Did you know your collagen reserves are linked to your social relationships and good vibes

It’s not only creams, treatments and good habits at the dinner table that help our collagen reserves. This protein is naturally present in our skin and is largely responsible for its firmness. And, according to Marie Hélène Lair, director of scientific communication at Clarins, “the native collagen reserve can decrease by 1% each year from the age of 20-25”. We already know how we can try to prevent this degradation from accelerating with various creams and good lifestyle habits.

But what is striking is the statement made by the pharmacist, who talks about how social relations and “good vibes” with family and friends also have an influence when it comes to slowing down this loss and preventing ageing.

“It all has to do with epigenetics. In short, 85% of the signs of ageing are directly linked to our lifestyle. By adopting a healthy lifestyle we can be the ‘pilots’ of our ageing, as only 15% is linked to genetic inheritance. The five pillars of this healthy lifestyle are: nutrition, optimism, stress management, sports practice and positive social relationships,” she explains.

“Avoid toxic people and spend time only with positive people,” she adds. In the end it’s a chain reaction—good social relationships reduce stress levels and that has a direct impact on collagen reserves and skin firmness because stress is an aggression that makes our cells not work properly.

The four pillars of good relationships (and skin longevity)

Precisely Dr. Olivier Courtin-Clarins (director of Clarins), in his book Guess My Age If You Can, devotes a chapter to the influence of social relationships as a catalyst for healthy ageing. In fact, he refers to a study that analysed the relationships of more than 300,000 men and women and found that people with fewer social ties were twice as likely to die prematurely compared to those who maintained these strong ties. Hence, the expert talks about his four basic principles for having positive social relationships:

• Acknowledgement and gratitude toward others. “It has a ripple effect that also benefits us.”
• Dialogue. “We all need to feel that we can express our thoughts and feelings and that we are going to be heard.”
• Trust in others because distrust “drives stress, uneasiness and mutual distrust,” she says.
• Support: “It’s not possible to have a quality relationship without minimal support.”

Other habits that help

Clearly, in addition to emotional connection, skin firmness is directly impacted by lifestyle. “Excessive smoking, alcohol, junk food, stress, sun rays and even an improper skin care routine can change the components of the skin responsible for skin’s firmness. Skin fibres (collagen and elastin) can be damaged by oxidation linked to environmental and daily aggressions,” says Marie Hélène Lair.

She also insists on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet—an active life—”Move, move, move whenever possible, use the car less, walk, climb stairs,” she says, and get enough sleep.

This article first appeared on Vogue Spain.

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