What is a Collagen and How Long Does Collagen Last?

Collagen is the tissue that connects and supports other body tissues, such as skin, bone, tendons and cartilage. It is the most abundant protein molecule in the body making up between 25% and 35% of the total protein content.

Because collagen provides a strong support system for the skin and body it is also important in the anti-aging movement. When this support system is lost it results in wrinkles, sagging loose skin and an appearance of increasing age.

In fact, it is referred as the glue to holds the body together. Quite literally, the body would fall apart if there were no collagen.

Young skin, high in collagen and keratin provides the skin with strength and flexibility, is resilient to the environmental toxins and waste products it encounters every single day.

Researchers at manufacturing companies, in an effort to take advantage of the effects of collagen on the skin, are developing ways to stimulate the production of collagen. So, individuals will be able to fight the visible signs of aging.

Collagen molecules are packed together and account for three quarters of the dry weight of skin. The skin is the largest organ in the body. It is also responsible for the strength to resist damage and is produced by fibroblasts found scattered throughout the dermis.

Each year a person ages these cellular proteins clump together or change shape. These changes keep the proteins from properly doing their job and can results in the loss of firmness to body tissue.

Manufacturers of skin care products, and their researchers, know that an important target for wrinkle reduction and prevention is to reduce the breakdown of collagen in the skin and increase the supply. Some recent research and advancements in technology have made this goal closer to achievement than ever before.

Researchers, working with nutritionists, have found ways of stimulating the body's fibroblasts to produce more collagen. This can partially reversed the process and improve the texture of the skin.

Also researchers have found that vitamin C is an integral part of the process and that by adding it they can dramatically increase the synthesis of collagen. Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant which helps reduce damage caused by free radicals and apparently has an important role in the production of collagen.

However vitamin C taken orally has very little benefit to the reduction of wrinkles because the body uses it in order of priority and the priority for survival is not to decrease the visible effects of aging.

In order to have significant benefit it should be used topically, directly to the area in which it is needed. Vitamin C taken orally will also help to boost the immune system of the body and create an environment where synthesis of collagen throughout the body will be more effective.

Another negative effect to collagen production is photoaging. These are changes made to the skin after just a few minutes of exposure to the sun's rays.

UVA and UVB lights have a negative effect on the production of collagen and results in a person who appears to have stretched, loose skin with a blotchy complexion and an increased risk of skin cancer.

Photo aging occurs over a period of years and not just in one sitting. Think of the repeated exposure that your left arm gets as you sit in the driver seat of your car. Without adequate sun protection the skin loses its ability to repair any damage accumulates.

This damage breaks down the collagen and reduces the amount of new collagen that the body can produce. Without SPF 30 or greater people who live in sunny areas such as Florida or Arizona, can show signs of photo aging as early as their late 20s.

Cosmetologists and researchers have developed the use of UV photography to see the damage which has accumulated beneath the skin surface and is invisible to the naked eye. Because of the length of time needed for this damage to become visible most people are completely surprised by the amount of aging a UV camera will illuminate.

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