The Skin Nerd: What is collagen and why do you need it?

We often talk about collagen in heroic terms and that’s for a good reason - it's an essential skin component that’s responsible for keeping our skin plump, firm and hydrated

The Skin Nerd: 'When collagen degrades, the structure of the skin can weaken. In a nutshell, our skin can lose its bounciness and “spring”.

Have you heard about collagen? We often talk about collagen in heroic terms – and that’s for a good reason. To briefly sum up, collagen is an essential skin component that’s responsible for keeping our skin plump, firm and hydrated. It also helps give our skin its ability to “snap” back into place.

Collagen is a structural protein that’s often referred to as the skin’s “scaffolding”. It’s the most abundant protein in the human body, and within the skin collagen helps to form a network of cells called fibroblasts. These fibroblasts are very important because they encourage new skin cells to grow, which keeps our skin healthy and fresh. They also play a vital role in replacing and restoring dead skin cells, which is essential for wound healing.