Ever wondered how our skin that is so firm and smooth in our younger days, suddenly becomes so loose and saggy after a point? What causes this drastic transformation? The short answer is – a lack of collagen protein in the skin. Read on to find out why this protein is important for us and what can we do make it last longer in the skin.

The reason we have a firm skin when we are young is – there is plenty of collagen protein in our body to go around. Our body itself produces pure collagen and elastin internally, which keep the skin firm and elastic.

As we age though, this ability of our body to produce collagen and elastin keeps on decreasing. A lack of these proteins results in the skin becoming loose and wrinkly.

So the answer to wrinkles is obviously to increase the collagen content in the skin. The tricky part is in doing it the right way.

One of the common ways people try to do this is by injecting collagen into the skin directly. While this is somewhat effective in reducing wrinkles, there are two problems with it.

One – these injections do not contain pure collagen as is found in the human body. This is a synthetic variation of the protein that is derived from cows and pigs. It doesn’t integrate properly with the collagen fibers present in the body. This is the reason the effect of the injection begins to wear off in a few months and then you have to take it again to have continued results.

Two - you can have some side effects too due to the synthetic collagen in the injection. These include allergic reactions, hyper tension and muscle weakness.

Even creams containing collagen as an ingredient do not contain pure collagen. It is the same synthetic variety as found in the injections. Not to forget, collagen molecules are too big in size to be able to penetrate through the skin. So these creams are anyway ineffective.

The best way to increase collagen protein in your skin is to enable your body to produce more of it.

Natural substances likeManuka Honeycan help you do this. This honey has been found to enhance collagen and elastin production in the body. It is also an effective moisturizer and keeps the skin soft and supple.

Cynergy TK, an extract from the wool of New Zealand sheep, is also very effective at stimulating collagen and elastin production in the body. It also stimulates the antioxidant activity of the body which fights off free radicals.

Make no mistake about it. Using artificial collagen protein is not going to help you much. Rely only on natural substances to give you pure collagen, and watch your skin transform into a fresh and youthful one.