What exactly is collagen?

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Good collagen and elastin is the key to healthy and youthful skin.  Basically we can think of the collagen and elastin as a mattress; the collagen is the mattress and the elastin is the spring that holds it together.  Elastin is responsible for giving our skin the ability to ‘snap back’, and collagen is responsible for the connective tissue and it’s ability to hold everything in place.  Unfortunately from our early twenties our collagen will begin to decline, and to keep our skin youthful we need to find ways to nourish our collagen. With advanced skin treatments we can actually create new collagen.

The main reasons our collagen will begin to decline are:

Smoking

UV damage

Pollution

Dramatic weight loss

Sugar

Loss of estrogens during menopause

How can we increase our collagen?

We can slow down loss of collagen by;

* Micro-needling (collagen induction therapy)

* Eating a diet rich in Vitamin C and cutting out sugar

* Wearing a high SPF

* Having a good skin care routine

Micro-needling is one of the best ways to turn back the time on all signs of aging by using your body’s natural healing process to induce new collagen.  Micro-needling is delivered in one of two forms either with a roller which has hundreds of little needles, or a pen like device (Micro Injector) which quickly moves over the skin and is virtually pain free.  Once the skin has been numbed; your aesthetic therapist they will begin working the device over the skin starting from the forehead and finishing at the bottom of the neck.  This treatment results in a controlled injury to the skin, thus resulting in the body being ‘tricked’ into thinking there is an actual injury- this is when the body’s healing process kicks in.  Collagen is a key component in wound healing, hence why this treatment is also referred to as collagen induction therapy.  The body will then over the next few weeks produce more collagen, and with the added collagen the body can then produce more elastin.

microneedling-diagram

Once the new collagen has developed the results are truly astounding, after a few weeks clients will notice:

* A dramatic decrease in lines and wrinkles

* Tightening of the skin

* Increased circulation

* Reduction of scar tissue

* Reduces open pores

* Plump and youthful skin

After the treatment the micro channels will remain open for about an hour, your therapist will apply anti-aging peptides which will head straight into the epidermis.  In most occasions when we apply anti-aging ingredients to the skin they will lie on the surface and not deliver their full potential, however after micro-needling they will reach any damaged cells as well as activating our stem cells which decline as we age.  Clients will usually require between three and five treatments depending on their skin concerns.  Micro-needling has already proven to be a big hit for celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Demi Moore and many more and if it is good enough for them it is good enough for us…