Understanding Collagen, The Skin's Vital Building Block

Your skin is the mirror to your health, age and lifestyle. Unknown to you, it reveals all your secrets to the world. Tired, wrinkled skin when you are in your 30s and early 40s reveals a poor diet, lack of exercise, lack of a skin care routine, and other factors. However, if you look younger than your biological age, the world lauds you for taking care of your skin and maintaining your youthful visage in the face of aging.

But you could be doing everything right in terms of eating a balanced diet, working out and following a regular skin care routine. Why does your skin still look stressed and feel like it belongs to somebody 10 years older than you? The answer lies in the proportion of collagen in your skin – it is possible that it has become diminished enough to show signs of premature aging. Your skin has currently become unhealthy and needs a boost in the form of lifestyle and diet changes, as well as an effective skin healing treatment at the hands of a leading dermatologist in Dubai.

This article explains what collagen is and how to conserve it and help form more of it, from good lifestyle habits to medical treatments like using a Dermapen:

What is collagen?

At its very basic, collagen is a protein that builds the skin. It is the most easily produced protein in the human body, and is present in the muscles, hair, skin, bones and tendons. Collagen performs the necessary function of binding cells together to give skin elasticity and form. It is naturally produced by the body, but its proportion may deplete with aging, poor diet, lack of hydration, smoking, exposure to sunlight and pollution, etc.

The simplest way to understand the importance of collagen is that it is the binding structure that holds the skin, muscle and bones together. It is of two types:

• Endogenous: this is natural collagen that is processed by the body on its own
• Exogenous: This is collagen that comes from an external source like supplement tablets, powder or skin cream

How to improve collagen through diet

It is possible to keep your skin healthy and elastic by consuming food that support the formation of collagen. These include:

• Non-vegetarian sources: Lean meat, red meat, egg whites, shellfish
• Vegetarian sources: Cabbage, soy, cherries, blackberries, raspberries, oranges, broccoli, strawberries and blueberries
• Other sources: Most nuts, plant foods rich in beta carotene

What happens when collagen is depleted?

As mentioned in the opening passages of this article, collagen formation and production are impacted by certain factors. Once collagen is damaged, it results in loose, lined and unhealthy skin prone to acne and hyperpigmentation. Avoid these damaging factors to keep your skin younger looking and healthier for longer:

Poor diet: A diet rich with processed sugar, salt and refined flour increases the speed of a process known as ‘glycation’ in which blood sugars attach to proteins and form new molecules that damage collagen and make it brittle and easily weak.

Exposure to direct sunlight: There is no getting away from the strong sunlight in Dubai. The strong UV rays in sunlight break down collagen rapidly and weaken elastin fibres, too. This results in loose, tanned skin that does not repair itself fast. More to the point, UV rays damage the collagen fibres in the dermal layer, which repairs haphazardly and causes fine lines and wrinkles.

Aging: The natural aging process depletes the proportion of collagen over time, and also impacts the collagen forming process. There is no way to stop aging or prevent collagen depletion over time, but you can supplement it with the right products and diet.

Smoking: Nicotine in tobacco smoke break the collagen and elastin fibres, because it narrows the blood vessels supplying blood to the skin. In turn, oxygenated blood and nutrients cannot be delivered to the skin, thus depleting the collagen level.

Antibiotics: Certain medication has the unfortunate side effect of breaking down collagen fibres

How to increase collagen – the Dermapen way

Your dermatologist might recommend creams or lotions to boost the formation of collagen in your skin. While these may work, we recommend opting for the Dermapen treatment.

Using micro-needling, specific areas of the skin are treated to enhance nutrient absorption and even treat older scars and fine lines.

The needles are affixed to a pen-like device and the doctor starts by applying a numbing cream on the targeted skin. Next, the Dermapen is moved over the numbed skin to pierce it in rapid succession.

The needling breaks the blood vessels below the skin and forms blood clots. The skin’s natural response to this activity is to rush healing cells to cure the localised trauma. The site thus becomes the ideal spot for producing more collagen and elastin naturally.

Deeper needling with the Dermapen treats scars and wrinkles, while shallower needling treats rashes, tanning, enlarged pores and effects of UV exposure. However, the effects of the treatment – smooth, radiant skin free of scars, spots and lines – can be seen after a few weeks and not at once.

While the treatment is highly effective and yields wonderful results over time, it must be handled by an expert dermatologist. Do get an appointment with a reputed doctor in Dubai to understand the procedure in detail, both pre- and post-treatment care, diet and lifestyle changes required, etc.

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