Skincare Reviews

The Truth About Collagen

Paula Maynard
Skincare Customers Guide

As we age, our skin gradually loses the youthful vigor that it once did. Knowing this, various companies have marketed products to help people look like their younger selves again. One well known substance that companies have used is collagen.

There's been a lot of talk these days about collagen and how it can help make your skin have that youthful flare that it once did. There are a plethora of options available to people who want to look like they did in their 20s again. The benefits of collagen are well known, but first and foremost to those that don't know, you may be wondering, what is collagen?

What is it?

Collagen is a protein that naturally occurs in the body. It is incredibly abundant, making up 30% of all proteins. It's known for holding the body together and can be found in the tendons, muscles, bones and (the topic of this article) the skin. Collagen is known to help repair the body when damaged.

A breakdown of collagen however can lead to various health problems. This may stem from a vitamin C deficiency, since it is vitamin C that is needed to make collagen in the first place. Symptoms of vitamin C deficiency include: joint pain, fatigue, bleeding gums, easy bruising, hair loss, slow healing of wounds, weight loss and even tooth loss! It's important to remember to always get your daily amount of vitamin C, not only to prevent these symptoms, but also to keep your collagen levels up.

Collagen gives the skin it's elasticity and strength, and is known to help replace dead skin cells. The collagen we produce however isn't invincible. Collagen can be damaged in various ways, such as having a high sugar diet, smoking and too much sun exposure. Air pollution, which is a rampant problem nowadays, may also damage collagen. If that weren't enough, our natural collagen production declines as we hit age 40.

Now there are various ways to get collagen back into the body. Some methods include laser therapy and injections, although these may be disliked by people for being too invasive and in some cases costing upwards of $500. That's where collagen creams come in.

How does it work?

In addition to helping improve skin health, collagen creams work by giving the body an extra layer of protection against all the toxins we are exposed to on a daily basis. Vitamin C can help make collagen, but sometimes it's just not enough. This is especially important as we age, as our natural collagen levels decrease over time.

The way collagen creams work can be explained in an analogy. Say your body is a fort, and this fort is under constant attack from the various toxins and UV exposure that we get on a daily basis. Collagen creams work as a reinforcement of well trained soldiers, helping reinforce the walls of the fort as well as replenishing the number of defenders. The stronger and more well defended the fort, the better off the fort is as a whole.

It should be noted that there are also skin creams available on the market that have no collagen in them at all. The misguided belief here is that collagen is too big of a protein to be absorbed topically, so therefore it's useless to buy a cream with collagen in it. These products often contain other ingredients that are touted to help with skin care, although many products that are available have ingredients that are no better than placebos. These products claim to be the miracle everyone has been waiting for, but at the same time these products are just as ineffective as the claims they make against collagen creams!

Skin creams without collagen in them are highly questionable. Going back to the fort analogy, say now you didn't get the best trained reinforcements, but instead got a bunch of farmers who had no idea what they were doing. Obviously that's not going to protect you as well! It's important to make sure you use the best products on yourself, not only to help you look younger, but to give you protection as well.

With this in mind we hope this helps you make better decisions on the skin care products that you purchase.