Here Comes The Sun: Collagen and Sun Exposure

Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo, here comes the sun, and I say, it’s alright… or is it? Whilst The Beatles may have loved basking in the sun, collagen and sun exposure don’t exactly go hand in hand, with unprotected exposure leading to premature ageing and potentially undesirable results for the skin. As practitioners and clients alike prepare for the summer sun, it’s important to understand how sun exposure affects collagen production and can lead to aged skin. 

This Fox Pharma blog will answer the questions ‘Does collagen help sun-damaged skin?’ and ‘Does the sun get rid of your skin’s collagen?’ to help you understand how to treat your clients’ sun-damaged skin. We will also explore the benefits of aesPlla and how this industry-leading PLLA stimulator supercharges your clients’ collagen production for a visibly youthful complexion.

First of All: What is Collagen and How Do We Lose it?

Collagen is a fibrous protein that is produced naturally in the body. With its primary functions being providing strength and support, it helps to maintain a youthful appearance and taught skin. However, collagen production declines significantly as we age, leading to sagging skin, fine lines and wrinkles. 

Collagen is composed mainly of the amino acids glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline, which are bound together tightly and give healthy skin its plumpness. Collagen makes up the main part of our dermis and is responsible for our skin’s barrier function. It also encourages regeneration of the skin by restoring dead skin cells.   

There are several factors that accelerate our loss of collagen over time. These are things like smoking, intake of sugar, ageing, and, of course, sun exposure. Whilst collagen loss is inevitable over time, there are ways to restore collagen as we age, maintaining a youthful, healthy-looking complexion and smoother skin.

Does the Sun Get Rid of Your Skin’s Collagen?

Unprotected sun exposure is the leading cause of premature skin ageing. So, why does the sunshine affect our collagen production so much? UV rays from the sun can penetrate the skin dermis, which is made up of collagen, elastin, and other fibrous proteins that support the skin’s structure. These UV rays damage the collagen fibres, leading to loss of collagen over time. Collagen is a fibrous protein which retains the firmness of the skin, and elastin is also a fibrous protein that supports the skin and allows it to bounce back. The degradation of both collagen and elastin is what leads to premature signs of ageing in the skin.

Unprotected sun exposure can not only reduce collagen but also damage your clients’ skin and lead to health concerns like melanoma. It is important to encourage your clients to avoid unprotected sun exposure as a preventative measure to protect the quality and health of their skin.

Does Collagen Help Sun-Damaged Skin?

Put simply, yes. Offering collagen treatments to clients with sun-damaged skin is a great way to reduce visible signs of ageing they may have encountered.

Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies – it helps strengthen hair and nails while promoting healthy and youthful skin. A lack of collagen can lead to volume loss as the skin’s structure is weakened and reduced, therefore providing clients with collagen treatments can reverse and reduce these concerns. 

aesPlla: Liquid Sunshine for Your Skin

Restore your client’s natural radiance with an aesPlla treatment and encourage a renewed glow that lasts up to three years. This bio-stimulatory PLLA injectable offers intelligent rejuvenation, harnessing the skin’s natural collagen production to gently plump the skin and restore lost volume. This treatment is ideal for mature clients who have experienced volume loss as a result of prolonged sun exposure and ageing.

Qualified practitioners can buy aesPlla to offer in their clinics and provide clients with a complete summer glow-up. Initial results are visible from four weeks post-treatment. The Future of Restorative Injectables, aesPlla provides superior longevity in comparison to other injectable treatments, with no top-up needed for years after the course of treatment. Patients will need three to four treatment sessions, spaced four weeks apart, to achieve optimal results. 

aesPlla is ideal for clients aged 30 and over, who have concerns of natural volume loss because of UV ray exposure from the sun or other factors, such as ageing or weight loss. This innovative injectable stimulates the natural production of new collagen, which replenishes collagen lost through sun exposure, to smooth and volumise the skin.

So, what is aesPlla and how is it different from other hyaluronic acid fillers? PLLA collagen stimulators offer a softer look and subtly volumise the skin, specifically improving the appearance of fine lines and facial harmony. 

Whilst aesPlla creates a plump, healthy-looking glow, it is important that clients still take preventative measures to protect their skin from harmful sun damage through SPF and other protective measures.

Topical Collagen in Skincare

Topical collagen isn’t the same as the collagen our bodies produce as it is a synthetic version that isn’t absorbed by our skin. Surprisingly, collagen in skincare products is not often vegan, because (historically) collagen has been derived from fish. However, there are more vegan collagen formulas now popping up on the market.

There are various types of skincare ingredients which can help to boost collagen production and aid cell turnover, such as retinols. Whilst there are claims that topical treatments improve the production of collagen and enhance the firmness of skin, there are no substantial studies that prove this.  The molecules in topical skincare formulations are too large to penetrate below the surface of the skin, as only molecules of 500 Daltons or less can effectively cross the skin barrier.  

Collagen and Sun Exposure

Offer collagen stimulators and help your clients turn back the clock on sun-induced signs of ageing. Summertime can mean extended time in the sun. An aesPlla treatment can provide your clients with a youthful-looking complexion by stimulating collagen production and replenishing the skin when collagen is lost through exposure to UV rays. Here comes the sun, here comes aesPlla.
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