As hours turn into days, days turn into months, and months turn into years, aging will eventually catch up with us all. It isn’t the best feeling in the world to look in the mirror and see a much older version of the young, spry version of yourself. Sadly, there’s no way to get past it. With our bones becoming more brittle, skin aging, losing elasticity, our muscles deteriorating, and much more, aging is inevitable, regardless of how healthy you stay. At the same time, there are many ways to reduce the number of wrinkles your skin has and supplements you can take to stay healthy and get the nutrients you may be missing.
As we continue to age, the skin under our eyes is one of the first places where it begins to deteriorate due to aging. For many people, especially women, wrinkles below the eyes can cause insecurities, and people need a solid way to eliminate them. How does one go about rebuilding the collagen underneath your eyes? Here are some of the easiest ways to do so!
Continue reading to learn:
- What is Collagen?
- What Happens to Collagen as We Age?
- How Can You Rebuild the Collagen Under Your Eyes?
What is Collagen?
Collagen is an integral part of our skin, so it’s essential to understand what it is and what it does!
We have all heard of collagen, but what exactly is it? Learn more about collagen and what it does for your skin!
Collagen is a protein produced by your body that provides support for muscles, ligaments, tendons, cornea, and fascia—as well as strengthens the skin and bones. It makes up between 30 percent of the proteins in your body. It is a connective tissue in your body to keep tissues, skin, and more super firm.
Collagen is responsible for other functions besides structural integrity between the systems of the body. It stimulates the repairing of muscles and skin after injuries, allows for cellular communication, and helps aid your immune system.
Fibroblasts produce and maintain collagen to develop the middle skin layers and repair skin cells. They also help maintain a protective inner lining within your organs, for example without your stomach lining the acids within would completely wreck your entire digestive system. Also when you receive a cut or an abrasion, collagen helps to clot the blood to ensure that you do not lose any more than you already have from the injury.
Protein from your diet works together with collagen to ensure your skin is super healthy, keeps elasticity, maintains its ability to stretch out, and returns to normal. Without protein or collagen, our skin would be unable to hold up the way it does.
There are twenty-eight types of collagen, but Type I collagen makes up about 90% of the collagen within our bodies.
The three types of collagen include:
- Type 1 - Holds cells and tissues together and can be found in your skin, bones, ligaments, and many other places throughout the body. This type of collagen makes up around 90% of the collagen within your body.
- Type 2 - Found in the elasticity of the cartilage and your cushion in between your joints.
- Type 3 - Keep the structure of your organs, muscles, and arteries intact.
There are many different types of collagen, but these main three are essential to support the overall health of your body.
What Happens to Collagen As We Age?
As we age, the collagen in our body breaks down, but what else happens?
Collagen continues to deteriorate as we age, but there are many reasons why and how it does!
As we age, collagen begins to break down, and along with the aging of the fibroblasts, is not replenished faster than it is broken down. The collagen that is produced isn’t as strong as it was when you are younger, so it does not have nearly as much structural integrity as it did when you were younger.
Collagen production and retention takes a nosedive specifically in women undergoing menopause. But for all people nearing their 60’s it is normal to see a decline of the protein within the system.
When collagen breaks down in your skin, wrinkles begin to develop all over your face and body, but it starts to show on your face before anywhere else. This is because we constantly express how we feel with our expressions. Wrinkles can appear around our eyes, forehead, mouth, and cheek area, and we can develop laugh lines from smiling or even laughing. The constant use of the skin, especially since the skin around the eyes and on the face is much thinner, means something as simple as frowning can break down the structural integrity of the skin.
The skin around our eyes is about 10 times thinner than any other skin on our bodies. The most significant factor that breaks down the collagen around our eyes is the sun, which can cause permanent effects on our eyes. Tiredness and age also affect how the collagen in your eyes will hold.
Sign of collagen loss can include:
- Wrinkles
- Limited mobility within the ligaments, tendons, and muscles
- Issues with blood flow
- Arthritis and joint pain
What are some ways to prevent collagen loss within the body?
A great way to prevent the loss of collagen is to make some lifestyle and habit changes that can also impact your overall health as well. One being smoking, as smoking inhibits Type I (which is the major type of collagen in the system) and Type III collagen synthesis, affecting the development of the protein and your overall health. Nicotine also constricts blood flow to the skin making wrinkles and damage more apparent.
Eating too many carbs or sugars can affect collagen production as well, since sugars bind to proteins and damage them significantly. And exposure to extreme ultraviolet light damages the skin and collagen production significantly as well. So next time that you hit the beach use some extra sunscreen to keep your skin glowing and your fibroblasts happy.
How Can You Rebuild Collagen Under Your Eyes?
Keep the skin around your eyes healthy and prevent the collagen from breaking down with these tips and tricks!
There are many ways to rebuild the collagen within your body, especially underneath your eyes, to prevent them from wrinkling or losing elasticity rapidly.
How to rebuild collagen underneath your eyes:
- Take Collagen Supplements - Supplements, such as Dr. Emil’s Multi Collagen Plus, offer many great benefits and include five types of collagens to support the many parts of the body.
- Ingest More Vitamin C - Vitamin C stimulates collagen production and synthesizes the collagen within your body. Whether you are taking vitamin C tablets or increasing the number of citrus fruits you eat, it can boost production.
- Chemical Peels - Have you ever thought about getting a chemical peel? Consider getting one to help repair sun-damaged skin on your face. These remove the superficial layers of the skin to reveal lower, healthier layers and stimulate collagen growth by removing damaged skin.
- Aloe Vera - Applying aloe Vera to the skin or taking it orally can stimulate the production of collagen. This is why it is often used to heal cuts and burns.
- Limit Your Caffeine Intake - Caffeine is a bio-inhibitor of collagen production because it suppresses the enzymes that create it. So, to ensure skin health, reducing caffeine is a good idea.
- Red Light Laser Therapy - If you want a type of treatment done, consider red light laser therapy, which can increase collagen growth in your skin. It enacts the mitochondria within the cells, increasing the cell's production of proteins and overall health of the skin.
- Increasing Protein in Your Diet - Collagen is extremely dependent on amino acids so foods like fish, eggs, and poultry are vital to the production of collagen within the body. A Mediterranean diet can also increase collagen health, as well as overall health.
- Increasing Your Intake of Zinc, Copper, or Manganese - through supplements or diet, increasing these vitamins within the system can increase the amount of collagen created and retained within your skin, muscles, ligaments, and bones.
Additional Tips to Keep Your Skin Healthy
With the strategies mentioned above, it is essential to have good overall skin health if you want to preserve collagen in your body. Here are some additional tips for you:
- Stay Hydrated: Proper hydration is the key towards keeping your skin elastic and healthy. Drink plenty of water throughout the day and use good quality moisturizers.
- Sleep: Good slumber is the time when your skin naturally repairs and regenerates. Get 7 to 9 hours of good sleep each night and let your body repair and build your collagen.
- Antioxidants: Foods rich in antioxidants—blueberries, nuts, and leafy green vegetables—are able to counteract oxidative stress that might damage collagen.
- Regular Exercise: Exercise can improve blood flow and even feed your skin to keep collagen production going.
With all the above-mentioned strategies, good overall skin health is what you should have towards maintaining the collagen in your body. Here are some more tips for you:
Sunscreen and UV Protection
You should keep your skin away from UV light to really preserve the collagen under your eyes. Excess sun is a sure-fire way of degrading the collagen fibers and creating premature aging. Apply broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 30 around the eyes and wear sunglasses to protect that thin skin from UV damage. Now, this is not all that is needed to prevent collagen degradation. Sunscreen use is important in this regard as well, but it also prevents skin cancers and multiple problems that may arise from your skin.
Incorporating Retinoids into Your Skincare Routine
Retinoids are vitamin A derivatives that essentially enhance collagen; this is through cell turnover and the creation of collagen within your skin. Apply creams or serums containing retinoids to reduce fine lines and wrinkles and better the texture and elasticity of your skin under the eyes before you go to bed. Start from lower concentration to avert irritation, and gradually increase as your skin builds tolerance.
With the help of these tips, you will considerably improve the health and appearance of your skin around the eyes. Surely, it is impossible to stop the process of aging, but using these techniques, you can look youthful and fresh, feel more confident, and enjoy your life.
Rebuilding collagen under your eyes is pretty easy when you take the necessary steps. Taking supplements, changing your diet, or even going through skin treatments to prevent collagen from breaking down can keep you looking young and beautiful.
Not only does increasing the collagen production within your body maintain glowing, beautiful skin but improves your overall health too. Consider some of the lifestyle changes above as well if you are not able to take supplements or are allergic to some of the foods listed within the article. Talk to your doctor today about rebuilding collagen underneath your eyes!
You should consult a licensed health care professional before starting any supplement, dietary, or exercise program, especially if you are pregnant or have any pre-existing injuries or medical conditions.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases
