Collagen and Aging

By Nasrin Mani, M.D.

Collagen is a protein that is found abundantly in the human body and plays an important role in the appearance and character of your skin.

Collagen, along with elastin, keeps the skin firm and taut. When collagen production slows, the amount of collagen in your skin declines and your skin begins to wrinkle and show signs of aging. In addition to wrinkles, as your skin loses collagen it may begin to sag visibly.

You cannot stop the body’s natural changes, but there are many ways to stimulate the production of collagen to rejuvenate the appearance of the face. Most laser skin rejuvenation treatments achieve their results in whole or in part by stimulating the production of collagen in the skin, as does Thermage.

Collagen injections were common dermal fillers used to plump up your skin and smooth the appearance of aging, wrinkled skin. But the injected collagen would break down fairly quickly, with results that rarely lasted three months. Collagen injections have been replaced by newer options that give longer-lasting results, including Sculptra, which stimulates your body’s production of its own collagen.

To find out more about collagen and collagen injections, please contact our experienced skin specialists that serve patients in southern California.