Collagen Breakdown Leads To Crepey Skin — So What Can You Do About It? 

As we age, the smooth, plump complexion of youth gives way to looser, crepier skin. It's a natural part of aging that will happen to all of us at some point. But it is possible to delay the process—or, at the very least, avoid accelerating it. 

As you age, the balance between production and degradation of collagen begins to tip, with the scale pointed toward the latter. As those collagen levels decline, this can lead to crepey, sagging skin. You can take a collagen supplement to support those natural levels (we've already covered how collagen supplementation can address crepey skin; you can read about that here), but you should keep an eye out for another ingredient as well: antioxidants.* 

"Whether taken internally or applied to the skin, antioxidants can [address] collagen breakdown by decreasing the amount of free radicals in the skin,"* board-certified dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, M.D., once told mbg. 

Vitamin C, in particular, has been found in research to support the production of collagen1 and to help stabilize it (in fact, your body cannot effectively produce collagen without the antioxidant2).* "Vitamin C is a necessary cofactor for the production of healthy collagen, and without it, new collagen cannot be properly made,"* Zeichner adds. Vitamin E is also another important antioxidant, as it protects against collagen cross-linking3, a process that plays a role in skin aging.*