How to increase the amount of collagen in your skin?
Shea butter and collagen therapy? I myself didn’t realise how shea butter affects the amount of collagen in the skin, but in the end I’m not a biochemist. So I will try to pass on my knowledge without biochemical nomenclature as well. I invite you to read on!
This is what young skin looks like. Under the epidermis, in the dermis, there are collagen fibres that make the skin firm and smooth.
And this is what old skin looks like. Significantly fewer fibres mean that the skin no longer holds the same tension, resulting in wrinkles.
Shea butter and collagen therapy? I myself didn’t realise how shea butter affects the amount of collagen in the skin, but in the end I’m not a biochemist. So I will try to pass on my knowledge without biochemical nomenclature as well. I invite you to read on!
This is what young skin looks like. Under the epidermis, in the dermis, there are collagen fibres that make the skin firm and smooth.
And this is what old skin looks like. Significantly fewer fibres mean that the skin no longer holds the same tension, resulting in wrinkles.
Collagen is a protein that is the main component of connective tissue in the skin and plays a key role in maintaining its elasticity, firmness and structure. Unfortunately, the body’s natural production of collagen decreases with age, which can lead to a loss of skin elasticity and the formation of wrinkles. Adding collagen to creams aims to provide the skin with this valuable protein, but the effectiveness of using collagen in cosmetics is debatable. There are several factors that affect whether collagen in a cream will have real effects:
1. The size of the collagen molecules: collagen molecules are quite large, which can make it difficult for them to penetrate the outer layer of the skin. In some cases, collagen may remain on the surface of the skin, not reaching the deeper layers where it is most needed.
2. Collagen stability and activity: some products may contain collagen with low stability or chemically modified collagen, which affects its ability to interact with collagen naturally found in the skin.
3. Individual skin needs: The effectiveness of collagen in a cream can vary depending on skin type, age, health, as well as other external factors such as sun exposure or smoking.
It is also worth noting that the skin has the capacity to absorb substances only to a limited extent. Therefore, some studies suggest that collagen in cream may have a more limited effect than, for example, collagen used in invasive procedures (cosmetic surgery).
Although adding collagen to creams may have some benefits, a more effective approach to stimulating collagen production in the skin may be, for example, the use of creams with substances that promote natural collagen synthesis, and this is where we come to shea duafe butter, which is unlikely to be associated with collagen production.
Well, after a long introduction, briefly: shea butter contains triterpenes, such as lupeol, which stimulate collagen production in the skin. This is essential for maintaining skin firmness and preventing premature ageing. On top of this, shea butter has powerful anti-ageing properties – and I write about this additionally because it is exactly the effect we expect from collagen therapies: the combination of moisturising, nourishing and collagen-stimulating properties makes shea butter such a good product by nature that it has become a useful ingredient in anti-ageing cosmetics, helping to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
That’s why it’s worth reaching for the best, in my opinion, cream that nature herself produces for us!
Photo by Polina Kovaleva: https://www.pexels.com/pl-pl/zdjecie/osoba-twarz-patrzacy-piekno-6543617/