If you are a weight lifting enthusiast, you may have heard of the benefits of Creatine for building lean muscle. You may not know that Creatine also has many benefits for the skin in preventing aging. Before we jump in, lets start with, what is Creatine?
Creatine is a naturally occurring substance in your muscles that allows you to produce energy during high-intensity workouts or heavy lifting. Creatine is widely used as a supplement by athletes and bodybuilders to improve physical performance, gain muscle, increase strength, and improve fitness. It shares many chemical similarities with amino acids. Your body makes creatine from the amino acids glycine and arginine. In fact, approximately 95% of your body’s Creatine is stored in muscles as phosphocreatine.
Importance of Creatine
Creatine is essential for cells’ energy supply and function, including those in the skin. This is why it is critical to replenish the skin’s supply of Creatine as we age and as the body’s natural production of Creatine declines. We are able to accomplish this by applying it topically onto the skin through moisturizers, oils, and lotions to combat signs of aging such as fine lines and wrinkles.
Can It Improve the Skin?
The short answer to this question is yes. Creatine used in skin products and applied regularly can improve the skin’s overall appearance. Here are some of its benefits:
1. Gives You Glowing Skin:
Creatine in a skincare product or lotion increases skin cell metabolism, turnover, and repair. When the new cells replace the old, dull, and damaged skin cells, the skin gets a glowing and bright appearance.
2. Plumps and Firms the Skin:
Collagen is an important component of our skin and gives our skin a plump and youthful appearance. The quantity of collagen in the skin decreases as we age, causing the skin to lose elasticity and sag. Creatine supplies energy to the skin cells and stimulates them to produce more collagen. This firms up the skin and gives you more of a youthful appearance. This also combats other signs of aging and minimizes fine lines and wrinkles.
3. Reduces Dark Spots:
Creatine also aids in treating hyperpigmentation, dark spots, and melasma. It does this by increasing the rate of cell turnover. It also aids in the repair of the skin cells present in these dull patches of the skin. By improving cell turnover, new skin cells containing a normal amount of pigment replace the hyperpigmented cells giving your skin an even skin tone.
4. Protects the Skin from the Sun:
Creatine has also been shown in some studies to help protect skin DNA from UV damage. Thus, incorporating skincare products containing creatine will protect the skin cells from damage caused by sun exposure.
5. Hydrates the Skin:
Applying creatine-enriched products to your skin help to reduce signs of aging. This is because Creatine can increase the water content in cells. With age, the water content of the cells declines, so supplementing Creatine can help give your skin a more hydrated and moisturized look by increasing total body water content without altering the water distribution in the body.
Keeping in mind all these benefits of Creatine, look for skin care products and moisturizers containing Creatine to improve the appearance of your skin. You can use the Only Skin Night Cream containing Creatine to repair your damaged skin and collagen during the night as you sleep. You can also use the Only Skin Eye Serum, which combats dark circles, reduces fine lines, and can be applied day and night.
Written By: The Only Skin Team
References:
- Sanz, Maria Teresa et al. “Biorevitalizing effect of a novel facial serum containing apple stem cell extract, pro-collagen lipopeptide, creatine, and urea on skin aging signs.” Journal of cosmetic dermatology vol. 15,1 (2016): 24-30. doi:10.1111/jocd.12173
- Peirano, Reto I et al. “Dermal penetration of creatine from a face-care formulation containing creatine, guarana and glycerol is linked to effective antiwrinkle and antisagging efficacy in male subjects.” Journal of cosmetic dermatology vol. 10,4 (2011): 273-81. doi:10.1111/j.1473-2165.2011.00579.x
- Knott, Anja et al. “A novel treatment option for photoaged skin.” Journal of cosmetic dermatology vol. 7,1 (2008): 15-22. doi:10.1111/j.1473-2165.2008.00356.x
- Lenz, Holger et al. “The creatine kinase system in human skin: protective effects of creatine against oxidative and UV damage in vitro and in vivo.” The Journal of investigative dermatology vol. 124,2 (2005): 443-52. doi:10.1111/j.0022-202X.2004.23522.x
- Powers, Michael E. et al. “Creatine Supplementation Increases Total Body Water Without Altering Fluid Distribution.” Journal of athletic training vol. 38,1 (2003): 44-50.