If wrinkles, loss of firmness or dry skin are your concerns, collagen can make all the difference in the world. Regardless of your age or skin type, collagen is a superstar skin-saver you need to know about. But how does it work? With this easy to understand guide, we'll walk you through everything you need to know.

What is collagen?

Collagen is the most important protein produced by the human body. Collagen is the most abundant component of the extracellular matrix constituting 75% of skin’s dry weight. 

However, it is a long-life protein that undergoes molecular aging. External and internal factors drive the physiological process of skin aging associated with a decline in collagen formation. Collagen formation is diminished in mature skin and the biomatrix of the skin begins to collapse when the collagen scaffold loses its strength and stability. Factors such as sunlight, smoking, environmental pollution and nutrient deficiency can accelerate this process. The elasticity is then diminished, and lines and wrinkles emerge. Due to the loss of collagen, the skin becomes increasingly thinner and drier.

The benefits of using collagen

Collagen has started gaining popularity as a nutritional supplement. There is extensive literature showing the benefits of hydrolysed collagen-based nutraceutical supplements on human skin. Oral hydrolysed collagen supplementation reaches the deeper layers of the skin and improves skin physiology and appearance increasing hydration, elasticity, firmness, wrinkle reduction, and skin rejuvenation.

Thus, the preliminary results are promising for the short and long-term use of oral collagen supplements in skin aging. Collagen supplementation is generally safe with no reported adverse events. 

Why oral collagen beats applying a collagen product?

it has been found that topical application of products containing collagen does not significantly improve the skin texture, as the collagen molecules cannot penetrate the epidermis, due to their high molecular weight. The oral intake of collagen bioactive peptides instead, due to their low molecular weight, permits a systemic absorption and distribution of these peptides in the different tissues. They are also absorbed relatively quickly. Similarly, when it comes to research, there have been fewer studies assessing the effect of topical collagen on the aging process when compared with the studies conducted for oral collagen supplements.

It has been proven that daily consumption of hydrolyzed collagen can bring many benefits for the human body and especially in improving skin health.