Can Collagen Penetrate the Skin?

Our skin is made up of collagen, so you may think that putting collagen onto your skin would absorb it an improve it. Sorry to dispel this theory, but collagen is made up of such large molecules, that it basically lies on your skin.

I had a collagen infused facial last week, and I learned a lot about how collagen works and how scientists are trying to create formulas for collagen in order for it to more benefit the skin.

When collagen is added in whole form in a cream, it does hold a lot of moisture in, so it is not a bad ingredient. It is great for locking in the moisture as I said making moisturizing claims true, but it simply will not strengthen your skin when used in this way.

Large skin care companies are starting to use partially hydrolyzed collagen,where collagen is ground up into such tiny fragments that a small amount of collagen can actually penetrate the skin. This is creating a bit of controversy though, as some skin care specialists think that the broken down fragments are too small to mesh into the collagen that is already in our skin. This would make the process (which is expensive, so it in turn makes the creams expensive) worthless.

There is some exciting new technology that should be able to deliver full-size collagen deep into the skin via topical application. The question is will it work by simply applying it to the skin, and will it actually mesh with the skin owns collagen enough to be beneficial.

For now, when you see that collagen is used in a skin cream be wary of it’s claims. I am on the side of believers that collagen cannot penetrate the skin enough to be beneficial in topical form. I can’t wait to see what technology and the future brings though, as a topically applied collagen could be a huge anti-aging success.