Collagen is overrated for anti-aging 😳 It’s an unpopular opinion that disrupts everything from the supplement industry (☕️ + 🐄) to the laser and injectable cosmetic industry (Botox, Sculptra, etc 💉) We have all heard the hype about collagen on all of these fronts - how it’s the magic key to youthful, plump skin. That, however, is a very incomplete picture that ignores the more vulnerable and more important aging fiber in the extra cellular matrix = ELASTIN! Collagen gives our skin strength. Elastin gives our skin elastic recoil, helping it snap back like a rubber band (quite literally). When you think of aging skin, do you think of the skin pulling apart and breaking or hanging and losing its resilience and elasticity? 🤔 Yep… exactly! 🎯 Elastin is the key 👑 As an illustration, SCAR tissue is made primarily of collagen (not elastin) so when the body churns out collagen without restoring or protecting elastin, we’re building rigidity rather than true flexibility. This is how many injectable biostimulators work, and how many devices and lasers work. Here’s the issue though: Elastin is more delicate of a flower in the aging process compared to collagen. It is more susceptible to damage from ultraviolet light and from oxidative stress, it breaks down easily, and it does so at a rate that outpaces collagen’s decline. Instead, I have to employ a sophisticated and progressive regenerative medicine protocol in order to help elastin regenerate preferentially to collagen during my surgical procedures and regenerative procedures, such as my laser cocktail. This is truly next level, not thought about by many. *Interestingly: Sculptra (PLLA) is a “biostimulator” that works by inducing a foreign body response, prompting your body to lay down more collagen. While that can create volume, it doesn’t regenerate elastin or restore your skin’s natural elasticity. Relying solely on collagen stimulation—like with Sculptra—may help mask volume loss to a degree, but it doesn’t match the unique biodynamics of our fat pads and skin, and it doesn’t recreate the function of elastin. Send this to a friend!📲
#drchesnut #collagen #thegreatunlearn @Cal Callahan