The cosmetics market is full of skin care treatments that aim to correct and combat the skin's visible signs of aging. Dermatologists offer a plethora of anti-aging treatments, as well, and the development in the techniques and technology of plastic surgery have yielded many more ways to maintain gleaming looks. Collagen is key to the skin's youthful appearance, and collagen supplements are increasingly popular in the anti-aging skin care market. While safe supplements seem like a preferable alternative to plastic surgery or chemical treatments, whether they offer any benefit to the skin is debatable.
What is Collagen?
Collagen is a protein produced within the body that connects and supports all bodily tissues, and is considered the natural glue that holds the body together. Collagen has many functions inside the body, and plays a key role in the overall health and appearance of the skin. It accounts for more than 70 percent of the skin, most of which is in the thick dermal, or middle, skin layer, between the skin's surface and the fatty tissue beneath. Unlike most other proteins, the collagen in the skin is not matter composed of clumps of molecules, but of a mesh of fibrous matter that contains essential amino acids. Sufficient collagen ensures that the skin is thick, firm and supple.
Collagen and the Aging Process
Up until the skin reaches its peak strength, typically around age 35 for healthy adults, collagen actively repairs and regenerates itself, replacing old cells with newer, healthier ones. However, the natural aging process comes with a slowdown of collagen production. As people age, not only does collagen production decline, but the quality of the skin's collagen also declines. This brings on the visible signs of aging in the skin, as it becomes thinner and its protective capabilities weaken. The skin loses its radiance and natural moisture. Wrinkles form and skin discoloration becomes increasingly visible, as materialized sun damage from the dermal skin layer is more easily seen at the surface.
Poor health choices, such as smoking cigarettes and excessive drinking, speed up the aging process, since unhealthy habits, diet and lack of exercise are harmful to collagen productivity within the body. Such lifestyle choices and their subsequent collagen effects cause premature aging.
Function of Collagen Supplements
The intent of collagen supplements is to restore collagen and/or collagen-producing stimulants back into the diet after the natural protein has begun depletion in the body. According to the article, "The Skin You're In," by Jane Glenn Haas of The Orange County Register, NeoCell Corporation has produced multiple types of collagen supplements that intend to restore the body with essential ingredients to produce the protein naturally. The company introducted collagen food supplements to the market 17 years ago, according to a NeoCell Corp. consultant, Ahmad Alkayali, who suggests people begin taking the supplements at age 35, when the natural production of collagen begins to slow down.
Alleged Skin Benefits
According to information on nutridirect.co.uk, collagen supplements are not just beneficial, but necessary, and the body responds significantly to the collagen boost offered by supplements. Just like the benefits of natural collagen protein, collagen supplements promise to decrease the visible signs of aging, plumping and firming the skin to diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Collagen supplement enthusiasts also claim that the supplements will reduce the appearance of cellulite (the skin dimples caused by uneven fat pockets that lie just below the skin's surface). Collagen supplements also allegedly maintain the skin's evenness of tone and texture, as well as suppleness, elasticity and radiance.
The Debate on Effectiveness
Not everyone believes supplements have any effect on the skin at all. Dr. Malcolm Paul, a plastic surgeon in California, offered his input in the aforementioned "The Skin You're In" article. Dr. Paul questions the claims of collagen supplements, as one of many medical doctors who protest the effectiveness of any supplement for the skin, claiming they do nothing but create "expensive urine." Dr. Paul suggests that taking collagen will not thicken the skin, and that there is no proof that supplements offer any benefit. The article, "Collagen And Its Role In Great Skin Care," on naturalskinhealth.com also suggests that collagen supplements are ineffective, explaining that collagen is too complex to be re-created in a way that will actually benefits the skin.
Safety and Side Effects
According to the information reported on nutridirect.co.uk, collagen supplements have been used safely in Europe for decades to treat osteoporosis and arthritis. The same source indicates that no side effects have ever been reported from collagen supplements.
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