16th November 2022

The Role Of Collagen And Elastin In Skin

There is no escaping the inevitable changes that occur as we age. Beyond your skin, there are body-wide shifts that have implications on both your health and appearance. There’s a reason why so much emphasis is placed on your skin, it’s because these changes are visible and therefore very apparent, they can also impact how you feel about yourself. Dr Firas offers several advanced aesthetic procedures to help his patients maintain a more youthful complexion, but many still wonder exactly why and how their skin ages. The key is the role of collagen and elastin.

What Are Collagen And Elastin?

Collagen and elastin are both proteins that are found in abundance in your skin at an early age, although these levels start to diminish as soon as your early 20s. These proteins are largely responsible for giving the skin its shape and texture, which is why things like skin laxity and fine lines and wrinkles begin to set in as collagen and elastin production decreases over time.

Skin with greater levels of collagen and elastin not only looks more youthful and healthier, but it’s also much stronger. Collagen strengthens your connective tissues while elastin helps to maintain the elasticity that allows your skin to stretch. Later in life, it becomes harder for your skin to bounce back as it becomes thin and fragile, with the production of elastin ceasing during your teenage years as you hit puberty.

Protein-Boosting Treatments

While there is little that can be done to prevent this natural process, there are now many novel treatment applications that are proven to boost the production of collagen and elastin proteins. This allows for results that improve your skin on more than just a superficial level, as this boost in healthy skin proteins encourages long-term youthful skin behaviours. Some treatments offer an immediate result, but patients often notice that their skin continues to improve in the weeks and months that follow.

Profhilo is one of the most popular injectables on the aesthetics market right now and this popularity is reflected in Dr Firas’ own Harley Street clinic in London. It is regarded as the first treatment of its kind, neither comparable to a filler nor a skin booster. Having one of the highest concentrations of hyaluronic acid on the market puts Profhilo in a league of its own, working from within the skin to remodel ageing, lax skin, as well as offering superior hydration. This gel formula, made with patented NAHYCO® technology, stimulates the production of 4 types of collagen and elastin through the slow release of hyaluronic acid and the attraction of water molecules in the deeper layers of the skin. Profhilo even won Injectable Product Of The Year at the Aesthetics Awards 2022.

Enhance Your Results

Another collagen-boosting treatment that is taking the aesthetics industry by storm is HIFU, which stands for High Intensity Focused Ultrasound. This non-surgical skin tightening procedure uses ultrasound energy to reawaken dormant collagen proteins as well as kick-start the production of new ones. This offers an almost instant lifting and firming effect that continues to improve for up to 12 weeks post-treatment.

Many patients often pair HIFU treatments with sessions of Microneedling as these 2 procedures complement each other extremely well and offer enhanced results in the majority of cases. Microneedling, often known as ‘skin needling’ and even ‘collagen induction therapy’, creates hundreds of tiny, gentle channels of trauma across the target area of the skin. While this might sound counterproductive, these channels are more or less invisible and initiate a healing response within the skin whereby the production of collagen and elastin increases. This is another function of these proteins – to heal and repair. As a result, skin appears smoother and tighter, with other aspects of ageing also benefitting, such as a reduction in blemishes and age spots.

Schedule Your Consultation

If you’d like to find out more about these procedures or any others offered by Dr Firas, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Scheduling a consultation allows Dr Firas to assess your skin concerns and recommend a tailored treatment plan that will offer the best results for you.

Call 07494 764 201 or email info@drfirasalniaimi.co.uk. Alternatively, fill out an online contact form here.