So I may be late to this party but I'm finally understanding collagen. While researching the best products to include in the summer GetHealthySexyHappy Wellness Boxes, I ran across this cool couple with a passion to make our skin Sparkle.
I called up the founders of Sparkle Collagen and got a tutorial on how Collagen works and why some collagen supplements help more and why the peptides in creams don't always get absorbed. Here's the youthful facts:
1. Our skin is 75% Collagen
Collagen is found in the dermis (middle layer) and is the most abundant protein in the skin, making up 75% of this organ. This is also our fountain of youth providing the skin's thickness. It's responsible for warding off wrinkles and fine lines. Over time, environmental factors and aging diminish your body's ability to produce collagen and can also break down existing collagen.
Around our mid 30s we start to see our skin elasticity change as the bounce and fullness lags. The major structural component of our skin is starting to break down and we see the results in the mirror. RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU THINK THIS BLOWS!
Our socialite fast paced lifestyle and over exposure to oxidative stress can start to show signs early.
Oxidative stress is the effect of free radicals exposing good tissue to oxygen leading to the breakdown and rusting of those tissues.
2. We can protect our skin
Daily skin nutrition, rest, and moderate blood circulating exercise pause the aging process by stimulating our own natural production of collagen. Making sure we have enough antioxidants present to offset the toxins we are encountering and the oxidative stress our actions are creating helps dramatically. Giving the skin the collagen support it needs works wonders!
We know we should protect our skin from UV damage, pollution, hormones, free radicals from food, oxidative stress from toxins & doing too much.
But we're not really motivated to give a f*ck until we see the saggy, wrinkly signs of aging or feel the achy joints and fatigue.
No young person actually thinks they're going to get old - at least none of us acted like we understood it. Now, I see that hydration, sleep, reducing my toxins from inside & out, along with nutrition really help. I'm enjoying my daily scoop of Sparkle Collagen with the understanding that this is how it works to improve skin elasticity by 10%. Creams when bound correctly can help deliver peptides to the surface as well.
3. How Peptides help
Peptides are the anti-aging powerhouse snippets of amino acids. They are the messengers that hook into the receptor sights of the cells that make collagen (fibroblasts) and tell them to start making collagen. These small amino acid chains pack quite the punch!
Peptides need to remain stable and if in creams, need to be in a base that allows for their absorption in to the skin. I'm still searching for good topical serums with stable peptides.
But I have found a great internal supplement SPARKLE COLLAGEN that tastes like Lemonade and gives our body back the necessary peptides to build more Collagen from the inside out.
I've tried it now for 30 days and called up the founders to please please send me more. Starting in my early 30s is a little premature but I've sen a difference in my skin of late and sought out the founders of SPARKLE COLLAGEN for an interview. I'm excited to provide my GetHSH Wellness Box recipients as well as my corporate wellness clients with samples.
A little more Scientific:
Other major skin players:
Elastin
Elastin (elastic) is the protein found with collagen in the dermis responsible for giving structure and support to our skin and organs. As with collagen, elastin is affected by time and the elements. Diminished levels of this protein cause our skin to wrinkle and sag.
Keratin
Keratin is the strongest protein in your skin. It's also dominant in hair and nails. Keratin is what forms the rigidity of our skin.
Help each other out!
If you have a great peptide skin cream (that you don't sell or benefit from), please leave below in the comments. I do not make money off of SPARKLE but do enjoy the adorably passionate founders and the product they've created.
YOU DESERVE TO FEEL GOOD
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GETHSH is a wellness blog dedicated to researching the variables in the formula to feeling good. All suggestions should be reviewed with your licensed practitioner and taken on your own free will.