Collagen has started to become one of the hottest beauty trends in the last few years, and you can find it all over social media. Everywhere you look, you see new and exciting ways to add collagen to your daily routine, whether it’s a pill, powder, or drink. These sound like easy ways to make sure your body is getting all of the collagen it needs, but do they really work when it comes to giving you brighter skin? Take a look at this article to answer some of your collagen questions, including “Does collagen brighten skin?”

What Causes Dull Skin?

Dull skin can make you look much older than you are and it can be hard to brighten up with makeup. It’s essential to keep your skin hydrated and healthy in your younger years so you can avoid a dull skin tone in the future, but how can you start? 

Eating iron and vitamin C rich foods can help your skin elasticity in the future, but collagen is another fantastic idea to consider if you want to up your skin elasticity resulting in a firm-looking face. Using products containing retinol or hyaluronic acid is a great way to maintain a youthful visage from the outside, but you can also keep your skin healthy from the inside. Think about adding collagen supplements to your diet before your skin starts to age, and your future self will thank you. 

What is Collagen?

Many people like to describe collagen as the framework of your skin. It’s the protein in your skin that makes it firm and keeps it looking plump when you are young. As we age, collagen breaks down, which means our skin starts to sag and droop. 

To boost collagen production, many people turn to supplementation. Collagen supplements are typically made using the bones and tissues of either farm animals or marine animals. These materials are broken down into smaller particles, making them easier for the body to absorb. These collagen supplements also usually contain other additives that give the collagen a boost or additives that also aid in benefitting the skin. 

Using animal products is the best way to add naturally occurring collagen to your diet and boost collagen production. There are some incredible products on the market from Organixx that use the highest quality animal byproducts to create their formula. These supplements are derived from grass-fed beef, wild-harvested Alaskan pollock, and non-GMO chickens, so you can be sure you are getting premium ingredients. 

There are also plenty of benefits that aren’t necessarily beauty-related, and many seniors have added collagen to help improve not only their skin elasticity, but their joints. Collagen is also found deep inside our bodies where our bones connect, and this also breaks down with age. Adding it to your diet may give you a bit of additional comfort when it comes to your aging joints.

What is the Relationship Between Dull Skin and Low Levels of Collagen?

We talked about how collagen is the framework of the skin, so think about it the same way you would as the frame of your home. Time makes the frame bend and droop, but if it is caught early enough, you can stabilize it to keep it secure. If you naturally have low levels of collagen, then you should think about using a supplement before your skin starts to show signs of aging.

Collagen levels dip naturally as we get older, making it harder for our skin to bounce back. There are a few other things you can do to keep your skin healthy (we’ll talk more about those later!) but bringing in collagen from outside sources is a great way to keep your levels up–from drinking collagen to collagen peptide powders. 

What Type of Collagen is Best For Our Skin?

There are three types of collagen that you will likely encounter when you start looking for a good collagen supplement and a few others that your supplement might contain. Let’s have a look at all three, so you can get a good idea of which one will work best for your needs. 

Type 1: This collagen is the one that shows up in your body most often, so it’s a good idea to stick to type 1 collagen if you are looking for hair and beauty benefits. 

Type 2: This type is the one that is going to be found in your bones. If you are looking for joint pain relief, make sure your supplement has Type 2 collagen added. 

Type 3: Type 3 collagen is most often found in the ligaments of your body and in a few places where you might find type 1. It is responsible for building up your joints and ligaments. 

Types 4 and 5: These collagens are both for building up your organs and cells along with bone formation. These are found in supplements but usually in lower amounts. 

How Much Collagen Should I Take a Day to Help Brighten My Skin?

Adding collagen to your diet is easy if you know the best way to get the amount you are looking for. Supplements and pills will usually provide you with the amount of collagen they contain so you can make sure you are getting enough. If you want to ensure you are getting all of the incredible health benefits, you should be taking about 2.5g – 15g per day, and it’s a good idea to mix it up by taking them in different forms.

Powdered collagen is easy to add to anything, and it is one of the best ways to ensure the collagen is broken down enough to digest. Pills are often just powdered supplements packed together, but if you have issues with powders, then this might be the best idea for you. Another great new option on the market is collagen gummies which are an easy and delicious way for you to get your daily fill.

Other Natural Ways to Brighten Our Skin

Get Enough Sleep

It can be easy to forget how important your skin is, but it is the largest organ of your body, so you should try and take care of it in as many ways as you can. Collagen is just one of the ways you can keep your skin healthy, but when you combine them with other methods, you are sure to keep your skin looking healthy for years to come. Let’s look at a few different ways you can keep your skin looking young and fresh. 

Sleep is also one of the best times for your skin to produce naturally occurring collagen. Gravity pulls your skin down constantly when you are awake and sitting up, so letting it rest can help quite a bit. 5 hours of sleep a night can lead to twice as many fine lines and wrinkles as getting 7 hours, so do whatever you need to get a night of nice long beauty sleep. 

Drink Enough Water

We keep mentioning hydration when it comes to your skin, but you also need to make sure you are staying hydrated from the inside too. Water has so many fantastic health benefits, and it can be tricky to get enough throughout the day with all the other beverage temptations. Find yourself a refillable water bottle that suits your needs, and you will be much likelier to want to drain it again and again. 

You can also look at drinking water that has been slightly flavored if you prefer something a little sweeter. There are even water bottles on the market that use scented pods to simulate the flavors in your brain. This is a perfect choice for anyone who wants to find a fun way to keep up their water intake. 

Use Sunscreen – Every Day!

Sunscreen needs to be a part of your daily beauty routine, whether you go outside or not. It’s a good idea to get into the habit of using it as one of your morning beauty steps so you can make sure your skin is protected in case you end up outdoors. You can use a moisturizer with a built-in SPF if you prefer, or a sunscreen that is made for daily facial wear.

A regular sunscreen can be a lower level, but you should ramp it up to a 30 SPF (typically blocks about 96.7% of UVB rays) to 50 SPF (typically blocks about 98% of UVB rays) if you plan on spending some time outside of your home. Make sure you get your entire body covered and use an SFP detection sticker if you want to make sure you are reapplying in time. These handy stickers change color when you need to reapply, so you won’t have to worry about getting a burn on your body or face. 

Don’t Skip the Moisturizer

Moisturizing your skin is one of the best ways to prevent sagging, wrinkles, and fine lines in the future. Get a moisturizer based on your skin’s needs and look for one with additional ingredients like amino acids or vitamin C to get some extra benefits while staying hydrated. It’s a good idea to start the habit in your teen years, but if you didn’t start, then now is the best time. 

Adding extra moisture to your skin can help your collagen production and keep wrinkles at bay. There are many collagen creams out there that can help you with your skin hydration while increasing your natural collagen production. There are also other creams that are infused with collagen, but you should check for those that specifically have collagen peptides, as these are much easier for all skin types to absorb. 

Consider Your Diet

Your diet is one the most important factors when it comes to your skin, and you can make a few simple changes to ensure you are getting the best nutrients for a healthy visage. You want a high intake of nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables and a normal balance of everything else. You should also make sure you are adding some “good fats” to your diet. 

Look for essential fatty acids like omega-3 or omega-6, which can be found in many fish and high-fat veggies like avocados. These are the building blocks when it comes to your cells, and you might consider them to be the bricks that build against the collagen “framework” of your skin. These are great for keeping your skin plump and hydrated from the inside, and a healthy diet can help many different skin concerns. 

Exfoliate Your Skin

Exfoliating should be something you often do but not too often, or you will end up with major issues. Your skin constantly produces new layers and sometimes needs some help getting the old layer off. You can choose to do a gentle exfoliation every few days or a slightly stronger exfoliation once a week, but it’s not necessary to do it daily. 

A physical exfoliation using a facial scrub is different from chemical exfoliation. If you are doing a chemical exfoliation, look into how often the product should be used. Many are fantastic when used correctly, but if they get overused, your skin can become irritated.

The Bottom Line

Collagen supplements are one of the best ways you can put collagen into your body, and it’s a quick way to make sure you are getting it into your system. There are so many excellent supplements on the market, like Organixx, that are designed to help build your natural collagen up. Clean-produced collagen can be hard to find, and Organixx has some of the best ones in the market. Studies have shown that maintaining your collagen can help reduce wrinkles before they even start and many health experts agree that our collagen products start to drop about 1-2% after we turn 30! If you want to age gracefully, then you should consider adding some collagen to your diet today.

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