There’s no doubt that collagen is the beauty buzzword of the moment, with everything from collagen supplements to collagen-infused face masks promising to improve the integral bounce of your skin. And while we also know that collagen levels begin to dwindle from our mid-20s (it degrades at a rate of around one per cent a year from our mid-20s onwards), it’s important to first understand exactly what it is and what it does.

“Collagen is the scaffolding that supports the skin,” explains dermatologist and Klira founder, Dr Emma Craythorne. “Without it, or with less of it, the skin can lose its integrity and grow loose.” When that happens, you may notice everything from slackening contours, more lines and wrinkles appearing, and even pores appearing larger.

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Located primarily in the dermis, collagen gives our skin its strength and smoothness, facilitates wound healing and helps to retain moisture. Over time, collagen naturally declines through both internal and external processes. Collagen fibres themselves become fragmented within the body, while UV exposure can make your skin drier and less elastic over time.

“Collagen is an abundant structural protein in the human body and plays a central role in maintaining the integrity, firmness and elasticity of the skin,” aesthetic doctor Dr Sophie Shotter explains. That’s why younger skin bounces back if you press it gently, in opposition to older skin, which is softer and less taut. “It is, therefore, a crucial target in skincare, particularly in anti-ageing treatments and strategies focused on preserving skin quality.”

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Besides ageing, there are plenty of external factors that can cause your collagen levels to decline more rapidly. “Environmental exposures, such as UV, smoke and pollution, play a big role in the degradation of collagen,” says Dr Ash Soni, an aesthetic doctor with a clinic in Ascot and a residency at Surrenne at The Emory in London. “These exposures generate free radicals, which cause accelerated damage to our cells. In addition, enzymes called Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are increased by these exposures and lead to the breaking down of our collagen too. GLP-1 agonists in recent years have also been on the rise, and there has been emerging data demonstrating that they can affect collagen production and negatively affect the function of fibroblasts.”

As always, prevention is better than cure. The more we can inhibit collagen breakdown, the better our skin will fare as we age. It will come as no surprise that the “number-one accelerator is exposure to ultraviolet radiation or UV light”, as Craythorne points out. In other words: sun exposure and sun damage. There’s a reason why every dermatologist worships at the altar of broad-spectrum SPF (factor 30 at a minimum), because, as well as preventing skin cancer and hyperpigmentation, it’s essential in order to preserve collagen levels.

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Once you have your efforts to preserve collagen in hand, it’s time to proactively boost your collagen stores. “An easy at-home route is to use a prescription-grade retinoid,” says Craythorne. “Vitamin A acts like a hormone and passes messages to the fibroblasts in the skin’s dermis, instructing them to switch on and start making more collagen and hyaluronic acid,” she says. But if retinoids aren’t for you, then vitamin C has also been proven to support collagen synthesis.

From your mid-20s the body’s natural collagen levels begin to decline, and it’s a slow and steady downward trajectory from there. Once you get to menopause, however, that decline starts to ramp up, with women losing on average around 30 per cent of their collagen in the first five years after menopause.

In clinic, collagen induction therapy includes treatments such as microneedling, radio frequency and ultrasound skin tightening, as well as laser. “Ablative lasers burn tiny holes into the skin that have to heal, a process that prompts collagen production,” explains Craythorne. If you’re considering microneedling, why not try it with the addition of exosomes, which Soni says can help to stimulate collagen and generally complements plenty of other treatments in this area.

“In the injectable space, there have been some huge advances in collagen stimulating treatments,” says Soni, which is welcome news for anyone looking to boost their levels beyond what topical skincare can do. “Polynucleotides have become hugely popular over the last four years as a regenerative collagen biostimulator derived from wild salmon or trout DNA fragments. I use Plinest HPT polynucleotides in practice and have had lovely results for all areas of the face and body, by improving skin texture and quality.”

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Sculptra (poly-L-lactic acid), a regenerative plant-derived bio-stimulator that works to stimulate the body’s own collagen synthesis, is another one to watch. “It works by increasing type 1 collagen (supportive and structural collagen) by 67 per cent in 12 weeks,” explains Soni. “You get this lovely and natural lifting effect and improvement in elasticity and skin health.”

“Biostimulatory fillers such as Julaine, Sculptra, HarmonyCa and Radiesse (calcium hydroxylapatite) offer long-term collagen stimulation along with volume restoration, making them ideal for mature skin,” Shotter adds, while PRP therapy is another option and involves injecting “platelet-rich plasma derived from your own blood.” This accelerates tissue repair, enhances collagen production and can be combined with microneedling.

Diet is key. “Your body needs vitamin C, zinc, manganese and copper to produce collagen, so it’s important to have these in your diet,” Shotter explains. A collagen-rich diet can pay dividends when it comes to skin health, too. Focus on foods like bone broth, salmon and egg whites.

Ensure that you get enough sleep and take steps to manage your stress levels. “This supports hormonal balance and skin regeneration,” says Dr Shin-Young Cho, Korean specialist dermatologist at Future Care Medical.

Typically, dermatologists aren’t huge fans of using supplements to boost collagen stores, because there’s no conclusive evidence to show that collagen peptides actually make their way to the skin. Craythorne does, however, agree that they can improve skin hydration when taken regularly.

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“Retinoids  – such as retinol, retinal and GP-prescribed tretinoin – are the gold standard, directly stimulating fibroblasts to increase collagen production and improve skin texture over time,” Shotter explains. Not only that, but retinoids can help with skin elasticity restoration, improving firmness and rough or bumpy skin texture.

“Antioxidants, such as vitamin C, have been shown to protect against free radical damage caused by environmental exposures, which in turn degrade our collagen,” says Soni.

According to Soni, if you want to really address your own collagen supplies, look for unique peptides like Tripeptide-1 and Hexapeptide-12 that can stimulate collagen and elastin production and help to recycle our old fragments of collagen and elastin that sit in our skin as waste.

“Broad-spectrum sunscreens (SPF 30+) are essential to prevent UV-triggered collagen breakdown via MMP enzymes – arguably the most important long-term intervention. Additional support comes from growth factors, niacinamide (vitamin B3), and other antioxidants, which reduce inflammation and protect the dermal matrix,” explains Shotter.

The best products to boost collagen

IntelliRET™ 0.3+

• Why it’s -approved: Micro-encapsulated, time-released retinol ensures effective delivery and efficacy while minimising irritation, while a botanical complex helps to smooth skin, refine texture and promote a visible glow and firmness.
• Retinol, niacinamide, honey, sodium hyaluronate

• Why it’s -approved: A great intro to retinol for newcomers, this gentle but effective formula uses one per cent vegan retinol to smooth skin alongside peptides and tranexamic acid to firm and fade dark spots. To mitigate any irritation the formula also contains plenty of soothing ingredients like centella asiatica.
• Vegan retinol, peptides, tranexamic acid, centella asiatica, Tazman Pepper™, German chamomile