How Collagen Revitalises and Rejuvenates Your Skin

Want to find out what collagen is and how it works? This article explains the key role collagen plays in revitalising and rejuvenating your skin.

Collagen and its uses are a trendy topic that is currently being discussed in the health and wellness spaces, however many people do not know what it is, or the key role it plays in our health. Collagen is a key structure that forms the necessary building blocks of your body’s skin. Collagen assists in maintaining your skin's make-up, youthfulness, and elasticity. Over the course of this blog, we will explore what collagen is and its many benefits, while also discussing how collagen specifically revitalises and rejuvenates our skin.

What is Collagen?

Collagen is an essential structural protein, made up of amino acids, found mainly in the skin and bones, as well as connective tissues. It makes up 75% of the total weight of our skin (minus water), making it the most abundant protein in your body.  Its properties mean it is rigid and resistant to stretching. Collagen provides strength, firmness, and suppleness to the skin. Over the course of our lives, the body’s natural collagen production tends to decline, and this is a contributing factor to some notable signs of ageing, such as wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging skin.

Multiple types of collagens exist in the human body, but Type I, II and III are closely associated with skin health. Type I makes up 90% of collagen in the human body and works by forming dense fibres that are responsible for the skin’s strength and elasticity. The body’s natural ageing process, as well as environmental factors such as UV exposure and pollution lead to collagen fibres breaking down quicker than they are replaced.

Collagen Benefits: Why It Matters

Skin Rejuvenation

Skin rejuvenation is perhaps one of the most significant benefits of collagen. As we know, collagen works to maintain the elasticity of the skin, which in turn reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, as well contributing to the overall hydration of the skin. This gives us the youthful complexion many of us enjoy.

Collagen supplementation, both topical and oral, can be used to improve skin health. Regularly using collagen-based skincare can help support the skin's natural ability for self-repair. As an example, introducing collagen into a night-time skincare routine can improve the visible benefits over time.

A systematic review and meta-analysis found that supplementation with collagen significantly improved skin hydration and elasticity. This suggests that there are positive benefits of taking collagen supplements, with an effect on skin health.

How does Collagen Improve our Skin?

Collagen gives structural integrity to our skin, meaning a reduction in collagen production can lead to noticeable changes, such as wrinkles and fine lines. Incorporating collagen-rich skincare products or supplements into your daily routine can help replenish the skin's natural collagen reserves. Oral supplements, such as our Advanced Collagen Formulation by Opti 15 contain 100% pure collagen and are an essential supplement to incorporate into your lifestyle. Collagen supplements are ideal for those looking to address early signs of ageing and maintaining healthy skin.

This systematic review showed that both oral and topical collagen may contribute to reducing or delaying skin ageing, suggesting that using collagen supplements may be of great benefit to those looking to maintain the health of their skin.

Healthy Skin with Collagen

Having a healthy skin barrier will depend significantly on collagen. Your skin's natural barrier maintains its hydration, it protects against environmental damage, and promotes overall skin vitality. Enhancing your skincare routine with collagen-enriched products can help reinforce this barrier, improving hydration and elasticity and reducing visible signs of ageing.

Healthy collagen levels also support improved skin resilience, allowing your skin to better withstand daily environmental factors such as pollution, temperature changes, and lack of sleep. A balanced lifestyle which is rich in vital nutrients and vitamins, in conjunction with collagen-rich skincare, may help maintain this protective function.

Boosting Collagen Naturally

Aside from supplementation, collagen can be produced naturally, supported through certain lifestyle choices such as:

1.      Diet: Eating amino acids rich foods as well as those high in vitamin C, zinc, and copper can naturally encourage collagen production. Some examples of wat foods contain these vitamins are citrus fruits, berries, leafy greens, and protein-rich foods like fish and lean meats.

2.      Hydration: Ensuring good hydration helps support overall skin health, which can work towards improving collagen stability.

3.      Sun Protection: Collagen breakdown can occur due to UV rays, and so protecting our skin from the sun is crucial. A process called photoaging occurs when sun exposure breaks down collagen and stops new collagen from being made. Some signs of photoaging can be wrinkles, pigmentation and rough skin.  We can protect our skin through physical measures such as wearing a hat and staying in the shade, as well as wearing sunscreen that has a high SPF daily.

4.      Reducing alcohol and stopping smoking: Both smoking and alcohol can accelerate collagen breakdown and interfere with your skin's natural repair, and thus abstaining from both may help maintain our skin’s appearance.

Other Benefits of Collagen:

Joint Health:

As collagen is a protein, its essential in the building blocks of many structures in the body, such as our joints and bones. A literature review discussed how collagen supplementation increases bone strength and density, improves joint stability and stiffness.

Hair Health:

Hair contains a protein called keratin, which is made through essential amino acids that are found in collagen. Using collagen supplementation may help improve hair health and quality. A study showed that over a 12 week period, a supplement containing collagen showed clinical benefits for scalp and hair.

Nail Health:

Many people suffer from brittle nails and slow nail growth; however collagen supplementation may help improve this. This study found that using treatment containing collagen increased nail growth rate and decreased the frequency of broken nails.

Collagen and Lifestyle: A Holistic Approach:

Although collagen has been researched to have many health benefits, it is equally important to maintain a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.

Sleep:

Getting adequate levels of sleep has amazing health benefits, such as improved heart health, better mental health, cognition, memory, and hormone regulation.

Reducing Stress:

Doing activities and hobbies that help reduce stress not only help maintain good mental health, but also reduce stress levels. Stress may have negative effects on collagen, changing its quantity and integrity.

Exercise:

We know that regular exercise has a huge impact on health and wellbeing. Incorporating regular exercise into your routine helps improve physical health, such as cardiovascular risk and risk of diabetes, as well as improve mental health.

Conclusion

Collagen has been found to have many health benefits for skin, hair, joints, and nails. Oral collagen supplements are a great way to boost your collagen levels and can be easily added to any busy lifestyle.

Introducing collagen into your daily routine may help maintain your youthful appearance as well as strengthen bones, hair, and nails. Combined with a healthy diet and regular exercise, you can keep feeling the best possible version of yourself.