Elastin - the other half of Collagen so to speak

[dolphin_gal]

Oftentimes we forget that when we talk about one thing, like collagen, we must also take into consideration its important constituent(s). In this case elastin and the fibrils that hold the collagen and elastin together.



The SCRP’s on the market seem to be the best source to help our bodies to produce elastin (and collagen too). NOTE: because Cu is oxidized to a free radical, an SCRP should NOT be applied immediately before or after an AHA or BHA. I wonder if that's part of the reason some people have trouble using the SCRP's.



“Elastin has a fairly high turnover rate [Robert] and lysyl oxidase has a half-life of only 16 hours [siegel]. Restoration of elastin is near normal by 3-4 days after copper has been restored in chicks [Tinker] so cross linking must be rapid even if turnover is not. However strengthening is hardly instantaneous. A normal body contains about 100 mg of copper [Turnlund, 1998], so even someone containing only half of normal should be able to correct a deficiency in a reasonable time with a total intake no more than 10 mg per day (8 mg supplement for a junk food diet), but cutting intake back to no more than 5 or 6 mg total or so total upon repletion and making sure that seven times as much zinc is taken with the supplement dose at least when a routine intake is established. More than 6 mg per day routinely is said not to be effective because per cent absorption becomes very low after that amount [Wapnir 1998].â€



To view the whole article, click here.



“Elastic fibres are common in tissues that require the ability to deform repetitively and reversibly. They have an amorphous core consisting of elastin that is surrounded by thin beaded filaments, microfibrils. The major component of microfibrils is the large glycoprotein, fibrillin.â€



“Elastin is mainly synthesised during development and any “damaged†elastin is either not replaced or replaced with non-functional fibres.â€



And then there is hyaluronic acid in our skin too. It is able to hold up to 1000 times its weight in water. In effect, it helps fill the interstitsial spaces in the collagen-elastin-fibril matrix. (is your head spinning yet? LOL)



Vitamin C is known to degrade hyaluronic acid. This shows there’s a balance we each need to figure out for our own skin types and conditions, some of which may depend upon what we supply our bodies with via diet. Too much, too little, or ineffective application (like applying human collagen topically) can mean the difference between a good affect or an adverse affect.



Danged but there’s so much to all this skin science!

 

[dolphin_gal]

While researching SCRP's and Cu in general, I probably read a hundred or so posts on general MU forums, forums on specific sites like skinbiology, plus a plethora of net articles. Most of the complaints on forums were excessively long "uglies" period (months and months) or, in quite a number of cases, skin that slumped and sagged and crinkled with no signs of getting better. A few even noted "over a year" of "the uglies" and were panicky. Some people backed off for a while and then resumed, while others simply quit using Cu products altogether. Somewhere along the line in only one or two places, I read about not using Cu after AHA/BHA because how the two react. It made sense - at least to me. I know there's also the possibility that some of those people went to too high a Cu concentration (like Super Cop) too quickly, but I tried to detect them and discount their problems because of improper application procedure akin to jumping right into a 70% AHA.

The Cu used in SCRP's is Cu+2. The "+2" means there are two electrons floating around ready to attach to something, like O (Oxygen). This is a good thing --- to a point. Our bodies, including the skin, require oxygen, not only to breathe, but for innumerable functions and processes. From how I understand it (and I may be a little off), far too much O can turn some, or a lot, of the Cu into "free radicals". Those are the very rascals we try to eliminate from our skin via Vit C, Vit E, and so on. Acids by their nature attract oxygen. By doing a peel with 10% or more GA and then putting Cu on immediately after means, as I understand it, that a lot of the Cu gets oxidized into free radicals vs doing it's thing as pure Cu in our skin. ie Cu+2 attracts a certain amount of O - an amount that is needed to do it's process. Coupled with AHA, which attracts a LOT more O, all that extra O is now available for the freshly-applied Cu to turn it into CuO - an oxide ... specifically the "free radical" kind.

I'm not sure if the minimal 2% solutions that are in many toners and cleansers would have enough acid to do that ... and I personally don't think so. It could just be the higher AHA concentrations coupled with using a high concentration Cu product immediately before or after is the culprit. It made sense to me anyway. Is there a chemist in the house?

Sooooo, there seems to be a balance, and there are many contributors to that balance such as diet, environment, our individual physiology, and so on.

 

[dolphin_gal]

Had a DUH moment when I went to the store. Vitamin C, esp in high concentrations, should not be used with SCRP's. It's an acid (L-ascorbic acid). So not using high acid anything, like AHA/BHA's just prior to or after a Cu product is making more sense.