Joe饱's Diary: Did You Know about "ELASTIN"?

Hi,My name is Joe and I'm going to talk about something which is contained in our skin today.

Nowadays when we talk about "anti-aging" or about the skin's firmness,the word "Collagen" is usually the first thing which pops into our mind.
Why is that?Is it due to too many commercials about "Collagen Drinks"?Or is it the myriad of products in the market claiming to contain "Boosting Collagen to help with Anti-Aging?"
But DID YOU KNOW?There is another thing in the skin that will cause skin-aging other than COLLAGEN It is called "ELASTIN".

What is the difference between COLLAGEN and ELASTIN?

Collagen and Elastin are two proteins that form fibers to help building up connective tissues in the body.
They are both important for the functions of many tissues of the body.
So what is "ELASTIN"?
Elastin is a protein in connective tissue form that allows many tissues in the body to resume their shape after stretching or contracting.
It helps to keep skin flexible but tight,providing a bounce back reaction effect if the skin is pulled.
The reason for many women having "pregnancy pouches" after delivery is due to inadequate elastin and also over stretching of the skin during their pregnancy period.
Elastin is not just important for the skin,it also serves an important function in the lungs,elastic ligaments,and the bladder.
It also helps for "blood flow" and is particularly abundant in large elastic blood vessels such as the "aorta".
But Elastin will usually depletes when a person start to age,resulting in wrinkled or sagging skin.
You may found some of the skin care product that note elastin as an "anti-aging" ingredients ,but these proteins inside are not from human sources;they typically are harvested from either cows or other animal species in theory that it should be able to provide better skin elasticity for humans.
But most of the time,these types of skin care products does not have much effect.

WHY?

Because these proteins will not be able to penetrate into the skin layer usually.
It may helps the skin achieve smoother texture,better appearance or to retain moisture;but it will not improve or provide more elastin for the skin to have better elasticity as most Dermatologists have already gathered that applying elastin topically cannot replace or provide what has been lost from inside of the skin.