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Collagen is the most sufficient protein and is a very important part of connective tissues in the body. It is a rigid, non-soluble and fibrous protein that when combined adds up to one third of the proteins which is found in the human body. It is mostly made up of molecules that are packed together thus forming long and thin fibrils that act as support to each other and ensure the skin is strong and elastic. There are various types of collage and they have dissimilar roles and structures. Most of the collagens belong to the types 1, 2 and 3. It consists mainly of amino acids and can be mostly found in tendons, muscles, bones, skin, ligaments and other tendons fibrous tissues. It helps to keep the skin strong, suppleness, sustaining the renewal of skin cells and also replacing the damaged and dead body cells. The collagen tissues can result to the formation of bones, tendons and cartilages that form depending on the level of mineralization. However, an individual can lose collagen components in the body due to being exposed to ultraviolet light, tobacco, excessive intake of sugar and also aging. This loss of collagen can cause the skin to lose its elasticity, the reduction of the thickness of the epidermis, an increase in the formation of wrinkles and sagging and also can make the skin vulnerable thus may be easily damaged. Also there are various ways which can be used to counter the loss of collagen from the body and may include the use of treatment using vitamin A etc. The skin can be subjected to either extrinsic or intrinsic factors caused by aging. Aging skin is identified by having wrinkles, losing skin flexibility, laxity and having a rough appearance in the skin texture. Cutaneous aging is mostly triggered by either the intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic aging is an unavoidable process that occurs physiologically that causes the thinning of skin, wrinkling and also slow dermal atrophy. Correspondingly, extrinsic aging is triggered and influenced by external environmental factors which may include pollution in the air, smoking, having poor nutrition and having excess exposure to the sun. In the following research we will review the various changes that take place in the process of skin aging, the advancement of research in the molecular mechanisms that leads to the changes and also the various methods of treatment and skin maintenance.

Intrinsic aging of the skin is a process of the skin changing over a period of time. Aging of the inner parts of the body that are protected mainly occur due to the intrinsic factors that can be genetic or metabolic, while the parts that are exposed are affected by the extrinsic influences, this consists mostly of ultraviolet rays from the sun. For the skin that has undergone intrinsic changes most of the variations are identifiable on the basal layer. Studies have shown that when the person becomes older the reproduction of the cells in the basal layer decreases. Thus the epidermis becomes thinner and the surface area of contact in between the dermis and epidermis reduces thus leads to a decrease in the nutrition exchange to the epidermis. This causes the basal layer to be weak thus the cells cannot multiply or grow. This process which involves a decrease in the productivity of cells is known as cellular senescence. Research shows that in skin that has aged intrinsically does not only degenerate collagen, elastin etc, but also oligonucleotide which affects the skin’s ability to retain moisture.

Molecular mechanisms in Skin Aging
There are many dissimilar models that have been used to give an explanation of skin aging using a molecular base such as the theory of cellular senescence, the reduction in the cell’s DNA repair capacity and losing of telomeres, oxidative stress etc. Some scientists also proposed that a large portion of skin aging is caused by external factors while only 3% is caused by internal factors. In this section we will talk about the significant models and advancement in molecular mechanisms studies in relation to aging of the skin.

Oxidative stress
It is known that reactive oxygen species (ROS) take part in a very crucial role in dermal changes taking place outside the cells in both aging caused by internal factors and those caused by external factors. ROS can be created from many dissimilar sources which include the mitochondrion, endoplasmic reticulum and peroxisomal. In normal conditions with the exception of ligands the various actions of receptor tyrosine kinases on the surface of the cell are repressed by the receptor protein tyrosine phosphates.

DNA damage
By exposing the skin frequently to ultraviolet radiation the damage of DNA increases and mutations also take place and may result to aging prematurely or carcinogenesis. In a scenario where the DNA take in photons emanating from UV-B the nucleotides arrangement structurally changes which leads to the DNA strands having defects. In the species that are lesser, they can be able to repair the damage on the DNA using the photolyase enzyme but higher species do not have this enzyme. Repair in the cells of humans can be attained by a nucleotide excision repair path, once the following proteins are deficient the skin is prone to premature aging.

Telomere shortening
The telomeres are nucleoid sequences that repeat themselves and cap and also saves the chromosomes from dilapidation and recombination abnormality. Their length decreases with every divisions of the cell and results in cellular senescence. The enzyme that increases the telomere replications in order to prevent them from becoming short is known as telomerase. The deficiency of this enzyme can cause a hastened telomere shortening which could cause a flawed regeneration of the tissue. This also suppresses the production of epidermal cells. Also the exposure to UV is known to cause mutation of the telomere and also cause the death of the cells.

Inflammaging
This is the long-lasting inflammation that occurs as a result of aging. It affects the start and the progression of diseases that occur as a result of aging eg type 2 diabetes. It occurs in the skin because when exposed to the UV radiation it leads to the damaging of the epidermal cells which in turn cause inflammation to occur.

Collagen loss due to increase in age
When an individual ages the outermost layer of skin becomes thin despite the number of layers of the cell remains unchanged, also the number of cells that contain a pigment reduces and the melanocytes that remain increase in size. This is the reason why aging skin looks thin, pale and translucent. There may be large spots that are pigmented when some areas are exposed to sunlight. The various alterations in the connective tissue may decrease the strength of the skin and its elasticity. Also the blood vessels in the outer skin become more delicate and can result to bruises and also bleeding under the surface of the skin. The subcutaneous glands also excrete low amounts of oil as you age. The men experience this shortage mostly after reaching the age of 80 years. The women may slowly begin excreting less oil after menopause thus is very hard to keep the skin moist. The layer of subcutaneous fat also decreases thus reducing the insulation and padding capability of the skin. This can make the individual be at risk of having an injury and also finds it very hard to maintain body temperature. The sweat glands also cut down on the amount of sweat they produce thus making the individual’s body harder to cool.

Intake too much sugar
The intake of too much sugar can lead to negative impacts to the body which include the damage of collagen. The excess consumption of sugar results to glycation that produces AGEs. This occurs naturally and when too much sugar is consumed the AGE molecules stick to the collagen molecules turning them stiff, thus damaging them. The process of glycation not only does it damage the collagen existing in the body but also makes some alterations to its stability. When an individual intakes large amounts of sugar the process of glycation converts the collagen into an unstable type 1 which is more vulnerable and can be easily broken down thus can lead to premature aging.

Tobacco Usage
The use of tobacco can also cause the damage of the skin’s collagen. It causes the skin around the lips to loose collagen when it comes into contact with the smoke. It may also cause the vessels of blood to constrict and reduce the flow of blood. Due to this occurrence, collagen may become rigid and die off. When collagen is lost in large amounts it may cause wrinkles to emerge, dryness and may result to discolored skin. It has also been noted that tobacco also causes a slow or none collagen healing.

Treatment the loss of collagen
There are various ways in which an individual can be able to treat the loss of collagen. You can change the diet that you usually take, increase the turnover of the cells and increase the creation of collagen. One can also adopt to doing exercises that stimulate the production of collagen and also increase your intake of vitamin D from the sun. Also by applying the necessary sunblock to prevent harmful amounts of the UV from the sun from causing damage to your body. You should also ensure that you protect yourself from the causatives that kill collagen. This is by avoiding spending too much time in the sun, applying sunblock, avoiding smoking tobacco and also ensure that your mind is at peace thus free from stress which is known to cause skin aging.

In order to preserve a healthy young skin there are the various things that we have to put into consideration that help to ensure this goal is achieved. Things such as taking in vitamin C and A provide a very good boost to the production of collagen in the body. In order to maintain a healthy skin you need to nurture and protect the collagen that is existing in the body by consuming healthy foods which have the necessary Vitamins for promoting healthy collagen in the body.