Before discussing collagen supplements, let’s find out what collagen is. Collagen is a protein naturally found in the body. There are 28 different forms found in the body (Type I,II,III…), building cartilage to bone formation but only a few forms are relevant for beauty.
For our aesthetics purposes, it forms the structural matrix of skin (Type I & III), quite literally the backbone of skin along with hyaluronic acid and elastin, forming 25-35% of total protein mass in mammals.¹
While it is found in abundance in the body, levels begin to decrease by the age of 25 years. Gradually the levels decrease, and this decrease is visible through the different changes in skin tonicity, namely wrinkles and firmness.
The protein has recently gained popularity for its potential benefits on the skin, nails, hair, and bone. The effectiveness of collagen, however, has been challenged especially with collagen supplements as they are believed to not have the required amounts of collagen to make a difference. While oral supplementation DOES lead to some results, a lot of it doesn’t actually make it to the skin!
Featured Collagen Supplements
Products & brands mentioned.
Preventing Collagen Loss
Collagen naturally decreases with age and it is inevitable, however extrinsic factors greatly speed up the process. Likewise, supplementation and gene expression can help reduce the rate of collagen loss.
With age, the ability to replenish collagen
naturally decreases by about 1.5% per year
These speed up collagen loss³
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Wind
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Air conditioning
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Sun exposure
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Smoking
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Alcohol
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Stress
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Lack of sleep
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Fatty acid deficiency
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Autoimmune diseases
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Genetic Expression
Figure 1 – Collagen is constantly produced and destroyed, but this balance tips out of favour after 25. Appropriated from Reilly 2021.
Young skin consists of 80% Type I collagen and 15% Type III. Aged skin has less Type I collagen (structural collagen) making it thinner, which also reduces hyaluronic acid availability resulting in less moisture retention for reduced skin suppleness.⁴
The Collagen Pathway
Collagen fibres are synthesized by fibroblasts in the deeper layers of the skin and so promoting collagen production requires both gene expression to signal to start up the cell factories and nutrients to feed these factories for production. This is the difference between collagen boosters and actual collagen peptides, where boosters simply encourage your body to make more collagen naturally.
Hydrolysed Collagen
In general, hydrolyzed collagen is just regular collagen, which has long, heavy molecules, being broken down artificially by enzymes into smaller chains for better absorption. Along your gastrointestinal tract collagen breaks to di- and tri- peptides and most hydrolyzed supplements contain a mix of peptide chain lengths of different amino acids. The freed amino acids travel to the dermis where it can remain for up to 14 days.⁹ These amino acids provide the building blocks for new collagen and elastin while also stimulating the production of elastin and hyaluronic acid to go with it.
Figure 2 – Hydrolyzed collagen peptides are smaller broken off bits of the larger collagen molecule using enzyme hydrolysis (hence the name)!
Gelatin
This type of collagen is also derived from animal sources like hydrolyzed collagen but gelatin is cooked after extraction. Gelatin is often found in gummy supplements for those who would like a bit of flavor with their daily dose of collagen.
However, gelatin is the least used type of collagen for supplements and is only available in foods and gummies, the dosage of which differs from product to product.
Undenatured Collagen
This type of collagen is derived from chicken cartilage only. The undenatured collagen is used in dietary supplements but the preference remains to be hydrolyzed collagen. Studies show that 10 g to 40 g of this type of collagen may be able to improve bone and joint health. However, not much is known about the effect of this type of collagen on beauty.
Figure 3 – Collagen peptides are broken down in the Gastrointestinal tract into amino acids which are transported to the skin for production back into human collagen.
Bioavailability
Bioavailability is the relative amount of a dietary compound that crosses the intestinal barrier, reaches blood circulation and is available for metabolic process.
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Fish scale collagen (marine collagen) is highly bioavailable in the bloodstream, better absorption¹⁰
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Hydroxyproline Peptides (a small component of collagen) remains in the bloodstream for longer¹¹
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90% of orally taken hydrolyzed collagen was absorbed within 12 hours, however this study looked at mice¹²
For oral collagen to be effective it needs to be proven that it can:
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stimulate fibroblasts (to make more collagen)
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increase collagen fibre density and diameter in the dermis
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increase hyaluronic acid production
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activate protection against UVA radiation
Figure 4 – Collagen tissue distribution in rats⁹
The Effectiveness of Collagen
Human clinical trials have repeatedly shown an improvement in skin hydration, moisture retention and firmness with collagen supplements. However, the effectiveness of results vary as many trials use low sample sizes while others produce insignificant trends in the data.
In practical terms, can collagen fix your wrinkles? No, but it should be taken for other skin benefits regardless.
Summary of Clinical Trials
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A gradual improvement in skin moisture was seen with 10g of collagen daily in Japanese women¹³
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Improved skin condition with fish collagen supplementation¹⁴
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10g Marine collagen, no significant improvement in <30 group, significant improvement in >30 year old group¹⁵
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5-10g Pig Skin collagen ingestion showed improved visual perceptions of skin after 3 and 7 weeks¹⁶
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5g Collagen Hydrolysate, (35-55 y.o) moderate improvements in skin moisture¹⁷
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1g Collagen Type II for 12 weeks showed a reduction in dryness/scaling and global lines/wrinkles¹⁸
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3g Collagen + 500mg Vitamin C supplement. Improved skin hydration but no beneficial effects from the Vitamin C¹⁹
Choosing Your Collagen Supplement
Tips When Buying Collagen
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Choose a moderately cheap, easily accessible product
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Marine collagen has better absorption (than other collagen forms) but there are concerns of heavy metals and microplastics being found in our waterways
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Collagen manufacturers put Vitamin C and other fillers into your supplement to reduce dosage, the added fillers have shown no improved benefits in clinical trials. Vitamin C is needed for collagen production but you should take a separate supplement for that.
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The standard serving size for a bottle of collagen is a 1g tablet x 6 servings. Meaning they expect you take your collagen tablet 6 times a day! This is a clever marketing trick to convince you that you are getting more per serving.
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There is no such thing as Vegan Collagen. Plants do not have gelatinous structures to utilize collagen and so it cannot be extracted from them. There IS new research into harvesting it from bacteria and bio-engineered yeast, but in most cases these are Collagen Boosters and not actual collagen. Read the label carefully.
Figure 5 – 1 tablet is 1.3g, but at QOVES we recommend 1g/10kg of bodyweight. At the very least, 2.5g.
We recommend 1g/10kg of bodyweight of collagen daily
The effectiveness of collagen supplements depends on the dosage of collagen being consumed. According to several pieces of research, around 2.5 g to 15 g of hydrolyzed collagen is safe to consume with no reported side effects at this dosage.
Product Recommendations
I. Collagen Booster + Peptide combo
We recommend a Collagen Booster + Collagen Peptide combo to cover all bases. However it is highly recommended to get a nutraceutical profile done first, where your saliva is used to find dietary deficiencies in a lab. Medium-quality Bovine collagen is optimal, as marine collagen has risks of bioaccumulation of heavy metals such as mercury entering the bloodstream and traces of microplastics are commonly found in fish. Whether this directly affects the scales from which collagen is made is debatable, but the cost difference between bovine, poultry and marine is negligible so why not get the best.
II. Bulk Collagen Peptide
We recommend a Collagen Booster + Collagen Peptide combo to cover all bases. However it is highly recommended to get a nutraceutical profile done first, where your saliva is used to find dietary deficiencies in a lab. Medium-quality Bovine collagen is optimal, as marine collagen has risks of bioaccumulation of heavy metals such as mercury entering the bloodstream and traces of microplastics are commonly found in fish. Whether this directly affects the scales from which collagen is made is debatable, but the cost difference between bovine, poultry and marine is negligible so why not get the best.
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2. Reilly DM, Lozano J. Skin collagen through the lifestages: importance for skin health and beauty. Plast Aesthet Res 2021;8:2. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2347-9264.2020.153
3. Sara Sibilla, Martin Godfrey, Sarah Brewer, Anil Budh-Raja, Licia Genovese. An Overview of the Beneficial Effects of Hydrolysed Collagen as a Nutraceutical on Skin Properties: Scientific Background and Clinical Studies
4. Oikarinen A. The aging of skin: chronoaging versus photoaging.
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5. Bolke, L.; Schlippe, G.; Gerß, J.; Voss, W. A Collagen Supplement Improves Skin Hydration, Elasticity, Roughness, and Density: Results of a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Blind Study. Nutrients 2019, 11, 2494. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11102494
6. Sato, K. The Presence of Food-Derived Collagen Peptides in Human Body-Structure and Biological Activity. Food Funct. 2017, 8, 4325–4330.
7. Zague, V.; de Freitas, V.; da Costa Rosa, M.; de Castro, G.A.; Jaeger, R.G.; Machado-Santelli, G.M. Collagen Hydrolysate Intake Increases Skin Collagen Expression and Suppresses Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 Activity. J. Med. Food 2011, 14, 618–624.
8. Schlippe, G.; Bolke, L.; Voss, W. Einfluss oraler Einnahme von Kollagen-Peptiden auf relevante Parameter der Hautalterung: Hautfeuchtigkeit, Hautelastizität und Hautrauigkeit. Aktuelle Dermatol. 2015, 41, 529–534
9. Watanabe-Kamiyama M, Shimizu M, Kamiyama S, et al. Absorption and effectiveness of orally administered low molecular weight collagen hydrolysate in rats. J Agric Food Chem 2010; 58(2): 835-41.
10. Oesser S, Adam M, Babel W, Seifert J. Oral administration of (14)C labeled gelatin hydrolysate leads to an accumulation of radioactivity in cartilage of mice (C57/BL). J Nutr 1999; 129(10): 1891-5.
11. Iwai K, Hasegawa T, Taguchi Y, et al. Identification of foodderived collagen peptides in human blood after oral ingestion of gelatin hydrolysates. J Agric Food Chem 2005; 53(16): 6531-6.
12 Ohara H, Matsumoto H, Ito K, Iwai K, Sato K. Comparison of quantity and structures of hydroxyproline-containing peptides in human blood after oral ingestion of gelatin hydrolysates from different sources. J Agric Food Chem 2007; 55(4): 1532-5.
13. Sumida E, Hirota A, Kuwaba K. The effect of oral ingestion of collagen peptide on skin hydration and biochemical data of blood. J Nutr Food 2004; 7 : 45-52.
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16. Koyama Y. Effect of collagen peptide on the skin. Shokuhinto Kaihatsu 2009; 44: 10-2
17. Proksch E, Segger D, Degwert J, Schunck M, Zague V, Oesser S. Oral supplementation of specific collagen peptides has beneficial effects on human skin physiology: a double-blind, placebocontrolled study. Skin Pharmacol Physiol 2014; 27(1): 47-55.
18. Schwartz SR, Park J. Ingestion of BioCell Collagen((R)), a novel hydrolyzed chicken sternal cartilage extract; enhanced blood microcirculation and reduced facial aging signs. Clin Interv Aging 2012; 7: 267-73.
19. Beguin A. A novel micronutrient supplement in skin aging: a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind study. J Cosmet Dermatol 2005; 4(4): 277-84.
20. Choi SY, Ko EJ, Lee YH, et al. Effects of collagen tripeptide supplement on skin properties: A prospective, randomized, controlled study. J Cosmet Laser Ther 2014; 16(3): 132-7.
