Don’t forget to eat your….collagen?

As you know by now, we simply can’t say enough great things about collagen! Collagen is the natural beauty secret sauce.

It’s the main natural ingredient for keeping your skin lifted, plump and hydrated. As we know too well, our bodies own collagen production beings to wane in our early 20s (Remember them days?!?)

Our very favorite treatments tend to have collagen and/or collagen boosting properties – notably Sculptra.

Here’s a trick for enhancing the effects of your treatment at home – eat it.

Recent studies have proven “oral supplementation with collagen peptides…improve skin barrier function, induce the synthesis of collagen and hyaluronic acid and promote fibroblast growth and migration.” *

Fibroblast is a cell in connective tissue that produces collagen and other fibers.

According to one study, after taking collagen supplements daily for just four weeks, the collagen density of the dermis increased significantly. And after eight weeks, skin hydration was also significantly increased. Both effects persisted for more than 12 weeks.

Basically, the study was “offering a mechanistic explanation for the observed clinical effects.” These observed effects were noticeably more youthful and hydrated skin.

There’s many ways to eat your collagen. You can find it at health food stores and even at Whole Foods.

Collagen can be taken as a supplement or as a powder you can put in beverages. One patient whirs it up in the blender with her coffee every morning. It gives coffee a rich and creamy texture. Hmm, interestingly not unlike what it does for her skin…

Taking collagen at home won’t give you the quick and targeted results that something like a Sculptra treatment provide. But it will help increase treatment benefits.

It’s one more you can keep looking as beautiful as you feel – from the inside out.

*December 2015, Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology “the effect of oral collagen peptide supplementation on skin moisture and the dermal collagen network: evidence from and ex vivo model and randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials.”

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