Do collagen supplements work to reduce signs of skin ageing?

Regarding collagen – How do you take yours?

There are parties where people even drink photos of the anti -aging supplement, often followed by a heavy tequila – although the latter is probably not recommended in the quest for young skin and peach.

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and forms the scaffolding that helps maintain the structural integrity of our skin and our musculoskeletal system.

In short, collagen helps keep our skin dodue, our joints and our strong bones and our hair and our healthy nails.

It has become so precious that some dermatologists recommend “Bandre” – investing in our collagen supply early, so we have a surplus when the inevitable occurs.

Yes. The inevitable. Aging. Sigh.

Our collagen supply naturally begins to decrease, on average about 1% per year, while we reach our environment at the end of the 1920s.

The speed of its decrease depends on factors such as our exposure to the sun, diet and stress levels.

But is there a credible science to say that the supplements can reconstruct our diet in decline? And if so, what is the best way to get it into our body?

Kimberlie Smith started taking collagen about six months ago. The 33 -year -old began to use it after a “traumatic year” in 2024. His son was born prematurely, and following stress, the mother of three said that his skin took “huge success”.

She uses marine collagen, the type derived from fish, in a tropical flavor gel that she drinks every day.

“My skin seems definitely brighter and lighter, and my hair has never been better since I started taking it,” said Kimberlie. “As a mother deprived of sleep, this has definitely made a difference.”

Emma Wedgeworth, a Dermatologist Consultant based on Harley Street in London, says that there is research to suggest that taking collagen orally has an impact, it remains skeptical.

She says that the idea that collagen can make its journey through our body – not the easiest quest – and land exactly where we need it is probably a vow.

To start, he must cross the intestine without being completely decomposed. Collagen is a large molecule, so companies have now started to divide it into small pieces – collagen peptides – otherwise known as hydrolyzed collagen.

Even if this collagen – now in its smaller form – has better chances to make your way through the intestinal wall and in the blood circulation, it still has a long way to go.

It must reach the skin to have an impact, and it could just as well slip to support other organs of the body. It is a precious resource.

“There is little reliable evidence on this subject, but there is a theory that our skin is the organ with the” fastest renewal “of cells, it could be more likely to use these collagen peptides above the other organs.”

And this is when you could get an increase in collagen made in skin cells.

All this seems very complicated – and uncertain. This can let you ask: what about the use of collagen creams? They go directly to the skin, so don’t they hold more likely to arrive where they should be?

“No” is the simple answer of Ms. Wedgworth. “The collagen will just be seated on the outer layer of your skin, it will not reach the dermis – which is the intermediate layer.”

There are three different types of collagen supplements: the sailor (fish), the cattle (cows) and the vegan. Of the three, the dermatologist recommends navy if you take collagen orally.

Indeed, it contains more type 1 collagen – the most common of the five types and that which gives a structure to our skin cells, as well as to play a crucial role in the health of our bones, tendons and connective tissues.

Vegan collagen is the least effective, explains Ms. Wedgeworth. Collagen is a protein derived from animals, so these products are not really collagen and rather contain a range of amino acids and vitamins.

“I am trapped,” said Ali Watson as she points to packaging of bovine collagen powder in her kitchen. “Yes, this one is for me and well, this one is for Tommy.”

I look at the thin brown dog next to me, gray mustaches that grow around his nose. He raises an eyebrow in recognition.

Ali, a neuroanestist who, by her own admission, “knows a lot about the dosage”, has the impression that now she has started to take collagen, she cannot stop – and she cannot stop giving it to her dog either.

“I started taking it as powder a few years ago.

Ali is not sure that she noticed a difference with his joints, but she noticed a change elsewhere.

“My skin has the impression that it shines more, my hair is thicker and my nails feel stronger.”

I look at Tommy, who seems more interested in his bowl of dogs than supplements powder.

“I know, it seems crazy,” said Ali, “but Tommy seemed a little slower, a little less enthusiastic just before summer, so I thought I would try him on the collagen for dogs.

“I wanted to see if it could help with his joints – he ages now. And he’s a little brighter, but it may be because the weather is colder again and is less hot and lethargic.”

Ali is not completely convinced that the supplement makes a difference, and it costs him £ 60 per month to make sure she and Tommy get their daily dose.

But she says she can no longer stop. “This is the thing with these supplements,” said the 46 -year -old man, “life has his ups and downs. You could take them when you are down, then things take up – and that could have very little to do with the supplements.

“But at this point, you cannot risk stopping.”

Professor Faisal Ali, a dermatologist consultant at Mid Cheshire NHS Trust, said that one of the problems with which consumers and clinicians are confronted is the amount of contradictory information and contradictory interest in supplements.

A recent, relatively small study compared research funded by the well-being industry to studies that did not have the same conflict of interest.

While the studies financed by the industry have suggested that collagen supplements have considerably improved skin hydration, elasticity and wrinkles, those who have not received funding from pharmaceutical companies have revealed any effect on the skin.

Professor Ali says that the studies financed by the industry are not “intrinsically bad”, it is just such a varied image. But he says that there is a lack of solid evidence that suggests that oral and topical collagen has a substantial effect.

So, if I could go back in time and start drinking and with collagen in my twenties, would I now have softer and younger skin, I ask him? Probably not, he said. There is not in the body for so long – we do not have a collagen store cupboard in which we can simply dive.

However, Professor Ali believes that we can potentially increase collagen production and maintain elasticity in our skin using special techniques such as stimulation of laser collagen and micro-rose.

This means using a number of tiny specialized needles or a laser to make small injuries to our skin, which then encourages a repair process, triggering new collagen formation.

But it’s not cheap. You could pay up to £ 300 for a session. Is there a less expensive alternative?

“The best thing you can do for your skin,” says Professor Ali, “is to use a decent sunscreen. We know that the sun has a huge impact on the aging of our skin.

“Sun cream, healthy diet and if you smoke, stop.

“These will have a much greater impact than collagen supplements.”