acid in your skin, giving it more hydration.
Aside from providing hydration, this treatment will also stimulate collagen production. As a result, you can get your skin’s firmness, elasticity, and radiance.
Profhilo
Profhilo is a high-concentration hyaluronic acid injectable anti-ageing treatment. This treatment works by increasing your skin’s natural hydration and boosting collagen production.
You can see improvements in your ageing skin (e.g., wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging skin) when it receives hydration and a collagen boost. That way, you can delay the ageing process and enjoy your youthful appearance for a longer time.
Rejuran Skin Healer
Rejuran Skin Healer is a skin booster injection made from salmon DNA and polynucleotides (PN). These ingredients are biocompatible to the human body and effectively treat ageing skin.
You can boost your natural collagen production by undergoing Rejuran Skin Healer treatment. Ultimately, you will have firmer and smoother-looking skin through this treatment.
HIFU Doublo Gold
High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) Double Gold is a non-invasive treatment that involves generating ultrasound waves to the skin. When your skin absorbs energy, it produces more collagen and elastin, giving your skin a plump, firm, and smooth appearance.
Patients with skin laxity may benefit from HIFU Doublo Gold. Patients can revise their ageing signs and enjoy skin tightening effects with little to no downtime by undergoing this treatment.
Thermage FLX
Thermage FLX is a minimally invasive skin tightening and lifting treatment. This treatment involves radiofrequency technology to stimulate collagen production, resulting in smoother and tighter skin.
Thermage FLX may benefit patients with ageing sins such as loose and sagging skin. Furthermore, because this treatment is minimally invasive, patients can achieve the desired results with little to no discomfort.
Face Thread Lift
Face Thread Lift is a treatment that involves the placement of dissolvable medical-grade sutures beneath the skin. The procedure aims to lift the sagging skin and reduce the appearance of wrinkles by pulling the sagging skin and stimulating facial collagen production.
Patients with moderate to severe signs of ageing may benefit from a face thread lift. They may notice an improvement in their skin laxity as the treatment lifts their skin and increases the natural facial collagen.
Sculptra
Sculptra is a skin-injection procedure that uses poly-l-lactic acid. This procedure will restore lost volume and make your skin look firm and rejuvenated.
Sculptra will also increase your natural facial collagen production. As a result, by undergoing this procedure, you can regain your natural glow and youthful appearance.
Final thoughts
Facial collagen is essential for maintaining a youthful appearance. While your face produces facial collagen naturally, it is beneficial to protect and promote natural collagen production to maintain a youthful appearance.
If you want to maintain your youthful appearance, you may want to boost your collagen production through various methods, including clinical treatments.
We will be delighted to welcome you and walk you through the appropriate treatments that will effectively boost your natural collagen. This way, you can keep your natural glow and look your best for a longer period.
Don’t put it off any longer, and make an appointment with our medical aesthetics doctor today!
