Can collagen supplements improve your skin? Here's what the research shows

Collagen is nan astir abundant macromolecule successful our bodies. It helps support our tegument patient and elastic. But arsenic we age, nan magnitude and value of that collagen declines. And immoderate group move to supplements. Luis Echeverri Urrea/iStockphoto/Getty Images hide caption

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Luis Echeverri Urrea/iStockphoto/Getty Images

The explorer Ponce de Leon famously went to Florida successful hunt of nan fountain of youth. But if you perceive to societal media influencers, he should astir apt person headed to nan supplement aisle to prime up immoderate collagen.

"I'm successful my 40s and if I shave, I look for illustration I'm successful my mid-20s," a Tiktok creator who goes by Shop By Jake claims  in 1 paid promotion. "People inquire maine each nan time, what do you do for your skin? I return collagen," he says.

Claims astir nan wellness and beauty benefits of collagen supplements are commonplace these days, particularly online. But does nan grounds backmost nan hype?

The claim

Collagen supplements tin beforehand healthier skin, hairsbreadth and nails, and stronger joints.

The theory

Collagen is nan astir abundant macromolecule successful nan body. It's recovered successful skin, hair, nails, tendons, ligaments, cartilage and bones. It helps support our skin's elasticity and volume. It's a structural protein, truthful it gives spot and integrity to our tissues and keeps joints strong, among different things. But starting successful our 20s, nan magnitude and value of nan collagen our bodies nutrient declines.

Factors like UV radiation, smoking and vulnerability to biology pollutants can velocity up that decline. But it's going to hap pinch property regardless, which is why tons of group move to collagen supplements.

Collagen supplements mostly travel successful 2 main forms. Hydrolyzed collagen peptides are fundamentally collagen that's been surgery down into smaller chains of amino acids to make them easier to absorb. They're derived from animal sources, specified arsenic fish, cattle, pigs aliases chicken. That's typically what's utilized successful supplements aimed astatine improving tegument and hair, arsenic good arsenic associated health.

"The mentation is that if you ingest [a collagen supplement,] it goes done nan GI tract and gets absorbed and past it theoretically goes to places to support aliases summation collagen production," says Dr. Lauren Taglia, a board-certified dermatologist pinch Northwestern Medicine successful Naperville, Ill.

The 2nd main shape of supplement is undenatured, aliases native, type II collagen, which hasn't been surgery down. It's derived from chickens. Most of nan collagen recovered successful cartilage is type II. These kinds of supplements are thought to beforehand associated wellness by triggering nan immune strategy to nutrient chemic messengers that tamp down inflammation.

So what does nan investigation say?

The evidence

Let's commencement pinch skin.

When it comes to tegument health, location are studies that propose collagen supplements work.

"There person been randomized controlled tests that person shown that aft 8 to 12 weeks of collagen supplementation, things for illustration extent of wrinkles, tegument elasticity, dermal thickness look to beryllium improved," says Dr. Maryanne Makredes Senna, an adjunct professor of dermatology astatine Harvard Medical School.

One meta-analysis of 19 studies published successful 2021 recovered that, compared pinch a placebo, group taking collagen supplements had amended tegument hydration, elasticity and improvements successful wrinkles.

A second meta-analysis was published this year. It looked astatine 23 randomized controlled tests pinch much than 1,400 patients who took collagen supplements for tegument issues, and it besides recovered important improvements successful those aforesaid areas aft 90 days.

But Senna says those findings came pinch a large caveat: The studies that recovered nan biggest improvements were lower-quality and were funded by nan supplement industry, she says.

"High-quality studies and studies not funded by manufacture did not show a important relation rate," Senna says.

Given that, nan authorities of nan grounds erstwhile it comes to collagen supplements for tegument is mixed astatine best, says dermatologist Lauren Taglia. "As physician-scientists, we would emotion to spot studies done connected a ample standard and done independently," she says.

It's a akin communicative erstwhile it comes to collagen supplements for associated health. Studies person shown benefits — specified arsenic successful reducing symptom from osteoarthritis.

But again, overmuch of nan investigation is manufacture funded, truthful it tin beryllium difficult to disentangle imaginable bias, says Dr. David Felson, an osteoarthritis interrogator and professor astatine Boston University.

One systematic reappraisal found that astir of nan studies of collagen supplements for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis were excessively debased value to find whether they really helped. Some studies included successful that reappraisal reported adverse effects, specified arsenic an exacerbation of symptoms.

"With respect to collagen, I don't cognize what nan correct reply is," Felson says. It could perchance help, but "there are nary ample standard studies present and location request to be," he says.

The bottommost line

If it's healthier tegument you're after, collagen supplements "could beryllium helpful, but there's not a ton of beardown grounds to support them astatine this point," Taglia says.

Your champion stake is to attraction connected things that do person robust grounds down them, says Dr. Maya Jonas, an adjunct professor of dermatology astatine nan Ohio State University. That includes wearing sunscreen and different sun protection and utilizing vitamin A-based products for illustration retinol, which person been clinically proven to stimulate collagen production. Keeping your tegument moisturized is besides important.

Lifestyle factors matter too, Jonas says. She recommends a fare rich | successful fruits and vegetables, which supply antioxidants for illustration vitamin C, and nuts and seeds, which are bully sources of zinc and copper and thief support collagen production.

"We ever talk astir diet, making judge patients are eating a patient Mediterranean fare that's well-balanced, avoiding alcohol, not smoking and avoiding secondhand smoke," Jonas says.

And get plentifulness of slumber and exercise, adds Senna. Poor slumber and accent tin take a toll connected skin, while workout tin amended humor travel to nan tegument and whitethorn help counteract nan nonaccomplishment of elasticity and dermal thickness that comes pinch aging.

That's not conscionable bully for skin, but wide health, too.