Collagen & Wrinkles -- Just an advertising gimmick?
Collagen: a hope for a younger-looking skin or an advertising gimmick?
Most people interested in maintaining youthful skin and reducing wrinkles have heard about collagen. It's something "they put in expensive creams or inject into wrinkles." Well, there is much more to collagen than that. Collagen is a protein (a biological polymer consisting of amino acids) that serves as a key structural component of connective tissue such as skin, bones, ligaments, etc. Dermis, the inner layer of the skin, contains large amounts of collagen whose fibers form a supporting mesh responsible for skin's mechanical characteristics such as strength, texture and resilience.
As any material, collagen is subject to wear and tear: it slowly breaks down over time. Skin cells called fibroblasts are capable of producing collagen. When needed, fibroblasts replace broken collagen fibers with new ones. Unfortunately, as we age the skin's ability to replace damaged collagen diminishes and more gaps and irregularities develop in the collagen mesh. This process eventually leads to wrinkles. Thus, one important target of wrinkle prevention and elimination regimen is to reduce collagen breakdown and increase its supply. This task is achievable but you have to go about it in the right way.
Many factors contributing to accelerated collagen breakdown can be fully or partially neutralized. They include sun damage, free radicals, some age-related hormonal changes, and smoking.
Why creams with collagen are good only for covering wrinkles ?
To reduce rather than just cover wrinkles, new collagen must become a part of the skin's inner layer, the dermis. Unfortunately, collagen molecules are too large to penetrate into the dermis when applied to the surface of the skin. Thus, when simply applied onto the skin, collagen remains locked outside without affecting the skin structure, at best just temporarily covering wrinkles.
Most people interested in maintaining youthful skin and reducing wrinkles have heard about collagen. It's something "they put in expensive creams or inject into wrinkles." Well, there is much more to collagen than that. Collagen is a protein (a biological polymer consisting of amino acids) that serves as a key structural component of connective tissue such as skin, bones, ligaments, etc. Dermis, the inner layer of the skin, contains large amounts of collagen whose fibers form a supporting mesh responsible for skin's mechanical characteristics such as strength, texture and resilience.
As any material, collagen is subject to wear and tear: it slowly breaks down over time. Skin cells called fibroblasts are capable of producing collagen. When needed, fibroblasts replace broken collagen fibers with new ones. Unfortunately, as we age the skin's ability to replace damaged collagen diminishes and more gaps and irregularities develop in the collagen mesh. This process eventually leads to wrinkles. Thus, one important target of wrinkle prevention and elimination regimen is to reduce collagen breakdown and increase its supply. This task is achievable but you have to go about it in the right way.
Many factors contributing to accelerated collagen breakdown can be fully or partially neutralized. They include sun damage, free radicals, some age-related hormonal changes, and smoking.
Why creams with collagen are good only for covering wrinkles ?
To reduce rather than just cover wrinkles, new collagen must become a part of the skin's inner layer, the dermis. Unfortunately, collagen molecules are too large to penetrate into the dermis when applied to the surface of the skin. Thus, when simply applied onto the skin, collagen remains locked outside without affecting the skin structure, at best just temporarily covering wrinkles.
posted by Me | Sunday, August 14, 2005
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home