Recently a couple friends asked me what I do to maintain my face at 56, and one friend specifically asked me to share all I do. She also asked if I would email a summary since I shared a lot of information. I hadn’t realized until that moment that achieving and maintaining healthy skin is a lot like building or renovating a house: all the materials matter and getting great results is a coordinated effort, especially after menopause when nature is, ahem…not exactly on your side.
Remember Bob The Builder, the cute children’s show from the early 2000s? Bob didn’t just use his hammer, he also had his trusty monkey wrench, angle grinder and jigsaw, not to mention other tools and a team of great friends to help him get the job done.
This is my Bob The Builder approach to maximizing collagen, especially after menopause.
1. Start with a solid foundation by prioritizing anti-inflammatory eating and adopting a nutrient-dense diet.
Perhaps the biggest enemy of maintaining and building healthy collagen is internal inflammation, which not coincidentally is also linked to many chronic diseases.
This means building a strong foundation starts with adopting an anti-inflammatory eating style. What exactly is anti-inflammatory eating? It’s just choosing whole or minimally processed foods as often as possible and greatly reducing consumption of refined sugar, industrial seed oils and foods created in a factory rather than the ground. Failing to implement this step is akin to using a nail gun to build a wall and a sledgehammer to tear it down at the same time. Bob would never do that!
Implementing this step will also help ensure that your body is getting the nutrients it needs to synthesize collagen on your behalf, which leads to the second step:
2. Make sure to get enough collagen-building proteins, vitamins and minerals.
Your body needs amino acids from quality protein sources in order to build collagen, but it also needs vitamins and cofactors. Specifically focus on:
Amino Acids
- Clean and organic animal sources of the amino acids glycine, proline and lysine, which include lean meats, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy if tolerated.
- Organic plant sources of amino acids include beans, legumes, nuts and seeds.
Vitamins and Cofactors
- Vitamin C – acts as a cofactor and is readily available in citrus fruits, berries, bell peppers, tomatoes and leafy greens.
- Copper – a trace mineral found in shellfish, nuts and seeds.
- Zinc – also necessary in small amounts and found in shellfish, legumes, nuts, seeds, and some whole grains.
- Vitamin A – Important for skin structure and found in liver, fish and fish oil, dairy and eggs as well as carrots, sweet potatoes and other orange fruits and vegetables.
- Manganese – another cofactor, found in whole grains, nuts and seeds, legumes and pineapple, as well as shellfish, black and green tea, and black pepper.
- Antioxidants – serve to protect your existing collagen from damage and can be found in dark leafy greens, berries and tomatoes as well as other fruits and vegetables.
The above list is the 10,000-foot overview of the intricate and fascinating way the human body uses food to create collagen. If you’re interested in learning more and taking a deep dive into overall skin health, I would highly recommend the book, ‘The 8-week Healthy Skin Diet’ by Karen Fischer.
Once you’re in the habit of consuming all these lovely nutrients, you’ll want to make sure this juicy nutrition gets into your cells, which means…
3. Exercise!
Even Bob the Builder knew the importance of exercise. He and his friends built an entire exercise park so Mr. Bentley could get his game on! Since it’s unlikely you’ll find a personal trainer as cute and endearing as Scrambler, maybe keeping these collagen-boosting benefits top of mind can make regular exercise a bit more palatable. Exercise supports your collagen-building efforts by:
- Boosting circulation and delivering nutrients and oxygen to your cells.
- Reducing the stress hormone cortisol, which can be a factor in collagen degradation.
- Stimulating growth factors by releasing growth hormone.
- Enhancing cellular repair, which improves skin quality and function.
- Promoting deep, restful sleep, which is crucial for collagen production and is so important gets its own category.
4. Get 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night.
I know from personal experience that this can be a challenge, especially during and after menopause when hormones seem like a jarring, scary rollercoaster ride.
However, “the body builds collagen during deep sleep, specifically in non-REM stage 3”, according to the the googles. Therefore, it’s important to maximize your sleep by:
- Avoiding screens and bright light at least an hour before bed
- Sleep in a cool, dark room with minimal distractions
- Avoiding alcohol, which interferes with deep sleep
- Limit sugar and refined foods, which raise cortisol, the stress hormone
- Make sure to get 10-20 minutes of direct daylight early in the day to normalize circadian rhythms.
- Consider high quality sleep supplements (my new favorites are ashwagandha, Ryze Mushroom Hot Cocoa and magnesium l-threonate, in addition to an evening dose of compounded progesterone.)
- If you are postmenopausal, consider HRT (hormone replacement therapy), as sex hormones also play a role in supporting deep sleep. It’s important to do some research and find a qualified functional or integrative practitioner to get a personalized plan, which leads into point number 5…
5. Understand the role of sex hormones in collagen synthesis and get support if you need it.
I can’t stress enough the importance of exploring the option of HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) if you are postmenopausal. So many women suffer needlessly and experience negative health consequences far beyond sagging skin by not having adequate levels of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone on board. Not surprisingly, Bob The Builder was silent as the grave on this topic! Smart man.
Obviously, HRT is an individual choice between you and your doctor, but the health benefits and improved quality of life far outweigh the risks for many women. The benefits of estrogen specifically for collagen production are that it:
- Signals fibroblasts to produce collagen and elastin
- Reduces collagen breakdown
- Increases the production of hyaluronic acid, which helps the skin retain moisture
- Supports healthy blood flow to give skin cells nutrients for repair
Progesterone and testosterone are important too, but estrogen is the key hormone needed for collagen maintenance and production. There are even topical face creams that incorporate estrogen, as its use has been shown to support skin health, especially for postmenopausal women.
6. Supplement strategically
Unless you live on an organic farm or grow your own food, it’s hard to get all the nutrients you need on a daily basis without supplementation or becoming obsessive, which isn’t recommended or necessary. That’s where the strategic use of supplements can help you fill in the gaps and support your efforts.
There are so many supplements on the market that it’s impossible to research, much less incorporate, all the options out there, and you could spend a pretty penny trying to do everything.
Basic collagen supporting supplements:
- Collagen peptides – (look for formulations that include types I and III for skin specifically, but a whole-body collagen (types I, II, III, V and X) will support tissues throughout the body.)
- Vitamin C – 500mg-1000mg daily is adequate
- Copper – trace mineral needed to cross-link collagen fibers
- Zinc – trace mineral needed to activate specific proteins used in collagen synthesis
My newest additions:
- Hyaluronic acid – I learned about this from an 86-year-old man at my church who takes it for his joints. Intrigued, I researched this supplement and learned that hyaluronic acid supports not only moisture in the joints but in the eyes and skin as well. Specifically look for formulations that are labeled low molecular weight for better absorption.
- Ashwagandha – This adaptogenic herb is typically used for stress and sleep, but it also supports collagen production through a variety of mechanisms.
- Bacillus coagulans – A probiotic that doesn’t directly influence the production of collagen but supports overall skin health through the gut-skin axis and helps maintain existing collagen. (There are other probiotics that support collagen synthesis, as well. This just happens to be the one I decided to try.)
- Creatine Monohydrate – This supplement is typically used by weightlifters to help build and maintain muscle mass, but research shows a number of other health benefits, including the support of cellular repair and regeneration in the skin. It has also been shown to benefit cognitive health, which is especially important after menopause.
7. Incorporate topical agents
Again, Bob didn’t have much to say about topical skin care, but maybe that’s because he lived in the UK where they don’t get as much sun, or maybe he thought his overalls and hard hat were adequate. I guess we’ll never know!
One thing I do know is that you could go broke trying all the creams, lotions and serums that claim anti-aging as a primary benefit. However, my dermatologist told me that the three things most people really need are:
- Some form of retinol (or prescription tretinoin) to boost collagen production and smooth the skin
- Vitamin C serum – acts as an antioxidant
- Sun protection – even if you like to get a little sun on your body, please, please, please protect your face! Habitual sun exposure both degrades existing collagen and inhibits its formation. Your future self will thank you.
My additions:
- A quality eye cream for under eye area: My current favorites are Revision Skincare C+ Brightening Eye Complex in the morning and Alastin Restorative Eye Treatment at night. However, don’t expect miracles. They support skin health but won’t reverse fine lines.
- Azelaic acid 15% gel – traditionally used for rosacea and hyperpigmentation, prescription strength azelaic acid both reduces inflammation and creates a stable environment within the skin that promotes collagen production. I love this so much and use it a couple times a week paired under an intense moisturizer (Eminence Organics Stone Crop Whip Moisturizer) which also has calming properties.
This brings me to my last point, and one Bob would agree with wholeheartedly…
8. Enlist the help of good friends!
Thankfully you don’t need as many helpers as Bob did to…get the job done! I know…cheesy…but we’re on the homestretch and I couldn’t help it.
Who might you want on your team?
- As I mentioned earlier, consulting with a functional or integrative practitioner about HRT can be an invaluable step in maximizing collagen production. They can also help you improve your overall health if you have specific concerns.
- If your budget allows, also consider consulting with a cosmetic dermatologist. Although some procedures can be pricey, laser treatments, microneedling and Sculptra can be part of a comprehensive plan to augment your body’s natural ability to build collagen.
There are other options in this category too. A qualified professional can give you individual recommendations based on your unique needs. Ask around to see which practitioners are highly recommended in your area…and be prepared to protect your investment by gradually cultivating all the lifestyle steps we’ve talked about so far in order to get the best results from any treatment you choose.
In conclusion…
I’m guessing Bob The Builder never dreamed that he’d make a debut in the world of health and beauty, but I have a feeling he wouldn’t mind! As you’ve no doubt gathered by now, maximizing collagen production is really just part of living a healthy lifestyle that supports your overall wellness, with a few intentional tweaks thrown in to get the results you’re aiming for.
It’s worth noting that you are so much more than your outward appearance …and this remains true no matter what your age or stage of life. Genetics play a role in how individuals age, and no one gets dealt a perfect hand! I love the saying, “Take the hand you’ve been dealt and play the hell out of it!” And honestly, if building collagen is what you’re concerned about, then life is pretty good!
Thanks for visiting and reading!
XO Melanie
Coming soon… Downloadable PDF under construction! Disregard link below.
Click below to access a downloadable PDF of the above tips in a handy cheat sheet.
