Collagen Treatments As A Wrinkle Fighter

Wrinkled and sagging skin are common troubles that come with aging. The main cause is the altering of the internal structure of the skin.

A major change occurs in the connective tissue which forms the dermis. In the middle skin layer, the supportive fibers wear out and tear. The fibroblasts, cells which reproduce these fibers, valiantly fights back. But the number and functionality of these cells declines in time. It's a losing battle.

The skin looses its firmness and gets an unpleasant wrinkled appearance.

What Can You Do To Smooth The Wrinkles?

There are several means of rejuvenating your skin, varying from injections with substances to strengthen your skin's smooth muscle, or substances to fill in the loose depressed areas in the dermis, or plastic surgery.

Of these options, one of the simplest, quickest, and most efficient way is to inject collagen directly into the wrinkles.

What Is The Effect Of Collagen?

One of the major impairments in aged skin is the loosening of the collagen meshwork. Therefore, its replacement with a similar substance improves the strength and the appearance of the surface skin.

Collagen injections are useful for smoothing wrinkles and fine lines, as well as for repairing scars. Or even lip enhancement.

It is injected into the dermis, under the groove of the wrinkle, causing it to plump up at once. However, this neither triggers your fibroblasts to produce more collagen, nor impedes your fibers to wear out. Moreover, the injected collagen doesn't integrate into the local meshwork.

So, it doesn't stop the aging process, it only fills up the "gaps." The new injected collagen resorbes into the body. The effect lasts 6 to 12 months, depending on the type of product used.

What Collagen-Based Products Are Available?

The most commonly used one is purified bovine collagen. It received FDA approval over 20 years ago and has been successfully used ever since.

At present, there are two types of cow tissue derived collagen:

1. Zyderm, which is meant for the improvement of superficial imperfections, such as the smile lines or crow's feet forming around the eyes or fine lines around the lips.
   
2. Zyplast, a stronger material designed for deeper wrinkles or areas with stronger muscles, such as the corners of the mouth.

A more recent development is a form of injectable human collagen that lasts longer than bovine collagen.

Furthermore, it is now possible to make a collagen filler out of your own skin fibroblasts. This method extracts those cells from your skin, makes a culture in laboratory conditions, and then injects these new fibroblasts into the sagged, wrinkled areas. The advantage of this new technique is that this collagen forms bonds with the existing fibers, tightening the local meshwork.

Adverse Effects

With bovine derivatives, there is a risk of allergic reactions (less than 3% rate) and an even slighter possibility of developing auto-immune disease.

What Are The Results?

Collagen injections lead to an instant skin smoothening. They require no downtime.

The effects will last at most one year, but the procedure may be repeated several times. It may be applied along with Botox or peels as well.