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By age 40, your skin will begin to lose about 1% of its collagen each year. This is why after 40, many people start to see more wrinkles forming and their skin becomes looser and thinner. This is a natural consequence of the loss of collagen.
However, there are ways to prevent this from happening to some extent. When it comes to skincare for beginners, you should know that the foundation of healthy skin is lots of collagen. If your skin doesn't have enough collagen, your skin will start to look old.
But if you supplement your diet and skin with collagen, you can stay young for years to come. But what exactly should you know about using collagen for your skin and what it involves? Keep reading the healthy skin guide below to find out.
Why is Collagen So Important for Maintaining Skin Health?
You may know that collagen is supposed to be good for your skin, but you may not know why. The first thing you should know is that collagen for skin, along with elastic, can be seen as the scaffolding that holds your skin cells together. Collagen is what makes your skin feel and look supple, firm, and youthful.
It also helps skin elasticity. Young people (those 25 and under) have a lot of collagen. When a young person pinches his skin, it snaps right back into place because collagen makes it so elastic.
On the other hand, when an older person pinches the skin, it springs back to its original position but at a much slower rate. This is because loss of collagen also contributes to loss of skin elasticity. Over the years, as a person begins to lose more and more collagen, that person's skin will only become more wrinkled and thinner.
Of course, the only logical step would be to use collagen to prevent this from happening. There are two ways in which you can use collagen for your skin. You can apply creams enriched with collagen molecules directly on your skin or you can consume collagen.
Details
While you can get collagen through foods like pork, bone broth, etc., a person is often physically unable to consume enough of these foods to get all the collagen they need. Therefore, there are collagen supplements. You may wonder whether topical collagen or powder form is a better choice.
Generally, taking collagen is better than just applying it topically. In fact, collagen moisturizers may be similar to regular moisturizers. This is because the collagen molecule is quite large.
Therefore, they often cannot penetrate the skin deep enough to make a difference. While collagen moisturizers can make your skin soft and supple, they won't work any differently than regular moisturizers. But what if you consume collagen instead?
What You Need To Know About Taking Collagen
When taking collagen, you should always ensure you are taking the right collagen supplement. This is because you should know about several types of collagen; some are better for your skin than others. For example, the main types of collagen you should look for in a supplement are types I, II, III, and IV.
Types I and III are essential for the skin, while others are also important for joints, ligaments, muscles and other tissues throughout the body. Hydrolyzed collagen is the most common form of collagen supplement. It is a type of collagen powder that comes from various animals such as cows and sea creatures.
While plant collagen does exist, it usually doesn't work as well as animal collagen. Using collagen supplements is very easy. All you need to do is take a supplement pill or mix collagen powder into your favorite drink.
What to Know
It is recommended that you consume collagen for skin health daily if you want to see improvement. But how much collagen should you consume? It depends on what you want to achieve by consuming collagen.
If you want to improve your skin, you only need to consume 2.5 grams of collagen per day. You will need to take collagen supplements for several weeks before you see results. However, after a few weeks, you will notice that your skin is starting to look smoother and healthier.
You may even see more prominent results if you consume more collagen daily. Some people believe consuming 5 to 15 grams of collagen daily is the key to maintaining healthy and supple skin. In addition to maintaining healthy skin, consuming this amount of collagen will also maintain the health of your joints, muscles, and bones.
Taking more than 15 grams of collagen daily does not appear to improve skin health compared to consuming smaller doses. To take this dose, all you need to do is follow the dosing directions on your supplement. Often, all you need to do is toss a scoop or two of collagen powder into your drink or grab a collagen gummy to get all the collagen you need for the day.
Collagen Skin Care for Beginners
It's never too late to learn more about skincare for beginners. Collagen is the foundation of a good skincare routine. If you want to ensure that your skin stays healthy and youthful throughout your life, then you should try consuming collagen with your regular skin care products.
You can buy collagen vitamin products on the link provided above or you can also consume collagen from your favorite natural foods below
Chicken
Chicken is a great source of collagen because it contains the necessary amino acids to produce the right amount of collagen, making it a lean meat you should consider adding to your diet and a rich source of collagen.
Kiwi
Kiwi is a less glorified fruit when it comes to collagen production. But this little furry fruit has a lot to offer. Loaded with vitamin C which interacts with the amino acids glycine and proline – this fruit will help restore your skin!
Leaves
We all know that green is good for our health. But more than just healthy, green vegetables can also do amazing things for your appearance. The chlorophyll, which affects the color of the leaves, increases collagen production. So just add a handful of kale, spinach or chard to take your salad to the next level.
Cashews
When you're ready to wind down after a long day at work, and you want to snack on something nutritious, reach for those cashews (almonds are great, too). These nuts contain antioxidants, vitamin E, vitamin C, zinc, and copper – all natural vitamins that will keep your collagen working longer.
Bone Broth
Although it only ranks fifth on our list, bone broth is one of the most popular sources of collagen. Boiling different bones into a clear broth causes the bones to release collagen. The only problem with this solution is that it may take hours to make a high-quality broth. So your best bet, which will also ensure a quality product, is to buy pure, primed bone broth.
Shellfish
Similar to bone broth, the best thing about Shellfish and fish (with the skin) is that the scales and bones are packed with collagen. But regardless of which part of the fish you choose to add to your diet, studies show that every part of fish has anti-aging skin benefits. Oysters are very rich in copper, which is known to increase collagen production.
Citrus
You've probably heard all about the benefits of vitamin C, but did you know that it's also a great precursor to collagen? There are many ways to go about it, but whether you're squeezing a fresh glass of orange juice or having grapefruit for breakfast, you'll get that extra burst of youth.
Berry
If you thought lemons and oranges were packed with vitamin C, just wait till we tell you how rich in vitamin C berries are. Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries are all rich in antioxidants that keep skin fresh and clean. Furthermore, vitamin C will work wonders on your collagen levels.
Egg-White
Eggs are a great source of protein in general. But more specifically, they have a lot of amino acids, which, as mentioned before, promote collagen production. Plus, according to certain studies, egg white protein builds muscle strength, which can maintain skin elasticity.
The beans
Beans and legumes are excellent protein supplements for vegans and vegetarians. It also makes it packed with amino acids, which function as procollagen. Plus, like oysters, they contain a healthy type of copper.