Youthful looking skin - It’s all about the collagen!
April 01, 2019Collagen is still all the rage in the beauty and skincare community, and for good reason. Ensuring we have enough collagen in our bodies is one of the most natural ways to keep our skin looking youthful, healthy and glowing. Plus, an abundance of collagen provides a host of other benefits, such as stronger nails and joints, shiny hair, improved gut health and lots more! But what makes collagen a staple in the beauty routines of many of us nowadays, and how does it help our skin retain it’s youthful glow?
Those answers revealed!
First of all, what is collagen?
Collagen is a protein that makes up around 30 to 40% of our bodies (the most plentiful protein in our bodies) and is found in our skin, muscles, bones and tendons. Within the skin, collagen can be found in the middle layer known as the dermis. The dermis is where all the structural parts of our skin, including collagen and elastin, are stored, giving our skin that plump, youthful appearance.
So how does collagen help our skin retain a youthful appearance?
Put simply, collagen molecules are proteins that help cells anchor to each other. The collagen network gives our skin its strength and elasticity, working with elastin to strengthen the skin and give it that stretchy quality that lets the skin snap back in place when it’s stretched out. In short, collagen holds your skin together.
Here are the effects of having a good amount of collagen within our bodies to give us that healthy, youthful glow:
- Improves skin elasticity
- Prevents wrinkles
- Increases skin moisture levels
- Promotes firmer skin
The opposites of the above effects are generally, well, unwelcome to say the least. No one wants premature wrinkles and fine lines, or dry, crepe-like skin! But without collagen, all that can easily happen. Collagen is essential, so our skin looks and feels great inside and out.
Collagen levels in the body
Until we’re around 20 years of age, our bodies produce a healthy amount of collagen. At our peak, collagen makes up nearly 80 per cent of our skin. Collagen production does, however, decline due to a number of factors, including aging, smoking or exposure to too much UV light. As we hit 25 years of age, we break down more collagen than we make, so the collagen network becomes more fragmented. Decreased production of collagen is one of the reasons why our skin starts to wrinkle, why fine lines start to appear, and why our skin starts to feel less firm over time.
While we can choose to improve our lifestyles and put on more sunscreen, we can’t reverse the aging process. What we can do is help our bodies produce more collagen.
How can we get more collagen?
Our bodies produce collagen through the food that we eat by taking amino acids from protein-rich foods such as beef, chicken, and eggs. This process requires the help of vitamin C and the minerals zinc and copper, which can all be found in a healthy, well-balanced diet. Vitamin C rich food include citrus fruits, broccoli, tomatoes and greens, and the minerals are from meats, nuts and whole grains.
With age our digestive system becomes less efficient and the body may not be able to absorb nutrients as efficiently. This is where (the right kind of) supplementation can step in to replenish and boost natural collagen production. abeeco Ultra Collagen is perfect for this, as it contains researched premium hydrolysed collagen peptides that our bodies can easily absorb to improve collagen density in the dermis. Additionally, because the rest of our body also needs collagen, it’s got a host of other benefits. This includes stronger joints, hair and nails and a healthier gut for better digestion!