Say goodbye to dry and dull, and hello to healthy, glowing skin. The trick: taking an active approach to protect, repair and boost your skin health.

It's never too early (or late!) to start looking after your skin. A strong pair in the fight for glowing skin is protection and giving your body a little extra love with supplements. Add in a good daily skin care routine and you're all set.

But first, sunscreen

Protection is the key to healthy, glowing skin. Too much sun can lead to visible damage, increased cancer risk and premature aging. Unfortunately, there's no magic pill to completely avoid aging. But, there's nothing wrong with helping your skin age gracefully.

Sunscreen doesn't just belong in your beach bag, it belongs in your glowing skin care routine. No matter how snowy or cloudy it is, protecting your skin is still important. Say it again louder - use sunscreen year round! Applying sunscreen daily has been shown to decrease skin aging by more than 20% compared to those applying it irregularly. With those results, the extra minute in the morning sure seems worth it!

In your skin care arsenal, your secret (or not so secret) weapon is your SPF. Opt for a natural mineral sunscreen to avoid unwanted chemicals and fragrances. EWG has a huge product database to provide recommendations for the best clean, natural products.

Our favourite glowing skin hack: Collagen

Now, what's collagen? Collagen is the most abundant protein found in the body. It plays an essential role in our skin. Once we hit our twenties, our natural collagen levels begin to decline. This natural process can be attributed to many signs of aging including loss of skin elasticity. We can't turn back the clock to smoother days, but supplementing with collagen supplements has proven skin health benefits.

Collagen supplements taken daily can improve skin elasticity. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study found that supplementing with collagen for four weeks resulted in increased skin elasticity. Another study found similar positive results. They discovered that eight weeks of supplementation with collagen significantly improved the skin's hydration and structure. Improved skin elasticity and hydration? Yes, please.

Many skin creams on the market boast the benefits of collagen. So why take a supplement over a cream? Creams can do a great job at moisturizing the outer layers of your skin, but won't impact the overall collagen levels in your body. That's where collagen supplements come into play - hello joint, gut, hair AND skin benefits!

Is there a difference between bovine or marine collagen for the skin? Yes! A lot of the decision can come from personal or dietary preferences. Although, if you are looking to start taking collagen because of its skin-boosting benefits, we recommend marine collagen. Marine collagen is a source of type 1 collagen. Type 1 collagen is the most abundant collagen in our bodies and is a key building block for maintaining the elasticity and firmness of our skin. When shopping for a marine collagen, be sure to dig deep into the source of the collagen. The best quality of marine collagen will be sustainably sourced from wild-caught fish, non-GMO and tested for heavy metals.

Get the glow with Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid

Now that your skin is protected and getting the much needed TLC from collagen, what's next? Vitamin C and hyaluronic acid are another two strong glow getters. Similarly to collagen, vitamin C and hyaluronic acid both naturally occur in the skin. With aging and environmental factors though, their levels decrease over time.

Research shows that supplementation with vitamin C can effectively increase vitamin C levels in the skin. What's vitamin C's role in the skin? There are many different biological functions that vitamin C is thought to have in the skin. The vitamin plays a vital role in collagen synthesis and acts as a strong antioxidant battling against environmental pollutants and sun exposure.

Think hydration when you hear hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is found in almost every cell in our bodies. It's distributed in our connective, neural and epithelial tissue. It's main function is to retain water, simple as that! What does that mean for the skin? Hyaluronic acid is the key molecule involved in skin moisture. Remember the years of plump, hydrated, youthful skin? You can thank hyaluronic acid for that. With aging and environmental factors, we lose the moisture in our skin over time. A recent study shows that ingesting hyaluronic acid can improve the appearance of the skin. In twelve weeks, hyaluronic acid was found to suppress wrinkles and improves the skin's luster and suppleness. Need we say more?

Collagen, vitamin C and hyaluronic acid are a great team working together to keep your skin glowing. Supplementing with all three everyday may seem like a handful. The solution? Sproos Up Your Skin & Hair has six active ingredients designed to work from within to improve the appearance of dull, aging skin and hair. It's a powerful formula containing wild-caught marine collagen, vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, zinc, silica and biotin - all ingredients designed to help you get glowing skin.

Now we can't turn back time, but making a conscious effort to protect, repair and boost your skin makes all the difference.

Carly Chagas

Sproos Brand Manager

With a passion for food and wellness, Carly has worked in the natural food industry over the last few years specializing in marketing. She holds a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Human Health and Nutritional Sciences and continues to work to combine her passion and education at Sproos. Carly lives in Toronto and when she's not working, she can be found out and about the city with her dog, Lilly, or hitting up a yoga class.