Collagen banking? Stashing your collagen for later.

The idea of banking anything sounds appealing, doesn’t it? It’s all about having a reserve to draw from when needed and paying upfront instead of maxing out the credit card.

Who doesn’t want to save up for a rainy day, a holiday, or that new outfit? Of course, we all do.

But collagen banking? Can I really store collagen somewhere in my body for later when my natural supply starts to deplete? When my estrogen takes a well-earned holiday and withdraws a significant proportion from its savings account, leaving me with a collagen deficit? Perhaps it’s time for some skin fact-checking? 

To get to the skin facts, the answer lies in the lifecycle of collagen.

We are all born with collagen in our nails, hair, skin, tendons, and cartilage.

Our skin is abundant with collagen. Just look at the chubby cheeks of a baby, bursting with gorgeous collagen, or any part of your own body for that matter, and you’ll see the efforts of your collagen, which provides your skin with its flexible strength.

So, can we bank collagen? Can we really store collagen in our bodies like money in the bank?

When we look at the wonderful world of collagen—the protein that keeps our skin firm, our joints strong, and our tissues healthy—we need to understand how it works in our bodies to grasp why “collagen banking” might be nothing more than a misleading marketing term.

Let’s start with how collagen is made.

Imagine little factories in your skin, tendons, and connective tissues. These factories, called fibroblasts, are busy making collagen.

The process kicks off with the synthesis of something called procollagen, which is essentially the building blocks made from amino acids like glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline. Next time you reach for a collagen powder or supplement, these are the amino acids you’re ingesting.

But here’s the thing—this process, including the effectiveness of collagen supplements, doesn’t work well without some help from nutrients. Vitamin C, for instance, is crucial because it’s essential for the proper function of fibroblasts and stabilises collagen structure. Zinc and copper also play essential supportive roles.

Next, these procollagen molecules undergo modifications and twist into a triple helix structure. This triple helix gives collagen its strength and stability.

Once that’s done, the procollagen triple helix is secreted from the fibroblasts into the extracellular matrix (ECM), where it undergoes further processing.

The collagen molecules then grow up, so to speak, as they reach maturity.

This phase involves enzymes, which facilitate the cross-linking of collagen fibres, making them even more robust.

These collagen fibres then bundle together, providing a strong support network for your skin.

Once fully formed, these collagen fibres act as scaffolding for your skin, giving it structural integrity.

But, of course, the role of collagen does not stop there.

When you cut yourself, your collagen diligently goes to work, knitting the wound together. There’s no collagen bank, but a cascade of events triggers the production of new collagen to heal and restore your skin.

It’s remarkable how this process works tirelessly within your body to repair itself so efficiently.

Your bank loan has been approved!

How long does it take to make new collagen?

Collagen turnover in your skin is relatively slow, and new collagen can take several weeks to months to form and mature.

Once we understand how collagen works, the concept of “collagen banking” may seem appealing. However, no matter what you read about banking collagen, it’s important to know that, unlike money in a bank, collagen cannot be stored for a time in the future when you need it.

The infinite lifespan of collagen.

Dermal therapists know and understand the cycle of collagen formation, maturation, and degradation.

Specific enzymes, known as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), break down collagen during normal tissue remodelling and repair processes.

This natural degradation of collagen is a key reason why aesthetic treatments, such as microneedling, radiofrequency, laser, and high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), have gained popularity.

Actively prompting the body to produce new collagen with aesthetic treatments is the key to improving the skin.

These treatments create controlled micro-injuries that stimulate collagen production, effectively building new collagen to smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Pretty cool, right?

While these innovative treatments are brilliant for activating new collagen, technically, we’re not “banking collagen”, but rather triggering the events that prompt new collagen to form in the skin, but just like existing collagen, new collagen will degrade depending on circumstances like age, hormonal decline and excessive sun damage. 

Stretching your collagen budget.

So, how can we make collagen last longer once it’s been activated?

External factors speed up the degradation of your collagen:

• Of course, the obvious is protecting your skin from UV radiation, which breaks down collagen fibres and leads to premature ageing.
• Smoking is another culprit. The chemicals in tobacco smoke reduce collagen production and hasten its breakdown. Smoking also deprives the skin of oxygen and affects healthy blood circulation, which is necessary for delivering nutrients, including vitamin C, crucial for collagen synthesis.
• Stress can also negatively impact collagen integrity. So, finding ways to stay calm in a restless world is worth considering, not just for the life cycle of your collagen but for your overall health. I know it’s hard, but it’s worth the effort if you can achieve more peace in your inner world.
• High sugar intake leads to glycation, a process that damages collagen. Glycation is when your cells get sticky. Unlike lines of expression, these wrinkles have a distinct appearance, often referred to as cross-hatching or triangular wrinkles.

Collagen banking for a rainy day?

So, what does all this mean for the idea of collagen banking?

Well, collagen production and breakdown are in a constant state of flux.

It’s a universal truth that collagen degradation will likely surpass production as we age, leading to signs of ageing, such as wrinkles and sagging skin.

Yep, we end up in a collagen deficit. However, as much as it sounds great, there’s no way to store or “bank” collagen for future use.

The lifecycle of collagen shows that it’s a dynamic and ongoing process, and there’s no way to store it for later.

Understanding this helps debunk the marketing myth of collagen banking and highlights why skincare, lifestyle, and aesthetic treatments play a crucial role in supporting collagen health.

If you can’t bank your collagen, then what can you do?

There’s no need to lose hope; while you can’t bank collagen, you can support its production and slow down its degradation through healthy lifestyle choices, proper skincare, and targeted treatments.

Think of it less as a rainy-day savings account and more like keeping an eye on your daily collagen balance. Like a well-managed expense account, it’s all about managing the ebb and flow of factors affecting your collagen.

Incorporating aesthetic treatments like microneedling, radio frequency, laser, and high-frequency intense ultrasound (HIFU) can further stimulate collagen production, helping to smooth out lines and wrinkles and enhance overall skin health.

When your skin is youthful, the breakdown of collagen and its visible signs are not apparent. Collagen banking does not provide you with a miraculous supply to use later when wrinkles appear. This isn’t true.

When your collagen bank account is overdrawn.

But what about if you’re already in a collagen deficit?

Sure, the rate of collagen production decreases as you age, but no matter what you do, I’m sorry to say there’s no big fat bank account of collagen waiting in the wings, ready to be withdrawn and restore what’s lost. I wish it were that easy!

Avoiding factors that deplete collagen levels and embracing those that promote its production can help rebuild a diminishing collagen network, resulting in a healthier, more robust one.

Yay to that!! No bank account required.

See you next time,