From the Treatment Room: "How do I get firmer skin?"

We hear so much about collagen in skin care. Collagen creams, collagen serums, collagen supplements, and treatments that promise to boost collagen. Elastin doesn't get quite as much attention, but it is just as important when we're talking about how our skin changes as we age.

So what are collagen and elastin, why do we lose them, and most importantly, can we actually put them back?

Collagen and Elastin: What's the Difference?

Collagen and elastin are proteins that make up an important part of the supportive structure of our skin, but they have different jobs.

• Collagen gives our skin strength, structure, and firmness. Think of it as part of the framework that helps support the skin.

• Elastin gives our skin its elasticity and resilience. It allows the skin to stretch and then return to its original shape.

When we're younger, our skin is very good at producing and maintaining both. As we age, collagen production naturally slows, and the collagen we already have begins to break down. Elastin also changes and becomes damaged over time.

Sun exposure plays a particularly important role in accelerating this process, which is why I talk so much about sunscreen.

Can We Replace the Collagen We've Lost?

This is where collagen skincare can get confusing.

• Applying collagen to your skin does not put new collagen back into your skin.

• Collagen is a large protein and cannot simply travel through the surface of the skin and become part of the collagen structure underneath.

That doesn't mean topical collagen is useless.

• Collagen and hydrolyzed collagen can be wonderful moisturizing and conditioning ingredients. They can help the skin hold onto water, feel smoother, and look plumper temporarily.

• And well-formulated collagen products may contain other active ingredients that do much more.

The important thing is to look beyond the word collagen on the front of the bottle and look at the entire formulation.

This Is Where Peptides Get Interesting

I've talked about peptides before, and they are particularly interesting when we're talking about collagen.

• Peptides are small chains of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. Certain peptides can act almost like messengers, communicating with the skin and supporting processes involved in collagen production and repair.

• Instead of trying to put collagen back into the skin from the outside, certain peptides can help support the skin's own natural processes.

• Some peptides may signal the fibroblasts—the cells responsible for producing collagen—to produce more of the proteins that support the skin's structure. Others may help support the skin barrier or protect the supportive matrix surrounding our skin cells.

• Not all peptides do the same thing, and simply seeing "peptides" on an ingredient list doesn't automatically mean a product is going to build collagen. The type of peptide, concentration, stability, and overall formulation all matter.

But this is an important distinction when you're choosing a collagen-focused product.

The collagen in the bottle isn't necessarily the ingredient doing all of the work.

Can We Stimulate Our Own Collagen?

To some degree, yes.

And I think this is a much better way to think about collagen as we age.

Rather than asking, How do I replace the collagen I've lost?, think about how we can protect the collagen we have and support the skin's ability to produce more of its own.

Several skincare ingredients can play a role.

• Retinoids are among the best-studied topical ingredients for supporting collagen production.

• Vitamin C is necessary for normal collagen synthesis and is also an antioxidant, helping protect the skin from oxidative damage.

• Certain peptides can support signaling pathways involved in collagen production and maintenance.

Professional treatments can also play an important role.

LED light therapy, particularly red and near-infrared light, uses specific wavelengths of light to influence cellular activity in the skin. This process, known as photobiomodulation, can support fibroblast activity and collagen production while also helping calm inflammation and support the skin's repair processes. I use Celluma LED light therapy in the treatment room as a gentle, non-invasive way to support overall skin health and complement other treatments.

Other professional treatments can go another step further. Treatments such as microneedling, radiofrequency, RF microneedling, and certain lasers create controlled stimulation in the skin. The healing and remodeling process that follows can stimulate new collagen formation.

What About Elastin?

Elastin is where things get more complicated.

Elastin is much harder for our skin to rebuild than collagen.

Adult skin has a very limited ability to produce new, mature elastic fibers. Once those fibers have been damaged, particularly from years of UV exposure, we can't simply replace them with a cream or serum.

• There is some evidence that retinoids can influence elastin and support healthier remodeling of the skin's structural matrix. Certain professional treatments may also stimulate elastin-related remodeling and the formation of new elastic fibers.

• But the research is much stronger for stimulating collagen than it is for completely rebuilding elastin.

• That makes protecting the elastin we already have incredibly important.

And once again, we come back to sunscreen.

Protect, Support and Stimulate

Protect what you have.  Daily broad-spectrum sunscreen is one of the most important things you can do. UV exposure accelerates the breakdown and abnormal remodeling of both collagen and elastin. Antioxidants such as vitamin C can provide additional protection from oxidative stress.

Support your skin.  Use well-formulated products containing ingredients such as retinoids, vitamin C, peptides, and barrier-supporting ingredients. Healthy skin needs a healthy environment to function properly.

Keep the skin hydrated and the barrier healthy.  Hydration isn't going to create new collagen or elastin, but hydrated skin looks plumper, smoother and healthier, and maintaining a strong skin barrier is an important part of overall skin health.

Stimulate when appropriate.  Professional treatments such as microneedling, radiofrequency and certain lasers can stimulate the skin's natural wound-healing and remodeling processes. These treatments can be particularly helpful when the goal is improving firmness, texture and overall skin quality.

And don't forget nutrition.  Our bodies need adequate protein, vitamin C, zinc, copper, and other nutrients to make and maintain the proteins found throughout our skin. Nutrition isn't going to magically replace lost collagen, but it does provide the building blocks our bodies need to function properly.

Where Do Facials Fit In?

Regular skincare treatments can help create and maintain a healthier environment for the skin, which is an important part of supporting the skin as it ages and is part of a long-term skin-health strategy. 

• A facial allows us to look at what your skin needs right now. Is it dehydrated? Is the barrier compromised? Does it need exfoliation? Are we trying to improve texture and brightness, or are firmness and loss of elasticity becoming more of a concern?

From there, we can choose treatments and ingredients that support those particular needs.

• Professional exfoliation can help remove accumulated surface cells and encourage healthy cell turnover. Hydrating and barrier-supporting treatments help maintain the environment the skin needs to function well. Antioxidants can help protect against oxidative stress, while treatments incorporating peptides and other targeted ingredients can support the skin's natural repair and renewal processes.

And then there are the things we sometimes underestimate—consistency and prevention.

• A facial isn't going to replace lost collagen or elastin. What it can do is help us continually assess the skin, keep the barrier healthy, maintain hydration, address changes as they happen, and make sure your home care is supporting what we're doing in the treatment room.

• Professional treatments and home care work together. What we do during a facial is one piece of the puzzle; what you do for your skin every day is another.

When those two things work together, we're not trying to make the skin look younger overnight. We're helping it function as well as possible and supporting its strength, resilience, and overall health as it ages.