BERITA SEMASA

COLLAGEN AND KEEPING THAT AGELESS FACE

The root of the word "collagen" is very apt in two ways. Collagen means, "glue producer" (kola = glue in Greek) - as glue was derived from early times by boiling animal hooves and sinew to make glue.

But for us in the beauty industry the "glue" idea is also applicable, as collagen is the "glue" that keeps the connective tissue together and healthy collagen is needed for keeping that ageless face.

What is collagen?

Collagen is a protein and is found in all body parts, including the largest organ of the body - the skin - and is made up of three strands of repeating amino acids coils coiling into the unique collagen triple helix.

Various types of collagen are found in the body and are required to build new cellular structures - like skin - and to repair any damage caused.

Types I, III and V are specific collagen types involved in the health of your skin.

What does collagen do?

Together with soft keratin, the collagen and elastin fibers are responsible for the strength and elasticity of the skin - and degradation of the collagen leads to aging and accompanying wrinkles.

What damages and destroys collagen?

With the onslaught of normal aging, the collagen in our skin is under attack and various factors hasten the degradation of collagen.

Sun tanning and sun exposure is one of the main culprits of collagen deterioration in our skin and inflammation also destroys collagen.

Large amounts of free radicals - which are formed during normal body functions (oxidation), can also destroy collagen - and here a person can specifically look at pollution and toxins in your environment, fat filled diet as well as cigarette smoking and consuming alcohol.

While on the point of cigarette smoking, it is important to note that the body requires vitamin C in order to make collagen - and without it, many things in your body will deteriorate at a hastened pace. Smoking kills off the ascorbic acid molecule - so if you cannot quit smoking, then maybe look at taking a supplement of vitamin C.

An excellent example of vitamin C shortage and its effect on collagen is the old English sailors that suffered scurvy, a shortage of vitamin C, which resulted first in loose teeth and ultimately death - since collagen could not be formed to keep the body together.

Although it may sound flippant to talk about physical appearance in the face of death, it would have been interesting to note the skin condition of these sailors - as a shortage of vitamin C would have shown very quickly in the tone and health of their skin.

Although a Finnish study could not detect morphological changes in the skin of smokers, they did find that type I and III collagen synthesis is decreased and the regulation of ECM turnover is altered in smokers, which may lead to deterioration of the tensile strength and resiliency of skin in the long term.

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