Knowledge about collagen

About 80% of your skin is collagen, minus water. It’s the main structural protein found throughout your entire body, providing your tissue and organs with both strength and elasticity.

As you age, the collagen in your skin begins to degrade. Skin forms wrinkles, folds, brown spots and spider veins, and the pores enlarge. This process is greatly sped up by sun exposure. In fact, 90% of the wrinkled, distressed skin we associate with aging is caused not by the passage of time, but by a lifetime of sun exposure. (For evidence of this, consider how different the skin on your buttocks looks compared to that on your face or forearm!)

The loss of collagen in your skin can make you look older and more tired than you actually are. Fortunately, a variety of injectable collagen products are now available to help you replace some of that lost collagen and rejuvenate your skin.

Zyderm/Zyplast
Introduced in the early 1980s, Zyderm and Zyplast have been used by more than 1.5 million people around the world. They’re made of highly purified bovine (cow) collagen, and are primarily used to improve wrinkles, fine lines and acne scars. They can also help create better definition around the borders of the lips.

Zyderm comes in two formulas: Zyderm I is 25% bovine collagen and 0.3% lidocaine (a numbing agent). It’s typically used for more superficial fine lines and wrinkles. Zyderm II is 50% bovine collagen and 0.3% lidocaine. It’s generally used on moderate-sized wrinkles and scars. Zyplast, an even stronger formulation, is used on the more severe wrinkling and scarring, and works particularly well on enhancing lips. Sometimes, Zyderm and Zyplast are used together to treat different areas of the face. Treatments tend to last 3 to 6 months.

Because the collagen in Zyderm and Zyplast is animal-derived, you’ll need to have a skin test about a month prior to treatment to determine if you’re allergic to it. Symptoms of an allergic reaction, which may take several weeks to develop, include chest pain and shortness of breath, hives, redness and irritation of the skin, lumps and scarring. Call your doctor right away if you develop any of these symptoms following your skin test.

Cosmoderm/Cosmoplast
Made from highly purified human collagen, Cosmoderm and Cosmoplast can be used to augment the natural collagen in your skin, making it fuller and smoother. Cosmoderm is, perhaps, more appropriate for superficial fine lines, such as those around the lips, while Cosmoplast is well suited for deeper wrinkles. Both contain the anesthetic lidocaine, which numbs the skin at the site of the injection.

Because these collagen fillers are made with human collagen, you don’t need to have an allergy skin test before receiving treatment. Results are immediate, and generally last for 2 to 3 months. You’ll need touch-up treatments to maintain the original results.

Evolence
One of the latest collagen dermal fillers to receive the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is Evolence. Derived from porcine (pig) collagen, it’s injected into the dermis layer of the skin to correct moderate to deep facial wrinkles, such as nasolabial folds. Some evidence suggests Evolence may produce much less of the temporary bruising and swelling common with other dermal fillers.

Evolence’s results are immediate, and, officially at least, last for up to 6 months. The FDA may soon permit the product’s labeling to change, however, for clinical trials in Europe suggest that Evolence may actually last up to 12 months.