One of the first signs of aging is fine lines and wrinkles on the face. The depletion of Collagen is inevitable as we get older. This article aims to advise how you can regain and rebuild collagen in your face
How Can I Rebuild Collagen In My Face?
Collagen is an essential protein, it works in the body to help keep our Skin looking healthy and youthful.
There are some excellent non invasive and natural methods that you can use to boost the collagen levels in your face, there is also a lot of misinformation and myths surrounding collagen that you need to take into account.
Anybody looking to boost their collagen naturally need to research and discover the many options available before using any kind of collagen treatment in their personal skin care regimes.
What is Collagen?
Collagen is the largest, most abundant protein in the body.
It’s one of the major building blocks in our body. It is present in the muscles, bones, blood vessels, our digestive system, tendons, our teeth and of course our skin.
To explain it in simple terms, think of it as the substance that holds everything together, its name originates from the ancient Greek word “kólla” which means glue.
There are actually 16 types of collagen in the body, the main ones are types 1, 11, 111, and 1V (1)
Let’s take a quick look at these four main types of collagen and discover how they work in the body.
Type 1 – the most abundant for collagen in the body – made of dense fibres, providing strength and structure to bones, tendons, fibrous cartilage, teeth, connective tissue and our skin.
Type 11 – Found in cartilage, its a more loosely packed form of fibre, which helps to cushion the the joints.
Type 111 – Supports the structure of the muscles, organs and arteries.
Type 1V – Found in skin layers, helps with filtration.
What Does Collagen Do For The Skin On Your Face
In simple terms it provides the skin on your face with its elasticity, softness and youthful, smooth feel.
It enables the skin cells to repair and renew themselves. it also provides essential moisture.
As we start to age our natural levels of collagen begin to decline, this reduction results in those all too common signs of ageing and reduced collagen production.
Fine lines and wrinkles appear, our skin starts to become loose and sag and become less elastic.
Our joints can also begin to feel stiffer as our mobility reduces.
8 Natural Ways To Boost Your Collagen In Your Face
There are several ways in that you can rebuild boost the amount of collagen in your face.
You can take some dietary changes to include foods rich in collagen, you could take a collagen boosting supplement, also you could make changes to your skin care routine.
Vitamin C
Vitamin is a common yet essential vitamin (2), yet surprisingly enough, our body does not make it naturally, so we have to get it from our diet, or through supplementation.
It has been revealed through detailed research (3) that Vitamin C plays a crucial role in not only boosting our immunity and health, but it also helps to protect the skin and encouraging the production of more collagen.
This is the reason why many manufacturers include Vitamin C in their anti ageing skin care creams .
Our body does not retain Vitamin C so we need a regular intake of it daily.
You can find it in supplement form, it can applied to the skin in skin care products, or you can take it in certain high collagen foodstuffs including Citrus Fruits, Leafy Green Vegetables, Broccoli, Strawberries and Papaya (4).
Hyaluronic Acid
One of the most important compounds for Collagen in the skin, commonly found in supplement form, its also present in amino acid rich foods such as Root vegetables, Beans and Pulses, and Soy.
Adding foods rich in hyaluronic acid is a great way of boosting your collagen levels in your face, boosting it with supplements or skin preparations high in Hyaluronic Acid are other ways.
Aloe Vera
Commonly used to treat and soothe sunburned skin and rashes. Recent research has also showed that it does have many more benefits.
Clinical studies involving an oral version of aloe vera called Aloe Sterols have some powerful effects on treating and preventing skin damage.
The results of these studies (5) have shown that when taking Aloe Sterols their levels of collagen and naturally produced hyaluronic acid virtually doubled in the test subjects.
They also reported a reduction in fine lines and facial wrinkles. The scientists running the study concluded that Aloe stimulates the cells responsible for skin growth and regeneration.
You can find Aloe in numerous skin preparations and as an oral supplement.
Ginseng
A well established traditional medicine used for many health conditions over several centuries.
A clinical trial carried out in 2012 (6) demonstrated that ginseng helps to boost the amount of Collagen in the bloodstream.
It also has proven anti-oxidative and anti inflammatory benefits, it has demonstrated the potential to reduce or actually stop skin cells from ageing. It’s generally available in tinctures, teas and supplements.
Antioxidants
Abundant in many foodstuffs and nature in general, they are substances that can reduce the effect of harmful free radicals.
These are molecules found in the environment that can effect the cells in the skin (and in fact the entire body).
Certain anti-oxidants have been shown to help increase the amount of collagen in the body.
Those that do not have direct effect on its production can help the collagen that is present in the body to be more effective.
Research has shown that many food extracts are high in the anti oxidants that may help improve collagen production (7). These include:
- Green Tea
- Blueberries
- Yerba Mate
- Mulberry Extract
- Pomegranate
- Coffee Extract
- Cinnamon
- Astralagus
- Licorice
as well as herbal oil extracts such as :
Basil, Thyme and Oregano.
Retinol
Another antioxidant that is commonly found in skin care products becomes of its ability to increase the lifespan of collagen, boosting collagen production and warding off molecules that destroy some enzymes that are resistible for blocking of breaking down collagen.
Low Level Laser Light Therapy (LLLT)
A number of skin treatments require lengthy recovery times after treatments, chemical peel, microdermabrasion, and laser resurfacing all take time to recover from, they can also lead to complications.
LLLT has been shown in a recent study (8) to be a fast and relatively safe way to safely increase collagen in the skin. It works to increase collagen production, reducing the appearance of fine lines and improve skin elasticity.
As a non invasive treatment, LLLT kits can usually be purchased over the counter for users to carry out the treatment at home.
Keep The Environment At Bay
All skin cells follow a natural cycle where they are being created and destroyed. There are some factors caused by pollutants and irritate in the environment that make things far worse.
Harsh weather, dust, exposure to the sun and everyday pollution can all make the situation worse by damaging the skin.
These damaged cells have be replaced more frequently than normal, depleting the levels of collagen.
One simple way of reducing environmental effects is to follow a regular cleansing routine of washing and exfoliating daily, this can help preserve the collagen present in your face.
Always wear a sunscreen to protect from the effects of the sun, sunglasses are essential to protect the very delicate areas around your eyes
Collagen Myth
One of the biggest myths surrounding collagen is the practice of adding collagen in supplement form to your morning cup of coffee.
Clinical research (9) has found that drinking coffee high in caffeine has a detrimental effect on the skins natural ageing process.
All this means is that any collagen added to your coffee in supplement form is only likely to minimise the damage caused to your natural collagen by the caffeine in the coffee.
If you are serious about increasing the collagen in your face you are better served to stop taking any drinks, foodstuffs or supplements high in caffeine whatsoever.
Sources
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK21582/
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/195878
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3673383/
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/275517
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4345938/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3659568/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3569896/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4126803/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4206198/
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