5 Signs Your Skin Is Losing Collagen
We’ve examined the excitement, and for good reason—in recent years, “collagen” has been one of the most searched terms on Google. Why the fixation? It is the most prevalent protein in the human body, and your skin will notify you when it begins to go, which it does naturally.
Let’s look at the numbers instead of the flowery praise. Collagen accounts for 70% of the dry weight of your skin, according to the specialists at Vichy. That is around 4 kg of pure collagen in an average 80 kg body. It makes sense that there is a rush to keep it safe.
From the age of 25, we start losing about 1% of collagen each year—a slow fade that accelerates with age, sun, stress, and late-night existential spirals. The early game is all about prevention. The later game? Stimulation, which is where aesthetic medicine steps in, needles at the ready.
“The collagen in our skin reflects a delicate equilibrium between synthesis and degradation,” Mercedes Abarquero Cerezo, pharmacist and head of scientific projects at L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty Spain, tells Vogue Spain. “As we age, the cells responsible for collagen production slow down. At the same time, a host of external and internal factors—from sun exposure and diet to stress and hormonal shifts, particularly during menopause—can speed up its breakdown.”
But, she adds, the process isn’t as catastrophic as we might imagine. “Our body is a system in flux. Collagen is always being broken down, and always being rebuilt. The issue arises when this rhythm falls out of sync—when production dips, or quality declines. That’s when the visible signs of ageing start to emerge.”
5 signs your skin is losing collagen
Although statistics speak of collagen loss after the age of 25, there’s nothing strictly mathematical about it. But it is true, explains Abarquero Cerezo, that this lower amount of different types of collagen in the skin (there are 16) produces changes in the “internal structure and alteration in its organization, which generates that we can visibly see how the skin loses firmness and wrinkles are marked,” she affirms.
Among the most obvious signs that this loss has begun, the expert lists:
- Dryness and dehydration
- More evident expression lines and even more pronounced wrinkles
- Changes in volume
- Sagging and loss of firmness
- Lack of elasticity because “the skin, together with collagen, loses other elastic fibers”
Collagen and menopause
Abarquero Cerezo confirms that hormonal fluctuations affect not just the body but the skin as well. In fact, “studies show that during the first 5 years of menopause, there is a decrease of up to 30% of collagen and it can also be seen that during the following 15 years the decrease is greater than at younger ages with a reduction of 2% of collagen,” she concludes.
How to slow down collagen loss
Ageing is a gift, and collagen loss is a natural process. It can’t be avoided, but it can be slowed down. Abarquero Cerezo recommends a multi-pronged approach:
- Avoid agressors like sun exposure and smoking
- Daily sunscreen should be a non-negotiable
- Prioritise rest and manage stress (your skin clocks both)
- Stay active with regular exercise
- Maintain a stable and healthy weight
- Eat a balanced diet rich in the essential amino acids that make up collagen—think eggs, dairy, legumes, meat, and fish
- Incorporate targeted skincare with active ingredients “such as glycosaminoglycans, proxylane, anti-aging peptides, cassia extract, hyaluronic acid, antioxidants such as vitamin C or niacinamide,” she explains.
Do collagen creams help?
Yes—but not for reversing collagen loss. “Collagen is a molecule used in cosmetics. It has a high molecular weight and its absorption is limited to the superficial layer of the skin. It is used for the effect it produces on the surface, to improve texture immediately,” she explains.
In other words, topical collagen works more like a quick fix for texture than a long-term solution for deeper structural change. But if you’re serious about slowing collagen loss and supporting repair, it’s the ingredients and lifestyle shifts above that do the real work.
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