The secrets of collagen for a flawless skin care routine
The choice of the best supplements and the most effective face creams, yet professional treatments like the exclusive “The 3D collagen shock” by Palazzo Doglio’s Mindfulness Spa, here’s how to best exploit the benefits of collagen for durable and visible results.
Our skin is our first calling card, and keeping it young, bright and hydrated is the desire of many, especially after an intense summer time. In the hottest months, in fact, exposure to sunlight, salt and pollution can cause visible damage to the epidermis, making us appear tired and with a dull complexion. This is where collagen comes into play, a key protein for the health of skin, which improves its elasticity, helps maintain optimal hydration over time, prevents and attenuates the aging signs.
Collagen: what is it and why is it important for the skin health?
Collagen is a fundamental structural protein, synthesized from 20 different amino-acids in large chains of more than 1.000 amino-acids each, responsible for maintaining the structure and integrity of skin, hair, nails and joints.
While this very important protein makes up to 80% of the connective tissue in the first decades of life, playing a crucial role in ensuring skin to keep firm, elastic and hydrated even if damage or adverse environmental conditions occur, from the age of 25 its production gradually declines, with a reduction of approximately 1% per year. This decline contributes to the onset of the first visible signs of aging, such as wrinkles, expression lines and a loss of skin tone and elasticity overall.
The good news is that there are solutions to boost collagen production and so counter the negative effects, like facial creams, serums and other products to apply topically, yet collagen supplements specific for different needs, that allow skin to stay healthy and youthful even in the colder months when the risk of dehydration increases considerably.
But the benefits of this prodigious protein go well beyond the aesthetic aspect, since it also involves a beneficial effect for the health of joints, bones and muscles.
Collagen: benefits for the face skin (and more)
Thanks to its ability to improve skin elasticity and tone, collagen is a relevant ingredient for those who want to take care of the appearance and health of their facial skin in a delicate and minimally invasive way.
It is indeed a protein produced naturally by the body, therefore usually well tolerated both in the form of creams and supplements, which if used consistently can be extremely effective in significantly counteracting aging without resorting to invasive aesthetic treatments.
The main benefits of facial collagen are:
1. More elasticity and tautness
As people age, collagen production decreases, leading to progressive sagging of the skin that manifests itself mainly in thinning and loss of elasticity. Collagen hinders this effect and acts as a “support network” that keeps the skin firm and taut, slowing down the natural process of skin aging and maintaining a brighter and smoother complexion.
2. Hydration boost
When collagen levels are adequate, the skin can better retain extracellular water, remaining softer, firmer, and hydrated. On the contrary, some of the first signs of the physiological reduction of collagen related to aging are the manifestation of a drier and more dehydrated skin, therefore more prone to being marked by wrinkles.
3. Less wrinkles and aging signs
Related to the previous point, the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines is one of the first visible signs of collagen reduction in skin. This is why integrating products containing this essential protein into your daily beauty routine, both topically and orally, can help make your skin appear smoother and more relaxed, giving it tone and contributing to a fresher, more youthful appearance.
4. Reparation and restoration of skin tissues
Collagen plays a key role in skin repair processes following damage caused by UVA and UVB rays, and other environmental factors such as stress, pollution, the use of cosmetic products unsuitable for your skin type, but also by hormonal imbalances. In this sense, collagen helps the regeneration of tissues, promoting faster healing and healthier-looking skin.
5. Protection against environmental damages
Ultimately, collagen helps accelerate the natural processes of cellular regeneration following damage from exogenous factors, giving a protective effect against them, especially if related to environmental agents such as UV rays, smog and excessively dry air in air-conditioned places. This happens because when collagen levels are sufficient, the skin can better defend itself from oxidative stress, which is the primary cause of premature aging.
Moreover, although collagen is especially known for its positive impact on skin appearance, its beneficial effects also extend to other areas, promoting the well-being and functionality of the body in a holistic way.
This essential protein plays a key role in joint health, helping to keep them flexible and reduce the risk of injury, but it’s also a fundamental component of the connective tissue that makes tendons and ligaments, which helps maintain muscle mass and improve strength, making recovery easier after physical activity and, no less importantly, it helps keep a good bone density, preventing fragility and conditions such as osteoporosis, which are very common in older people.
Thanks to its impressive versatility, collagen boasts a wide range of different uses, adapting to multiple needs. It is in fact available in various forms, such as supplements, facial creams, serums and facial masks, providing targeted solutions both for external skin treatments and for internal support to the entire body.
Collagen supplements or facial cream?
One of the most common questions when it comes to collagen products is whether to opt for supplements or creams and serums. Both options have specific advantages, as they work on different levels: supplements work internally, stimulating the body’s natural production of collagen, while facial and body creams and serums provide targeted solutions, hydrating and improving the appearance of the skin. For this reason, combining both can be the most effective method for achieving satisfying and long-lasting results.
Collagen supplements: how to pick it and how to have it?
Collagen supplements, mainly available in powder, capsule or drink, became increasingly popular due to their effectiveness in supporting the skin from within. When taken regularly, they can accelerate the production of new collagen and improve the structure of skin tissue.
Once ingested (preferably in the morning or in combination with a meal including vitamin C, which helps the body to best absorb this protein), they’re separated into peptides that stimulate the natural production of collagen within the body. A process that helps improve the appearance of the skin, making it firmer and smoother, but also supports the health of joints, nails and hair. Collagen supplements therefore represent a complete and systematic solution, as they act deeply throughout the body, promoting a general state of well-being.
They’re also suitable for different dietary needs, as they can be extracted from marine, bovine or vegetable sources (in the latter case it’s not actually collagen, but a combination of plant-based ingredients that stimulate the natural production of this protein, that therefore constitutes a valid alternative for those who prefer vegan or vegetarian nourishment).
There are also designed formulations to address specific issues, such as loss of skin elasticity, bone health or muscle regeneration, making these products versatile for different needs.
Facial collagen: creams and serums for an immediate plumping effect
On the other hand, collagen-based facial creams, serums and masks act locally, hydrating, improving elasticity and stimulating skin regeneration where they are applied. This translates into a more targeted action, which allows to treat specific areas of the face and neck, with an immediate plumping effect.
Although collagen contained in these products doesn’t penetrate deeply into the tissues, modern formulations are often enriched with ingredients that stimulate the production of natural collagen, such as retinol, vitamin C and peptides.
So it would be best to adopt an approach that combines collagen supplements, which work from the inside to support the structure of the skin, with creams and serums that instead act on the surface, giving an immediate more toned and luminous appearance. A mixed action that allows to make the most of the potential of collagen, ensuring more complete and long-lasting results both in terms of beauty and general well-being.
Facial collagen: how to enhance the results achieved with creams and supplements
In addition to the daily use of creams and collagen supplements, there are several other measures that can facilitate the correct absorption of this protein.
For example, maintaining an overall healthy and active lifestyle is key to preserve collagen levels naturally present in your body and, at the same time, ensure proper production over time, but equally important is to periodically resort to professional aesthetic treatments, such as micro-needling and bio-revitalization.
Here are some practical tips to improve the production of facial collagen:
1. Include food rich in collagen in your daily diet
A diet rich in foods that contain collagen, or that stimulate its production, is key for a healthy and glowing skin. Foods such as fish (preferably fatty like salmon, mackerel and eel), eggs and bone broth are excellent sources of this protein, easy to integrate into a weekly diet.
In the field of plant foods, dark green leafy vegetables like cabbage and spinach are rich in it, while fruits rich in vitamin C like citrus fruits, red fruits, melon, mango and pineapple are excellent when it comes to give a boost to the collagen production, particularly effective in improving the health of the skin and the functionality of the body.
2. Exploit the benefits of Vitamin C
As mentioned earlier, vitamin C plays a crucial role in collagen synthesis, as it is an essential factor for its production. Without adequate levels of vitamin C, the body can’t properly absorb collagen, thus it limits its benefits for the skin and connective tissues.
In addition to stimulating collagen production, vitamin C acts as a powerful antioxidant, that protects the skin from damage caused by free radicals (molecules that accelerate the pace of cellular aging), generated by exposure to environmental factors such as pollution, UV rays and oxidative stress, compromising the structure of the collagen already present into skin, so promoting the onset of wrinkles and loss of elasticity. Vitamin C helps to counteract these negative effects, keeping the skin younger and brighter and protected from external agents and, most importantly, it strengthens the effectiveness of collagen-based treatments, with a deeper and longer-lasting impact.
3. Use regularly a good sunscreen protection
Exposure to UV rays is one of the main factors that accelerate collagen degradation, which compromises skin elasticity and firmness and contributes to the formation of wrinkles and signs of premature aging.
The daily use of a sunscreen with a broad spectrum of protection (covering both UVA and UVB rays) and SPF at least over 30 is essential to hinder such aesthetic damages, the best defense weapon against tumors and potential skin diseases. This should be applied not only in summer or on vacation, but also on cloudy days or when you are indoors, since UVA rays penetrate through windows. It’s important to apply it again every 2-3 hours, especially after doing intense physical activity, sweating a lot, or immersing in water.
4. Practice sports and motion regularly
When committing to a well-structured workout routine, including both resistance sports like weight lifting and aerobic activities like running or swimming, the body is able to increase blood circulation and improve tissue oxygenation, providing them with essential nutrients and oxygen, which are key to support cell regeneration and collagen synthesis.
Even low-impact activities, such as yoga and pilates, play a crucial role in reducing oxidative stress and inflammation, two of the main factors that can accelerate the skin aging process and degrade collagen fibers. Yoga, in addition to promoting circulation, helps reduce levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, which negatively affects skin and its ability to regenerate.
On the other hand, weight lifting and other endurance sports stimulate the production of hormones such as growth hormone, with a beneficial effect on skin, promoting collagen synthesis – not to mention the countless benefits for overall health.
5. Trust professional aesthetic treatments
To enhance the effectiveness of these daily measures, there are several specific aesthetic treatments designed to give more tone, elasticity and brightness to the complexion through technologies aimed at mechanically or chemically stimulating the production of collagen.
Among the most effective, micro-needling, which involves the use of tiny needles to create holes on the skin surface, real controlled micro-traumas that activate the natural healing processes, thus stimulating the production of new collagen and improving the texture and elasticity of the skin tissue, but also radio-frequency, which instead uses the power of electromagnetic waves to heat the deeper layers of the skin in a controlled way without any damage, causing the contraction of existing collagen fibers and stimulating the production of new ones for a true natural lifting effect. And last but not least, the innovative “The 3D Collagen Shock”, a non-invasive protocol by Natura Bissè.
The 3D Collagen Shock by Palazzo Doglio: the benefits of collagen for a natural lifting effect
A unique cocktail of bio-identical supplements for skin, to restore firmness, elasticity and tone, is the very core of the 3D Collagen Shock treatment, now available at the exclusive Mindfulness Club Spa in Palazzo Doglio, a temple of modern wellness and beauty housed in the luxurious spaces of the hotel (five-star facility in Via Logudoro), next to some of the most iconic cultural and architectural attractions in Cagliari, such as the National Archaeological Museum and the Castle of San Michele.
This is a non-invasive facial treatment, with exceptional results, a Natura Bissè signature, the renowned brand that for over 40 years has stood out in the world of skin care for its luxury facial and body products based on continuous scientific research and latest technologies in the field of cosmetics (it’s no coincidence that it was elected as “Best Spa Brand” for four years in a row from 2018 to 2021), which promises to regenerate, repair and revitalize the skin by exploiting the amazing properties of collagen amino-acids.
At the core of “The 3D Collagen Shock” there is in fact an exclusive ingredient known as 3D Matrix, a collagen derivative with three molecular weights, to deeply hydrate skin and give it firmness and brightness. To complete the treatment, elastin, antioxidants (A + C +E), proteoglycans and hyaluronic acid, which help to strengthen the elasticity of the skin barrier and increase the natural production of collagen. The result is an immediate more toned skin, “fuller” to touch and a “lifting” effect visible right from the end of the session.
“The 3D Collagen Shock” can be practiced either alone or in synergy with other anti-aging and illuminating treatments by the famous Spa for an even more visible and long-lasting outcome, such as “Restorative Eye Treatment”, an invigorating protocol for the eye contour combined with a periocular massage to oxygenate the tissues and relax the muscles, giving the gaze a brighter and relaxed appearance, and “The Citrus Experience”, a facial treatment that uses the power of vitamin C emulsions for an antioxidant and revitalizing effect.
“The 3D Collagen Shock” treatment lasts about 60 minutes and costs €120. To book it, you can phone call to +390706464156 or write an email to club@palazzodoglio.com.
Do you want to try the benefits of collagen for your facial skin and experience a holiday full of elegance and charm? Book a stay at Palazzo Doglio in Cagliari
