COLLAGEN 

If you are on social media following any sort of health posts, it's impossible to miss the big news about Collagen. Whether it's a booster you add to coffee or a powder you add to your shakes, Collagen is all the rage!

Collagen fibers support body tissues, together with keratin gives the skin its elasticity and strength.
As we age it's more obvious when we look in the mirror that our body is losing collagen at a rate of 1% every year after the age of 25, because our skin starts to sag and becomes wrinkled.

Arthritis and Osteoporosis:
Those riddled with arthritis and joint pain are often told to take collagen supplements to help increase muscle mass and prevent bone loss. Collagen can help relieve pain associated with Osteoporosis and morning stiffness.

Wrinkles & Fine Lines:
Collagen supplements or products with collagen can help prevent wrinkles and fine lines. Using collagen sheets in a facial, adds an instant boost of collagen which is visible as soon as the facial is complete.

SUGAR IS DAMAGING YOUR COLLAGEN!

Sugar damages your skin through a natural process called glycation. The sugar in your bloodstream attaches to proteins to produce harmful free radicals called advanced glycation end products (AGEs). As AGEs accumulate (the more sugar you eat, the more you develop), they damage the proteins around them.

1. Damages Collagen & Elastin

The proteins that are most vulnerable to damage are those that serve as the building blocks for your skin: Collagen and elastin. These proteins keep skin firm and elastic and are responsible for the plump and bouncy characteristics of a healthy and youthful complexion. AGEs make your collagen and elastin stiff, dry and brittle, zapping them of strength and spring. The effects are seen on your complexion in the form of fine lines, sagging and wrinkles.

2. Affects The Type Of Collagen You Have

A high-sugar diet also affects the type of collagen you have. Your skin contains three primary types of collagen (aptly named Type I, II and III). The stability and resilience of collagen build with each stage: Type I is the weakest and Type III the strongest. Glycation degrades Type III collagen into Type I, thereby diminishing your skin’s structural strength and stability.

3. Deactivates Natural Antioxidant Enzymes

In addition to damaging your skin’s essential proteins, AGEs deactivate your body’s natural antioxidant enzymes. Without protection from antioxidants, your skin is more vulnerable to the free radical damage caused by environmental assailants like pollution, blue light and UV rays. Left to roam (and bind to your skin’s structural proteins), free radicals trigger oxidative stress that contributes to premature aging of your skin.

Here are the tell-tale signs on your face that sugar is the culprit aging your skin:

• The surface of your skin looks hard and shiny.
• Deep, crosshatch lines appear along your upper lip.
• Discoloration and hyperpigmentation mark your skin.
• Deep crevices appear, especially around the laugh line area.
• The skin around your jowl area is sagging.

This easily absorbed, potent gel serum delivers concentrated plant peptides and botanicals to diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles for visibly smoother, plumper and more youthful-looking skin. Ideal for all skin types, especially aging skin, the Smart Collagen+ Complex rejuvenates the look of the complexion while unique algae extracts increase firmness and provide long-lasting hydration.

• Smart Collagen+ Complex: minerals, amino acids and botanicals reveal significantly smoother skin with the appearance of fewer fines lines and wrinkles
• Botanical Peptides (from Rice Protein): naturally derived for reducing the look of fine lines and wrinkles
• Blue-Green Algae Extract: a natural retinoid-alternative that reduces the look of wrinkles without the side effects
• Red Algae Extract: nutrient rich and contains vitamins, minerals, and amino-acids for the visible signs of aging.

In addition to extrinsic factors (like environmental stress), intrinsic - or biological - aging contributes to the decline of collagen. As you age, your skin’s stores of collagen naturally deplete and degrade, resulting in the visible signs of aging. Vitamin C not only activates the skin’s fibroblasts to produce new collagen, it also stabilizes the collagen you already have, helping skin stay firm, plump and youthful-looking for longer.

• Collagen formation is boosted and skin appears firmed and plumped
• The appearance of inflammation and redness are reduced
• The appearance of visible signs of aging are reduced and further signs are prevented

Facial massage stimulates collagen production! CLICK HERE for a full list of amazingly luxurious facials! We also have a Collagen specific facial called.....The Collagen Sheet Facial!

IPL PhotoFacials - Not everyone is a candidate but if you are looking to get rid of dark spots, freckles, broken blood vessels and more - you should definitely come in for a FREE Laser Hair consultation! IPL is also great a stimulating collagen growth! CLICK HERE to read more!

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