“Drink more soup, it’s good for your skin!”. Ahh, we’ve all had our fair share of our parents telling us about how collagen soup does wonders for your skin over a good ol’ meal at Beauty in The Pot.
With many sold on the idea that taking in more collagen will raise the production of collagen in the body, we’re here to bring you the facts. Consuming it directly, either in the form of a supplement or even as your favourite soup broth, doesn’t necessarily mean that it actually works.
WHAT IS COLLAGEN?
Before diving in deeper about the truth behind collagen hotpots, the basis of the discussion lies behind what good collagen does for our skin.
For the uninformed, collagen is known as one of the most important forms of protein in the body that is responsible for providing structure to your skin, while also helping your blood to clot. According to Healthline, it’s also “one of the major building blocks of your bones, skin, muscles, tendons and ligaments,”. In short, it basically glues everything together.
Making up 80% of your skin — and found in the middle layer otherwise known as the dermis — collagen is said to work and strengthen your skin and it promotes the elasticity especially when stretched.
WHY DO WE NEED MORE COLLAGEN?
As we grow older, it comes as no surprise that the collagen in our bodies start to break down and we produce less collagen due to a handful of causes. These include: exposure to UV rays, smoking, excessive intake of sugar and of course, ageing — which sees a higher acceleration no thanks to our urban lifestyle habits — eventually leading to the formation of wrinkles and sagging.
DOES OUR BODY TAKE IN THE COLLAGEN WE CONSUME?
Real question here, does drinking collagen really work?
Though the idea of drinking from the fountain of youth, or in this case, a crock of collagen, may seem enticing to some, experts have said it might not be the case.
Case in point: according to Healthline, “you usually have very little control over where your body puts things,” and most of the time, these molecules broken down from the collagen you’ve consumed are too large to be absorbed.
Though our bodies are still able to break them down into amino acids — which are then used to form our own collagen in our bodies — these amino acids may also come from other food that we consume, besides these collagen hotpots.
In summary, collagen hotpot doesn’t necessarily speed up collagen production in your body, so you might want to think twice about relying on them to improve your skin’s complexion.
HOW DO WE INCREASE COLLAGEN PRODUCTION?
Losing collagen is an inevitable problem that we face as we live through our years and as depressing as that sounds, all hope is not lost when you’ve got these tips in mind. To slow down the loss of collagen in your bodies and increase your skin’s ability to stay plump and supple, heed these tips:
- stop smoking,
- reduce your alcohol and sugar intake,
- wear sunscreen,
- get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep a day,
- maintain a well-balanced diet, and
- invest in skincare that’s specialised to aid in our skin’s collagen production.
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