COLLAGEN: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

What you have heard is true, your skin depends on it.rnDo you remember completely ignoring the importance of collagen for the skin? When you were 20 and your collagen production was really high, 75% 1 higher than what you get with age, you probably didn't even have to think about it. You vaguely heard the word collagen; you knew it was a protein that was somehow related to the structure of your skin. In fact, as with so many things, it is only when the effects become visible that we seriously care. When your skin begins to show signs of aging, dermatology is helpful in understanding what collagen is, its effects, and how you can help preserve it. Collagen is the main protein in the body. It is everywhere. In your bones, gut, teeth, and muscles, all over, and the body produces it every day. However, its production slows down with age. The skin is mainly made up of collagen and water. Collagen is also the main protein found in the skin. Collagen alone accounts for 80-90% of the dry weight of the skin, excluding water. Its spiral structure, which resembles a triple helix, is made up of three chains made up of about a hundred amino acids. The skin is firm thanks to collagen. Just as it allows the body to develop muscles, collagen gives the skin its original strength and firmness. Derived from the Greek word kólla, which means “glue”, type I and type III collagen bind together in the dermis, like a connector cushion. It is secreted by fibroblasts, the connective tissue cells forming the second layer of the skin, also responsible for the secretion of elastin. Together with elastin as well as other proteins called “glycoproteins”, collagen is part of the extracellular matrix. This network forms the very structure of the skin, like a muscle, and provides it with its physical characteristics, such as tone, resistance, and firmness.rnThe level of collagen in the skin decreases by 1% 2 per year. After your mid to late twenties and early thirties, the skin loses about 1% collagen each year. Collagen is synthesized by shrinking fibroblasts, resulting in loss of elasticity, firmness, and flexibility. So by the next Soccer World Cup in 2022, most of us will have lost 4% of our collagen. This is why when we are 80, our skin will produce less than 75% collagen than when we are 20. Collagen decreases even faster depending on our lifestyle. Why 75% and not 60% (1% X 60 years), you will ask? The loss of 1% collagen annually is actually a minimum. The decrease in collagen can be accelerated by photoaging, pollution, and diet, or in smokers. The corresponding free radicals as well as the process of glycation (a biological process by which sugar molecules attach themselves to collagen) can wreak havoc, hardening existing collagen fibers, which then fuse together. The enzymes responsible for the breakdown of collagen (MPM) are also stimulated by UV rays. With age, collagen, usually a large protein, thins. Given its role of primary support, it is, therefore, no surprise that this degradation of collagen is visible, making it more rigid and less flexible. Collagen can be increased both from the inside and from the outside. Now that glycation has its own field of anti-aging research, there is plenty of evidence to suggest the possibility of regenerating our skin with collagen - or at least slowing its breakdown or disappearance through concrete actions to promote collagen health (starting with moderate consumption of sugar) and by avoiding too much exposure to the sun. Protective collagen skincare can also have a dual beneficial effect, by protecting the collagen already present in the skin while increasing its production in the skin. Liftactiv Collagen Specialist fills the skin with peptides, which bypass protein fragmentation, able to target specific signs of aging linked to the loss of collagen on the skin: wrinkles, lack of tone, loss of firmness and tone. Knowledge gives power. The decrease in collagen is natural with age. With simple daily skincare choices, however, we can correct the signs of skin breakdown. There are many products that contain collagen. Read the full article