Skinspiration... The Almighty
*Disclaimer; All work produced in this skinspiration blog is owned by Nicole Webb, with copyrights to La Beauté Ltd.
F I B R O B L A S T
Aka; power-house, mother cell, skin dominator, the Almighty.
If there is one cell in the make up of the skin that we must praise above others it would be the almighty Fibroblast. We all have many of these little cells in our skin, working hard doing their job from our day of birth until we take our final breath.
But what is this cell and why is it so amazing…
The fibroblast is found in the dermis (second layer of the skin) sitting among capillaries, nerves and lymphatic system. It is classed as the mother cell of the skin as it is responsible for producing collagen, elastin (and hyaluronic acid) - these are the structural proteins that make up our whole skin!
Collagen - this is a thick, strong, resilient and relatively inflexible fibre that is responsible for keeping the skin ‘in place’. Visualise a thick, strong rubber band.
Elastin - this is a fine, elastic fibre that works along side collagen to give our skin the ability to ‘snap back’. Visualise a thin, bouncy rubber band.
Hyaluronic Acid - this gives our skin its volume and density.
How this whole structure works;
Collagen and elastin cress-cross within the skin; collagen dominates (75%) creating the foundations of the skin, holding our skin in place (particularly against gravity) and gives us a strong skin structure, whilst there is substantially less elastin (15%) this is what enables our skin to move, stretch and snap back when stretched (pull the skin on the back of your hand, when it is let go and snaps back that is your elastin working).
Throughout life your fibroblast cells are kept very busy! Daily they are replacing old collagen and elastin which has been ‘eaten’ away by collagenase and elastase (these are enzymes who eat away at old collagen/elastin) to ensure that the skin structure remains at the best of its ability. Your fibroblast is also responsible for healing the skin when there is a cut or wound.
Although we praise this cell it has one huge down fall…..
it is the cell responsible for AGEING!!
This is because; from birth until around the age of 18 our fibroblast cells regularly redivide and create a new fibroblast that is fresh and keen to keep on top of new production. But from 18 onwards this division stops and the fibroblast cells you have at the time of ceasing (18 years old) are the ones that you will have for the rest of your life. As these life-time fibroblasts age their production levels of new collagen and elastin decrease (at a rate of about 2% per year) and we start to see the skin structure change, in-particular; lines and wrinkles appear as the skin sags and the structure breaks down and the skin’s volume and density reduces.
So most of you reading this, you have your life-time fibroblast and possibly about now they are getting a little worn out so here is my three vital things you can do to help them and in turn reduce the ageing process;
- Give the fibroblast the ‘food’ it needs to function at its peak.
Your fibroblast must have Vitamin A, C & E to fully function. It is important that you gain these from both internal (food) and external (skincare). Many skins are deficient in these vitamins and subsequently they are further impacting their fibroblasts ability to produce good quality collagen and elastin
- Protect from UV rays
UV is our biggest ager and the reason why is, UV exposure speeds up collagenase and elastase the enzymes that eat away good collagen and elastin. When you speed this up your collagen and elastin break down is sped up, your fibroblast can’t keep up without the UV exposure so with the increase speed there is not a chance and the skin ageing will accelerate beyond the 2% per year.
- Get a new fibroblast
Although I stated the fibroblast you have at age 18 are the ones you have for life there is one way to change that….have dermal needling preformed at a level that hits the fibroblast!
Dermal Needling (must be done in-salon) is the only treatment there is for making your old, tired fibroblast re-divide again after the age of 18. By creating this division and gaining new fresh fibroblasts you will increase collagen production by 400%, reversing ageing and creating a better skin structure.
By now I am sure that you understand why our Fibroblast are the almighty...they might be small but without them we wouldn't have the structure we call skin!