Topical collagen is a very large molecule that cannot penetrate into living layers on the skin, so it doesn’t help to replenish skin’s collagen, firmness, or elasticity. In order to understand how to properly treat wrinkles, it’s first important to understand why we get them in the first place. As we get older, we have less naturally-occurring collagen and elastin in our skin. Our bodies make less of those very important proteins, we break down those proteins faster, and skin biopsies show that the fibroblasts that make these proteins lose their integrity and function. Dermatologists believe that by the time we hit 40, we have 1 percent less collagen each year.
Instead of replenishing your supply with topical collagen, you’ll want to use collagen stimulating ingredients to help kick these systems into high gear. Your best bet? Peptides. One group of peptides that truly help firm and increase elasticity in skin are ‘signaling peptides,’ like tetrapeptide 21 and rice proteins. Both of these ingredients contain amino acids, which are the building blocks of collagen, and since they are small molecules, they can penetrate down into the living layers of skin, where they signal the skin to start to make more collagen.
While peptides can be a helpful addition at any step of your routine, we suggests getting them by way of a cream-based moisturizer. These formulas are able to penetrate better than balms and oils, which means the actives will be delivered into the deepest layers of your skin so that they can really work to their full capacity. With that in mind, we recommend our own Firming and Brightening Moisturizer Ultra Benefits .