{"id":6703,"date":"2026-06-30T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alestetics.ch\/?p=6703"},"modified":"2026-06-29T11:35:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T09:35:39","slug":"kollagen-aufbauen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alestetics.ch\/en\/kollagen-aufbauen\/","title":{"rendered":"Collagen: why it declines from age 25 and how to boost its production"},"content":{"rendered":"

Collagen is available today in powder, shot, or cream form. However, the real story begins much earlier and in a place that no external product can reach: deep within the skin, where your body produces its own collagen. This production starts to decline in your mid-twenties \u2013 quietly, long before you notice anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news: you can stimulate them again. But not with what most people try first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What collagen actually is<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Collagen is the scaffolding of your skin. It is the most abundant protein in the body and makes up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This scaffolding is built by cells in the dermis called fibroblasts. As long as they actively work, the structure is maintained. If their work slows down, the scaffolding becomes thinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why collagen decreases from the age of 25<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From around the age of 25, the skin loses about one percent of its collagen annually.Shuster et al., 1975<\/a>. This sounds like a small amount, but it adds up year after year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There's more to it than just natural shrinkage. With age, fibroblasts produce less collagen \u2013 and this is because they lack support. Picture this: young skin is a tightly stretched net, in which fibroblasts are firmly anchored and work under tension. As collagen becomes brittle over the years, the net sags. The cells lose their anchoring, contract, and reduce production \u2013 which further thins the net. In the skin of people over 80, collagen production is therefore around two-thirds lower than in young adults.Varani et al., 2006<\/a>A self-reinforcing cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What accelerates the breakdown<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Natural decline is one thing. It can be accelerated in two ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first is the environment, primarily the sun. UV radiation and the oxidative stress it triggers damage collagen fibres and the fibroblasts that produce them.Krutmann et al., 2021<\/a>Much of what becomes visible as skin ageing originates here \u2013 and is therefore influenceable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second path is hormonal. During the menopause, oestrogen levels drop, and with them, collagen levels plummet: up to 30 percent in the first five years after the menopauseBrincat et al., 2005<\/a>This is a topic in itself, which we will explore elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you can really do from the outside<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Things get honest here. Collagen in a cream sounds logical but fails due to biology: the molecule is too large to penetrate the skin barrier to the depths where it would be needed. Applied collagen remains on the surface. Drunk collagen is also broken down by the body and not specifically delivered to where the skin uses it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What actually has an effect from the outside are active ingredients that support production \u2013 not collagen itself, but the tools for it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n