The Truth About Collagen Banking

Simran:
Welcome to The Skin Report. Today we are going to talk about an important and trending topic, collagen banking. And remember, before I start, if you enjoy content on beauty, medical-grade treatments, skincare, especially that’s skin tone specific, please like, subscribe, and ask us any questions in the comments. I’m going to start our conversation on collagen banking with my co-host, Shaheera.

Shaheera:
Hi.

Simran:
Hey, Shaheera. Let’s talk about collagen banking. I know you had a lot of questions and are holding them for this episode.

Shaheera:
Yeah, I love that it’s called collagen banking. I think it sounds very exciting, almost interactive, like you want to beat the clock and you want to be as rich as you can with collagen.

Simran:
That’s right.

Shaheera:
And it’s a great [inaudible 00:00:57]. First and foremost, I mean, I’ve learned a lot from you because I feel like I have an in-house doctor, medical aesthetics expert/sister. We share a pretty similar skin tone. I’ve learned a lot about skin anti-aging, without it sounding like your skin is aging. So I feel like I’ve introduced that retinol regimen. I’ve introduced that sunscreen. I’m not amazing at it, but that blue light protection-

Simran:
Yeah, like most women with your skin tone. Yes. We’ll talk about that.

Shaheera:
Yes.

Simran:
We’re going to talk about that.

Shaheera:
But I feel like I’m on the right track of that collagen banking, but the people who don’t know what that is or may not even realize what they’re doing, what is collagen banking?

Simran:
Collagen banking is actually taking skin cell renewal and collagen production and putting it in a nice, easy to understand concept. Just like when you are banking money for retirement, and if you go to a financial advisor and they say, “Hey, the earlier you start, the better off you’re going to be when you retire.” Collagen banking is exactly the same concept. The sooner and earlier in life you start paying attention to increasing the amount of collagen you’re making and reducing the breakdown of collagen that you are experiencing, the better off. The tighter your skin, the more clearer your skin is going to be as you age.

We’ve seen that actually for decades in aesthetics, which is great. It actually validates the concept. I have women in my practice who are in their 60s, 70s, 90s, who look amazing because of some investment. And remember, those women did not have anything close to the amount of technology we have today to be able to collagen bank, but yet with lifestyle, skincare and then adopting all these other practices, they were able to do it.

Shaheera:
Without diving too far into it, because I know you’re going to talk about it in depth. For the people who didn’t have social media, for the people who didn’t have the amount of vast research and like you said, technology, what were they like, “Hey, I need to do just these few simple things.” Where were they, not getting their knowledge, but what were they just doing in their maintenance day-to-day to collagen bank without even realize they were collagen banking?

Simran:
Well, it’s so funny because first of all, in anesthetics, and this is why I enjoy it, people do it to make themselves feel better and they enjoy it. They tend to be people who are just very healthy. They feel better because they look better. Simple things like not baking in the sun because a lot of them didn’t have, even sunscreens, not going out in the sun because they’ll say, “Yeah, my dad used to tell me if you go out in the sun, this is what’s going to happen to you.” Those who listened were definitely-

Shaheera:
Or introduced sunscreen when they were like, “Oh, this is a thing. I need to maybe start using this.”

Simran:
Start using this. Exactly.

Shaheera:
So there was that great repair period over the few years.

Simran:
Exactly. When sunscreen was a thing, they were the first to adopt it. Then the other thing was when treatments, medical grade aesthetics really became a field, they actually entered it, which I give them a lot of credit for doing, because remember, they didn’t have social media telling them that it’s safe or what it’s going to do. Yes, so that was their timeline.

Shaheera:
It’s like pioneering the collagen banking.

Simran:
That’s right. The early pioneers of collagen.

Shaheera:
Yeah. I love it because there is a lot of… Well, there’s a lot… In the industry there’s a lot of, unfortunately, trial and error, but there’s also a lot of perfecting of skincare and aesthetics based on what people were just kind of doing without all the-

Simran:
And there are a lot of cultural factors too.

Shaheera:
Yes, absolutely. Cultural influences are a huge part of collagen banking. I work with people from so many ethnicities and I’m of South Asian descent, we are of South Asian. And I have to say, I mean, I don’t want to generalize, but I’m going to generalize, that there’s sometimes a lot of unnecessary shame given to people just because they’re taking care of themselves.

Simran:[inaudible 00:05:27].

Shaheera:
Completely [inaudible 00:05:28] talking to our aunts and moms.

Simran:
Yes. Exactly.

Shaheera:
I think it’s not the misconception, but there is a lot of pride in like, “Hey, my skin actually is… It looks great, and I think it’s because of my skin tone, my melanin.” That being said though, I think, well, they don’t see that progressed depletion of collagen. Some things are quite underlying. So can you speak to that?

Simran:
Yeah, so this is the thing. Your melanin is protective.

Shaheera:
Yes. It can only do so much.

Simran:
Your hormones, how you build collagen is equally important. So when women go through menopause, that’s when it hits. And I’ve seen so many women who will come in and say, “I was looking great, and then one day I literally woke up and I have all this loose skin. My skin looks thinner.”

Shaheera:
Yes.

Simran:
Yes. It didn’t happen overnight.

Shaheera:
It doesn’t matter what skin tone-

Simran:
It doesn’t matter what skin tone you have.

Shaheera:
And so your melanin can only help you so much. Your [inaudible 00:06:31] skin can actually only help you so much. There is a hormonal signal that’s letting us renew our skin.

Simran:
So even if you’re a woman of color or a person of color, you should be collagen banking early at the same time. And it’s not difficult. And what I like to do is… Because I see so many different decades in my practice, kind of break it down by decade because it’s not difficult. In your 20s, please start wearing sunblock, even if you are somebody who doesn’t get sun burnt. Start incorporating a retinol. I mean, as early as your 20s, if you bring a cell turnover increasing product like retinol, you are just making your body make new skin faster. So 20s, think skincare. Also, think of skincare in three steps, cell turnover, retinol, increase repair with a vitamin C antioxidant serum, then sunblock.

In your 30s, now you should start incorporating, if you can, collagen induction medical grade treatments, microneedling, laser for skin rejuvenation. And if you can’t afford it, that’s fine. And that’s very, very normal. In your 30s, you should be looking to buy a house, you probably have children. That’s fine. Skincare. But then in your 40s, really start looking at it if you can, even if it’s something you can do once or twice a year. And then finally, doesn’t matter how old you are, you can collagen bank at any time. It will give you excellent dividends. And I have seen women who are in their 60s, 70s, who’ve had a facelift and then started collagen banking or haven’t had a facelift and they look great. So your skin, again is your fastest renewing tissue in the body. You can make it do a lot of great things if you decide you want to do that.

Shaheera:
It’s never too late-

Simran:
Correct.

Shaheera:
To begin collagen banking. So what if somebody is like, “Well, I haven’t… I’m in my 50s, I’m in my 60s, I’m postmenopausal,” whatever their lifestyle is, whatever their skin aging concerns are. For that person, what can they do to introduce?

Simran:
Always start with active skincare ingredients. Also, don’t shy away from medical grade treatments. If you are watching us today, you are likely going on YouTube, you’re looking at social media. Start looking at all the reliable sources that tell you how these treatments are done, how long the results last. We have so many episodes on this and so much on our Instagram. And if you see yourself in those images, it’s safe. But again, do it in a professional setting. If you can afford it, do what you can afford and do it safely.

Shaheera:
If you’re 13, should you be collagen banking?

Simran:
Collagen banking? No. I think you have a very rich bank at 13. You do not need to-

Shaheera:
You’re too rich.

Simran:
Yes. You are way too rich for this. Don’t worry about it until it’s a problem.

Shaheera:
Find any retinol if you are 12, 13 years old.

Simran:
Yes. Let your poor parent collagen bank. And yes, let them use their financial resources to collagen bank.

Shaheera:
Exactly.

Simran:
You are okay.

Shaheera:
This was super fun.

Simran:
Thank you.

Shaheera:
As always.

Simran:
Yes. And Shahira remember, wear your sunscreen because that’s part of collagen banking, otherwise you will be collagen poor. And yeah, you know what happens.

Shaheera:
Little do you know, I’m actually 75 and I’ve been collagen banking. No, just joking. I do need to be much better at sunscreen, but you have convinced me.

Simran:
That’s right.

Shaheera:
Thank you.

Simran:
Thank you everyone for joining us today. And remember, if you enjoy listening to content about beauty, medical grade treatments, skincare, please like, subscribe and leave us any questions in the comments.