WHAT IS COLLAGEN?
Collagen is a protein that acts as the primary building block of your body’s skin, muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments, and other connective tissues. and what does it have to do with scars?
Collagen has lots of jobs in our body, but it’s best known as a key part of our skin. It gives our skin structure, strength, and stretchiness.
SKIN
LAYERS
COLLAGEN FIBERS
As we age, we produce less collagen and the collagen we do have breaks down faster.
That’s why our skin wrinkles and sags when we get older.
YOUNG SKIN
OLDER SKIN
So what does collagen have to do with scarring?
Collagen fibres in healthy skin cross over each other in a random basketweave pattern. This makes them strong, but flexible.
When we are injured, the body’s main priority is to close the wound as fast as possible to prevent infection.
During the healing process, our bodies produce a lot of collagen very quickly.
Instead of forming in a basketweave pattern, this new collagen forms in dense parallel lines. This makes the resulting scar tissue tight and inflexible.
What impact does this have?
Scar tissue can be painful, itchy, and tight.
Because scars aren’t as elastic as normal skin, they can restrict movement, especially when the scar forms over a joint.
Most people with extensive scarring need daily massages, physiotherapy, and a host of lotions and creams to keep their scar as flexible and painfree as possible.
Learn more abo SCARRIN Visit scarfree.org.uk
Sources:
Wu M, Cronin K, Crane JS. Biochemistry, Collagen Synthesis. StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507709
Shin, J. W., Kwon, S. H., Choi, J. Y., Na, J. I., Huh, C. H., Choi, H. R., & Park, K. C. (2019). Molecular Mechanisms of Dermal Aging and Antiaging Approaches. International journal of molecular sciences, 20(9), 2126
Dallon J, Sherratt J.A: A mathematical model for fibroblast and collagen orientation. Bull. Math. Biol. 60: 101-130 (1998)
