How Can I Increase Collagen Production?

Hopefully, I will not be the only dermatologist to answer this question. First, although you did not ask this directly, you must first try to prevent your collagen's degradation. It is a redundancy, but redundancies are true: wear a good sun screen. Put a sunscreen next to your toothbrush. The youthfulness of your skin is just as important as the whiteness of your teeth. I like Aveeno with Feverfew. Aveeno uses the same helioplex technology as Neutragena and Feverfew is the strongest... more

As you age the following things take place in your skin: The amount of collagen produced is diminished and the type of collagen changes from a more youthful type of collagen to an older type of collagen. The production of collagen never ends. The Elastin in your skin decreases in content as well as production. But it also does not completely stop being produced. The Melanin granules (color/pigment in your skin) in the upper layers of your skin coalesce into pocket, we call them freckles,... more

While I think the reviews of the other physicians is excellent, there is one additional article to reference. The August 19, 2008 issue of the New York Times has an article referencing a review in The Archives of Dermatology. The articles states: "A recent review in The Archives of Dermatology concludes that three anti-aging treatments are proven clinically effective: the topical application of retinol; carbon dioxide laser resurfacing; and injection of hyaluronic acid, a... more

Hello, While we know that the skin decreases collagen production as we age, we are not sure how items solely increasing collagen production or soft tissue fillers will fare over time. As another doctor mentioned, there are multiple types of collagen present in different tissues. This is not a simple supplementation situation. I am more of a believer in therapies with which we have experience. Retin A has been around for decades and is now in generic form. It is a good skin conditioner with... more

Collagen is a structural protein and is a principal component in skin, cartilage and connective tissue. There are several subtypes of collagen and each part of your body can have a different mixture of these collagen subtypes. Your body will continue to produce collagen throughout your life. Collagen and other proteins like elastin are components of youthful skin. There can be decreased collagen content in older skin in comparison to younger skin. It is not completely clear if that is... more

Collagen has many function but is essentially a space occupying grout-like material between cells. As we get older, the PROPORTION of different types of Collagen in and under our skin as well as the quantity of total collagen change. Some of the collagen is changeable but a lot of it, despite everything you read out there, is NOT. The same cells producing collagen, fibroblasts, ALSO produce a LOT of collagen when they lay down scar tissue, whose major component is collagen. Whenever... more

KTLamb, I feel one of the easiest and least expensive ways to stimulate collagen synthesis in your skin is Retin-A. Retin-A is a form of Vitamin A which comes in creams and gels. Continued daily treatment leads to maintenance of collagen and stimulates new collagen and elastin in your dermis. In combination with good skin hygiene, good nutrition and wearing SPF you can help keep your skin healthy.

I agree with my colleagues below- Retin-A as part of a good, prescription level skin care program supervised by your Board Certified Plastic Surgeon or Dermatologist is a great start. Avoiding sun-worship and eating healthy/drinking lots of water are requisite to good skin health as well. Once you've followed these guidelines, further improvement is possible through skin resurfacing techniques. In my practice I use the Mixto SX laser for skin resurfacing (but many good options exist) and... more

I agree with Dr. Williams' statement that your body will continue to produce collagen all your life, but as you get older, the amount of collagen produce will decrease. It is true that the older you get, the thinner your skin becomes. No one can really say definitively that collagen production slows at age 25. Rather, I believe that the way a person ages is largely dependent upon genetics. Look at the skin quality of the elder people in your family and you'll have somewhat of an idea of... more

One sure way to produce collagen is to exercise the skin. By exercising the skin, we mean to exfoliate. By exfoliating, removing the surface layer of dead cells, the skin is shocked into production of new cells which helps stimulate new collagen production. We make the analogy of going to the gym. When you work out your muscles they are able to regenerate and come back stronger and more toned than before. The same holds true for the skin. Exfoliate the skin to keep your skin in shape and... more

Creams that contain Vitamin A can increase collagen production of your skin. Vitamin A is an ingredient of some OTC creams. Stronger formulas of Vitamin A containing creams have to be prescribed by a physician.