TV commercials and online ads promoting skin products have become commonplace in most of our lives. This should not be that surprising, given that age, sunlight, and our diets are just a few of the factors affecting how skin stretches as time goes by. So, how can we combat these elements and create the firmness that so many of us seek?
The answer is collagen, a substance that accounts for one-third of the total protein in the human body and helps to holds us together. Found in our bones, muscles, skin, and tendons, it has been called the glue of it all.
Collagen’s Importance to the Skin
All of these features are quite important, but how does collagen help give you younger-looking skin? In the middle layer of the skin, collagen forms fibroblasts, which promote new cell growth while restoring dead skin cells. As you age, the body starts to produce less collagen, leading to skin wrinkles. There are always more natural alternatives to increase collagen in your body, such as increasing your vitamin C intake or eating more foods with proline (I.e., egg whites) copper (i.e., red meat), or glycine (i.e., pork or chicken skin).
Anti-Aging Creams: Not A Replacement for Lost Collagen
As mentioned before, you probably hear a lot of commercials about how serum will slow down your aging process. Something important to point out is that moisturizers with or without collagen cannot penetrate the skin; in fact, none can undo the effect of collagen-loss. Sorry to break the news, but it’s important to note before spending your money on countless creams hoping to have a youthful look that comes with collagen.
Injections and Fillers: A Different Solution
Having face injection might feel like you are in the process of getting botox, but there is a vast difference. Botox reduces the activity of muscles in the face that would cause wrinkles, whereas filling areas with collagen help stimulate natural collagen growth in the face. The results are plumped-up, lifted skin, which replace the effects of collagen-loss.
Fillers that contain collagen have also been proven to reduce scars and fill gaps that may have been filled before by fat, silicone, or implants. It’s always important to note that fillers may not remove every line that you see. Your doctor should also prepare you by giving you a skin test, possibly on your forearm, to ensure that you won’t have a reaction that prevents you from being able to proceed.
If You Really Want More Collagen, There’s Always a Laser
Injecting your skin with collagen can help stimulate natural production, but there are alternatives to that as well. Laser resurfacing uses, you guessed it, a laser to improve your skin and treat minor facial flaws. Such lasers come in two forms, ablative and nonablative.
An ablative laser removes the thin outer layer of skin and heats the underlying surface, prompting the growth of new collagen fibers. A nonablative laser does not involve the removal of skin. This technique is less invasive and requires less recovery time, but the tradeoff is it can also be less effective.
Concerns About Collagen
In regards to fillers, some side effects can develop, such as a skin rash, itching, redness, or bruising. These usually clear within 7 to 14 days and are relatively common. Other not so common side effects include infection, leakage, tissue death, or movement of the filler from one area to another. Such motion happens following lip injections, and also when fillers weigh the cheek and face down. Your doctor should always be cautious about the amount inserted.
Always do your research before deciding on a plastic surgeon; one wrong move and injection in a retinal artery could cause blindness and stroke. What may seem like an easy thing to do on even your lunch break can lead to more severe consequences.
Laser options should also be extensively researched before taking the next step. Ablative laser resurfacing can cause similar side effects, as mentioned before, such as redness, swelling, and itching. However, it can also cause changes in skin color and, in some cases turning of the eyelid where it would expose the inner surface.
The nonablative laser has smaller concerns such as mild swelling and redness but can also lead to changes in skin color and infection.
Next Steps
Wrinkles, although nonthreatening, have caused headaches for many. Choosing the right procedure is not something to be taken lightly, no matter how “main-stream” it may seem.