Lara Michell is a beauty professional who has worked for more than 20 years with major beauty and hair companies in Australia and overseas. The editor of Beauty Over 40 offers the following run-down on products – from the budget to the eye-watering – that aim to help defy those wrinkles.
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We hear a lot about collagen and ageing, but why exactly is it so important for our skin?
Gina Cook, national training manager at Ella Bache, says: “Collagen is considered to be the single most important protein of the connective tissues of the body.
“Collagen is a network that provides a strong and resilient structure to support the skin, which is made up of layers that all have varying functions. When the support to the skin is compromised, the changes can reflect the skin’s overall appearance.
Seventy per cent of our dermal tissue is comprised of collagen and this is where the skin gets its elasticity and tone. When it’s impaired, we see ageing and changes in firmness to the skin.”
The more collagen in your skin, the more elastic it is, and the fewer lines and wrinkles you see.
But collagen, like most things, declines as we age (as shown in the image below).
You can’t stockpile collagen in your skin when you are younger (unfortunately), and any collagen product or supplement will only help improve your skin’s collagen if it is depleted.
Ms Cook says: “Collagen production is stimulated by activity deep in the layers of the dermis. Skincare treatments that stimulate muscle and circulation in the skin will stimulate healthy skin resulting in skin firmness, elasticity and tone.
“Additionally, products with ingredients that stimulate cellular regeneration will accelerate healthy formation of skin cells.”
As an anti-ageing boost, it is worth using products either with added collagen, or which help your skin produce its own collagen as you age and you start seeing fine lines and a loss of elasticity (a dead giveaway that the collagen in your skin is declining).
Here are some of my favourite collagen-boosting products:
Nivea Cellular Hyaluron Ampoules
This powerful little wonder (and we mean little – it’s about the size of your little finger), contains the highest concentration of hyaluronic acid within the Nivea range. The formula helps to fill lines and wrinkles by stimulating skin cells to produce their own hyaluron and collagen, both which are found naturally in our skin. Each ampoule contains the right amount for one week’s use. You use only a small amount prior to applying day and night creams. Tests have shown that after consistent use, skin looks and feels firmer and wrinkles are plumped up with moisture as cells are stimulated to produce their own hyaluron and collagen.
Nivea Cellular Hyaluron Ampoules 7 Day Treatment. Single pack RRP $12.99, 4-pack RRP $39.99.
Ella Bache Collagen+ Treatment Oil
Perfect for drier skins, this product uses 100 per cent natural active oils to help increase the skin’s firmness and reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Australian native hemp seed oil and kakadu plum seed oil hydrate, plump and revitalise skin, while helping to protect the skin’s natural barrier. Lupinus albus seed extract helps to improve skin’s elasticity and firmness. The addition of propolis, ubiquinone and rosemary leaf extract also help to improve collagen synthesis.
Ella Bache Collagen+ Treatment Oil 30ml RRP $79.
DMK Direct Delivery Vitamin C
The hydrating formula of this serum encourages water retention, improves the organisation of cellular structures and aids the cellular repair of your skin. The inclusion of vitamins C and B helps to stimulate collagen and suppress melanogenesis (the process of melanin production) while its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties work to calm, heal and regenerate healthy skin. In helping to reduce the amount of damaged cells in your skin, the serum is ideal for wrinkles, fine lines, sagging skin, skin tone and texture, acne, darker skin tones, pigmentation and scarring. It can also be used as a pre and post-operative treatment to encourage healing and help prevent scarring. As with all DMK products, this should be prescribed by a DMK Skin Revision
DMK Direct Delivery Vitamin C 30ml RRP $165.
Olay Regenerist Miracle Boost Pre-Essence and Micro-Sculpting Cream
This wonder duo work to help strengthen skin and reduce the appearance of wrinkles. The Pre-Essence is formulated with advanced amino-peptide complex to help strengthen your skin’s barrier function and improve skin renewal. Used ahead of your moisturiser, it helps to open up the skin’s water channels to prep the skin and allow more ingredients to be absorbed. The cream is formulated with amino peptides with pro-collagen molecules that help to repair and firm skin and reduce wrinkles.
Olay Regenerist Miracle Boost Pre-Essence 40ml RRP $39.99, Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream 48g RRP $48.99.
Estee Lauder Advanced Time Zone Night Creme
Applied at night, after serum, this cream helps to deliver intensive moisture overnight. The Tri-HA cell signalling complex helps skin boost its own production of ultra-hydrating, line-plumping hyaluronic acid by up to 182 per cent in just three days (tests conducted in-vitro). The addition of a night-time amino acid complex helps to optimise skin’s natural replenishment of collagen.
Estee Lauder Advanced Time Zone Night Creme 50ml RRP $120.
Antipodes Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream
This product may be small, but it packs a punch. Formulated with kiwi seed oil (rich in omega-3 and vitamins C and E), avocado oil and carrot seed oil, this lightweight gel nourishes, soothes and calms the delicate skin around your eyes and helps to smooth the appearance of fine lines. The cruelty-free, vegan, certified organic formula has been shown to help accelerate collagen production.
Antipodes Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream 30ml RRP $59.
Priori Q+SOD fx230 Eye Creme
For those with more mature eyes (read deeper lines and wrinkles), this eye cream is perfect. It is formulated with CoQ10, a powerful antioxidant to help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and improve skin hydration, Super Strength SOD to help protect and nourish the delicate skin around your eyes, and 12 per cent lactic acid to help (very) gently exfoliate skin, and boost hyaluronic acid and collagen production. Used over time, eyes look more refreshed, firmer and skin more retexturised.
Priori Q+SOD fx230 Eye Creme 15ml RRP $120.
Jergens Oil-Infused Skin Firming Lotion
If you’re finding your body skin a little crepey and lacking in firmness, this oil works to firm and smooth cellulite prone and crepey skin. The formula is infused with seaweed extract and Centella asiatica extract, botanical elixirs high in collagen and elastin to help with skin firming by improving texture and restoration of skin elasticity.
The lotion also contains caffeine, a natural stimulant that helps to smooth the skin’s appearance and texture. The hydrating moisturiser helps to visibly firm skin. Skin is left hydrated and nourished and, over time, elasticity and firmness is improved.
Jergens Oil Infused Skin Firming Lotion 496ml RRP $11.99.
This article first appeared on smartcasualclassic.com.
Have you invested more in moisturising products as you’ve aged? What is your go-to product?
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