Collagen – Does It Really Work?!

Recently, we often hear the word “collagen“. We find collagen in creams, supplements and drinks.  But what is collagen? Do I need to use collagen in skincare products? I will tell you more below.

What is collagen?

The word “collagen” is derived from two Greek words – “kolla” (glue) and “gen” (producing).   When it comes to your joints and tendons, collagen acts like a glue that holds things together. Collagen is the main structural protein in the extracellular space in the various connective tissues in the body. Keeps skin strong and healthy.

Simply put: when there’s less collagen, the skin isn’t quite as firm. When the skin loses elasticity and firmness, wrinkles often result.

There are at least 28 types of collagen. Let’s look at the different collagen types:

Type I: skin, tendon, vasculature, organs, bone. Most abundant in the body, and strongest. Over 90% of the collagen in your body.

Type II: help your joints

Type III: supports the structure of muscles, organs and arteries. Commonly found alongside type I

Type V: it is found within the dermal/epidermal junction, placental tissues, as well as in association with tissues containing Type I

Type X: helps with bone formation and cartilage.

Collagen for Anti-Aging & Beauty

The effectiveness of collagen depends on how it is delivered into your body. You can apply it on skin from cream; you can take it with supplement or drink; or you can have it injected directly into the skin.

Collagen in skincare

When you apply collagen cream, skin will look firmer and younger, but problem here is that the collagen molecule itself is actually too large to penetrate the skin via cream.

Collagen probably has a temporary effect. It helps moisturize skin, reducing water loss or binding moisture, so the skin will look more firm and healthy after application.

Collagen Injection

When you inject collagen directly into the deeper layers of skin, there will be no problem penetrating through skin.

Collagen injections are made by extracting dermal collagen from cow skin, but since it can cause an allergic reaction, you have to have a test injection a month prior to receiving treatments. There is a newer form of collagen which is made by purifying human collagen cells; it doesn’t require allergy test.

When you inject collagen it gives immediate result. But after about 3-6 months, the injected collagen is absorbed by the body and your face returns to its original appearance. It’s a proven method but temporary. So you have to repeat the treatment and it is rather expensive.

Collagen Supplements

I’m usually skeptical about supplements because I doubt how this will affect me.

I found a couple of studies that when you swallow collagen it breaks down into smaller fragments and these fragments stimulate collagen production in vitro. But we don’t know if there are in vivo studies proving that ingested collagen benefits skin.

Next study looks more promising. A group of women swallowed 1 gram of collagen daily for 6 weeks. Then they noticed skin improvements. Of course, this study isn’t very convincing because of its small size.

The third study I found: A group of women received 2.5 grams or 5 grams or placebo daily for 8 weeks. After the study, women who took collagen had improved skin elasticity.

In my opinion, these are not exact studies. Because not only supplements, but also food affects your skin. And we do not know if women used new skincare product during the study. Therefore, reading such studies, I doubt their accuracy.

Conclusion

Collagen in skincare is a marketing ploy. Nevertheless, I think that there are creams which stimulate collagen production and thus improve skin condition. Therefore, choose products that stimulate collagen production. As for injections, this definitely works. But this is only temporary and quite expensive, so you should think about whether you want to give injections in your face 2-4 times a year. And finally, supplements. There is evidence that it has a positive effect on skin, so I would say it’s worth a try. In case they don’t work for you, it won’t harm in any ways.

What do you think of collagen?