Collagen Notes

When a person smiles, frowns or squints, stress is placed on the collagen in the skin, wearing it down over time and resulting in the formation of facial lines and wrinkles.

Collagen is a natural structural protein complex found in all mammals. The structure of collagen is complex, but very similar in humans and higher animals, including cattle and
pigs.

Because the injected Collagen is not exactly the same as native human collagen, the immune system will gradually digest it, preventing permanent incorporation. Collagen injections are not permanent.
Injected Collagen may last for over a year, but in some individuals will only last for several months.

The most important building block in the entire animal world, collagen is the tie that binds the animal kingdom together.

Life is a string of complex molecules: polymers.
Nature's most abundant protein polymer is collagen.
More than a third of the body's protein is collagen.
Collagen makes up 75% of our skin.

The more science learns about the body, the more integral we see collagen to be.

Collagen
Acts as a scaffolding for our bodies.
Controls cell shape and differentiation.
Is why broken bones regenerate and wounds heal.
Why blood vessels grow to feed healing areas.

The Collagen mesh provides the blueprint, the road map and the way. Collagen is the fibrous protein constituent of skin, cartilage, bone, and other connective tissue.

Most people interested in maintaining youthful skin and reducing wrinkles have heard about
collagen. It's something "they put in expensive creams or inject into wrinkles." Well, there is
much more to collagen than that. Collagen is a protein (a biological polymer consisting of amino acids) that serves as a key structural component of connective tissue such as skin, bones, ligaments, etc. Dermis, the inner layer of the skin, contains large amounts of collagen whose fibers form a supporting mesh responsible for skin's mechanical characteristics such as strength, texture and resilience.
As any material, collagen is subject to wear and tear: it slowly breaks down over time. Skin cells
called fibroblasts are capable of producing collagen. When needed, fibroblasts replace broken
collagen fibers with new ones. Unfortunately, as we age the skin's ability to replace damaged
collagen diminishes and more gaps and irregularities develop in the collagen mesh. This process eventually leads to wrinkles. Thus, one important target of wrinkle prevention and elimination regimen is to reduce collagen breakdown and increase its supply. This task is achievable but you have to go about it in the right way.

Many factors contributing to accelerated collagen breakdown can be fully or partially neutralized. They include sun damage, free radicals, some age-related hormonal changes, and smoking.

Aging of the skin shifts the balance between collagen production and breakdown leading to wrinkles, facial sag and rough skin texture. Stimulating skin cells to produce collagen can partly reverse this process. Stimulating collagen synthesis in aged skin was shown to reduce wrinkles and improve skin texture. The benefit of stimulating your own collagen production is that collagen is deposited in an orderly, structured manner and that there is no risk of allergy, immune reaction or injection-induced infection. Furthermore, many ingredients useful in stimulating collagen synthesis are relatively safe.

Stimulation of collagen synthesis in aging skin is realistic and can substantially improve the
appearance of fine lines and even deeper wrinkles when done correctly. However, it requires a
comprehensive approach. Production of collagen is a complex process, not unlike the assembly of a car. Many parts and assembly tools must come together to efficiently create a product. Similarly, many things are needed to efficiently produce collagen.

Vitamin C: Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is essential for efficient synthesis of collagen. Many of the
symptoms of scurvy (vitamin C deficiency disease) such as bleeding gums, skin hemorrhages
and poor wound healing a due to impaired collagen synthesis. On the other hand, supplying extra vitamin C can accelerate collagen synthesis especially when other key ingredients are also in abundance. While vitamin C is useful for rebuilding your skin's collagen and reducing wrinkles, it could be of no benefit or even harmful if used improperly.

When your skin is young, the collagen framework is intact, keeping your skin moisturized and elastic. Young skin is resilient-the facial lines that appear when you smile or frown simply disappear when you stop smiling or frowning.

Over time, the collagen framework weakens and your skin loses its elasticity. Older skin is
less resilient, so the facial lines that appear with a smile or frown don't disappear when you stop smiling or frowning.

Skin is your body's largest, and most visible, organ. Your skin is composed of two layers:

The uppermost layer of skin, called the epidermis, acts as a protective barrier. The epidermis
controls the loss of water from cells and tissues, and without it your body would quickly
dehydrate.

Just beneath the epidermis is the second layer of skin, called the dermis. This layer is composed primarily of a protein called collagen. Collagen forms a network of fibers that provides a framework for the growth of cells and blood vessels. As the primary component of
the dermis, collagen acts as the support structure for your skin.

Collagen is a natural biomaterial that has unique properties and has been used for health care since the ancient Egyptian civilization. It is the most abundant protein found in the body.
There are 13 different types of collagen. Types 1, 3 and 5 are specific for skin.

Chains of amino acids make up collagen. These chains form collagen molecules which in turn, from fibrils. These fibrils produce fibers. Bundled fibers lead to body tissue formation.

Distribution and orientation of collagen reflects the function of the tissue in which it is found. For example, it is collagen that transmits tension in tendon, lends structural support in skin and bone and limits expansion in arteries.

Collagen plays an integral part during each phase of wound healing and is an excellent hemostatic agent. It absorbs 40 - 60 times its weight in fluid.

When applied to a wound, collagen initially acts as a hemostatic agent. Continued application seems to aid and hasten the body's own repair mechanisms.

Without collagen you would be a slimy little puddle on the floor. Flesh, bones, skin, tendons,
cartilage -- all get their shape from collagen.

To be more exact, we are shaped by a microscopic collagenous mesh that permeates every corner of the body: bones, skin, muscles, tendons, cartilage all are shaped and nurtured by this mesh. This mesh turns out to be extraordinarily important to the way we look and feel. It is the main actor in the extra cellular matrix, a support system necessary for the survival of every cell in the body. A term used loosely for it is "connective tissue".