Bellagena is a skin care studio and med spa located in Bradenton, Florida
What Can Collagen Do for Your Skin?

What Can Collagen Do for Your Skin?

Written by:

Julia Padilla - Carr

Julia had the vision of creating a clinical skin care studio with the traditional spa atmosphere for many years. Julia is a Licensed Aesthetician, Licensed Electrologist, and Certified Laser Hair Removal Technician in the State of Florida.

Skincare is science.

The key to high-quality, science-based skincare is harnessing the body’s natural processes to produce the healthiest results. Often, this means isolating and enhancing the substances that the body relies on to produce, maintain and heal healthy skin.

Collagen is one of the most important substances when it comes to skincare.

Here at Bellagena, Bradenton’s highest-rated med spa, we use collagen every day. And while many over-the-counter health and skincare products tout the value of collagen, it takes a certified, experienced aesthetician to harness its power effectively.

What is Collagen?

Collagen is the most abundant and widespread protein in the body. Its importance is due to its complexity and its diversity. As with all of the body’s proteins, collagen comprises strings of amino acids forming peptides.

(Read more about peptides in an earlier Bradenton skincare blog.)

In total, the body contains 28 types of collagen. It can be found in a number of organs and tissues, including connective tissues (tendons and ligaments), muscles, eyes, kidneys, and your bones.

And, of course, there’s collagen in your skin.

What Type of Collagen is in Skin?

When it comes to skincare, we’re primarily talking about “type 3 collagen.” Your skin cells (as well as your blood vessels) contain supporting tissue called “reticular fibers (reticulin). Type 3 collagen is the primary component of reticulin fibers.

Type 3 collagen is everywhere when it comes to embryonic cells and in the development of heart health. A genetic deficiency in type 3 collagen, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, causes fragile blood vessels and skin.

But type 3 collagen decreases in your body as you age. And scientific studies show that it also decreases by 20% due to chronic sun exposure. So attention sun-loving Floridians: You want a Bradenton med spa that knows the ins and outs of collagen.

What Type of Collagen Does My Skin Need?

As with most skincare issues, collagen is highly personalized and depends on your skin type, overall health and health history, lifestyle, and plenty of other factors. Only a skincare professional can give you a good idea of your skin’s collagen situation, and they need to see you in person in order to make that assessment.

Since we’re talking specifically about Bradenton skincare, we can’t underestimate factors like age and sun exposure.

And nutrition matters, too.  Bradenton vegans take note: Type 3 collagen is only found in animal tissues. (In supplements, it’s often sourced from bovine collagen peptides, which come from cows.) Type 3 collagen is not found in plants.

Do Collagen Supplements Work?

Nutrition is vital to skincare. Supplements can be helpful in boosting the amount of importance in your body—but only to an extent.

Type 3 collagen contains three identical chains of amino acids, which must be broken down by the digestive system before they can be absorbed.* So when you’re taking collagen supplements, you need to think about three things:

  1. Does this supplement contain type 3 collagen—ie the type of collagen your skin needs?
  2. Regardless of the type of collagen, your body will have to break it down in order to absorb it.
  3. Only a small portion of the nutrients in supplements gets absorbed by the body.
  4. Your body will have to reassemble the necessary collagen in order for it to benefit your skin.

 

*Some collagen supplements actually contain hydrolyzed collagen—that is, a collagen protein that’s already been broken down so that your digestive system can absorb it faster.

Bradenton Med Spa Collagen Treatments

So, where does your skin’s collagen come from?

Many doctors agree: Your skin probably benefits most from topical collagen in scientifically formulated skincare products. But trying to navigate these kinds of products on your own can be daunting as well as prohibitively expensive.

For your Bradenton skin’s collagen needs, come see us at Bellagena. Our experienced and caring professional aestheticians are here to provide you with a personalized assessment and collagen-promoting game plan.

Don't Get Left Out!

Related Articles