52 ANTI-AGEING
Stable foundations for longevity and anti-ageing
Harald van der Hoeven, Jule Lexa Völzke, Eva Langendorf – CLR
As the global population is ageing rapidly, ageing is an increasing concern for the consumer. Concepts such as ‘longevity’ and ‘health span’ are currently at centre stage for consumers, industry and academia.1
The combination of both could
be defined as the duration of an individual’s life in a healthy state.2
The ever-evolving skin care
consumer clearly shows interest in longevity concepts. A shift is visible toward more proactive and preventive attitudes regarding the skin ageing process, with consumers starting to use skin care products that address the skin ageing process at a younger age in order to slow it down.3 With this shift in behaviour, skin care
consumers also increasingly show a contradictory attitude. Their preventive attitude and their interest in longevity is combined with their continuing aspiration to not just preserve the appearance and feel of their skin, but to quickly improve them as well. They combine the ‘old’ anti-ageing mentality with the ‘new’ longevity way of thinking.4
This is reflected in the skin care
marketplace. Virtually all skin care products which address the skin ageing process indeed claim to improve ageing phenomena, such as firmness and wrinkles.5
Firmness and wrinkles, a closer look at the mechanical properties of skin The skin is the largest organ of the human body, constituting about 15% of total body weight.6
It
is an extraordinarily complex biological material that acts as the interface between the body and the environment, but it also possesses unique biomechanical properties that play an important role in protection against physical impact from the environment. Loss of firmness and elasticity of skin (skin
biomechanics), where skin starts to sag is a key feature in making the skin appear aged.7 Consistent with the loss of skin biomechanics, wrinkles are lines and creases in the skin that form over time, often deepening with age. The number and visibility of wrinkles play a role in an aged appearance as well.8 Skin care has long since addressed the loss of skin firmness and elasticity,9 the appearance of wrinkles,10
as well as by boosting the
main dermal component, collagen Type I. The optimal level of collagen Type I in adult skin is approximately 85–90% of all skin collagens. Collagen Type I is indeed the main building block of the dermal connective tissues.
PERSONAL CARE MAGAZINE January 2026
This optimal level is reached between the ages
of 25 and 34 but strongly declines with the ageing process. When people reach their seventies, their collagen content is reduced by at least 25%. Some people even claim that the collagen content declines 1–1.5% every year.11 At first sight, aiming to compensate for this
tremendous loss of collagen Type I is a logical anti-ageing skin care approach. However, in the bigger picture, collagen Type I is mainly only a building block. Building blocks are only helpful when they are assembled in such a way that they build a strong and rigid but also flexible and elastic structure. An analogy can be found in high-rise
apartments that are built in areas with a high risk of earthquakes. Their structure needs to be both extremely strong and flexible/elastic. Only then can they withstand earthquakes. As skin’s main building block, collagen Type I
needs to be put into a structure which provides strength and elasticity. In addition, the basement membrane, ‘the roof of the dermis’ if you will, also needs to provide strength and be attached with collagen Type I. All in all, while increasing the production of
collagen Type I does make sense when aiming for firmer skin with fewer wrinkles, the earthquake- proof building that is the skin requires a more in-depth and structural approach. Dermal components and components of the basement membrane which give skin a
mechanical structure that is firm and elastic are required. These components need to be assembled with the greatest care. Only then will the whole be greater than the sum of its parts, its building blocks.12
Structural components of the dermis The following components give structure to the dermis, i.e. play a central role in skin’s firmness and elasticity. Collagen types I and III, as well as elastin, are the main proteinaceous components of the dermis, but extremely complex fibres which need supportive components for their assembly. These are addressed below under ‘Supportive components of the dermis’. ■ Collagen Type I: Provides the principal structural framework of the dermis. Forms thick fibrils (˜100 – 200 nm) that confer tensile strength and mechanical stability (resists deformation,13
).
Works with collagen Type III to maintain dermal architecture and skin integrity.14 ■ Collagen Type III: Forms fine (˜40 – 60 nm), compliant fibrils interwoven with collagen I. Regulates fibril diameter and contributes to dermal pliability (permits controlled flexibility). Distributes mechanical loads across the extracellular matrix.15 ■ Collagen Type VI: Forms a microfibrillar network that surrounds cells and links them to the collagens Type I and III. By anchoring fibroblasts, it distributes mechanical stress, provides pericellular stability and contributes to dermal resilience.16
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