What is collagen?
Collagen is an important protein that is found throughout your body. It is the main component of connective tissue. Collagen can be found in ligaments, bones, tendons, muscles, hair, nails and skin.
Why is it important?
Collagen plays a particularly important role in keeping your skin healthy and strong. Collagen helps to keep toxins out of your skin and it helps with the production of new skin cells. Collagen is especially important for keeping your skin firm and helping it maintain elasticity.
What happens to collagen as you age?
As you get older, your body produces less collagen. As a result, your skin is thinner and more fragile. This can result in more wrinkles, and fine lines that can make you look tired or older than you feel. The loss of collagen can also result in saggier skin, so you may notice that the skin on your neck or near the lower half of your face is loose.
How can you protect and refresh your appearance?
While you can’t completely avoid the consequences of aging, there are many things you can do to protect the collagen in your skin and improve your appearance.
Protecting the collagen you do have is the first step. Start by avoiding sun damage and UV radiation. Wear sunscreen when you’re outside, don’t use tanning beds, and shade your face with a hat. It also helps to avoid toxins that can break down collagen and accelerate the aging process. Do your best to avoid air pollution and don’t smoke.
In addition to protecting your skin from the outside, you can protect it from the inside by avoiding simple carbohydrates and refined sugars. When your body processes these foods, you are more susceptible to inflammation and collagen can be damaged.
If you’d like to undo some of the affects of aging and restore your youthful appearance, there are cosmetic treatments that can help your body produce more collagen. Sculptra and Radiesse are two treatments offered by Dr. Schiller. These treatments stimulate your body’s own production of collagen which gives you natural looking improvement around your eyes and throughout the rest of your face. Schedule a consultation to learn more.
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