Collagen supplements: The secret to perfect skin, or marketing hype

Collagen supplements might make your skin more elastic – but the evidence is weak.

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Collagen is hugely hyped. This protein, which is important to the structure of skin and joints, has been presented as a miracle cure for everything from wrinkles to poor sleep.

Production of collagen, the most abundant protein in the body, naturally slows with age – whether you protect your skin from the Sun or not. To compensate, collagen supplementation has become a booming business. One aficionado is Bryan Johnson, the tech entrepreneur who has become a one-man experiment for how to prolong your life, who says he takes 25g (0.9 ounces) of collagen peptides every day. 

 All content within this column is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. The BBC is not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based on the content of this site. The BBC is not liable for the contents of any external internet sites listed, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advised on any of the sites. Always consult your own GP if you're in any way concerned about your health.

Collagen is hugely hyped. This protein, which is important to the structure of skin and joints, has been presented as a miracle cure for everything from wrinkles to poor sleep.

Production of collagen, the most abundant protein in the body, naturally slows with age – whether you protect your skin from the Sun or not. To compensate, collagen supplementation has become a booming business. One aficionado is Bryan Johnson, the tech entrepreneur who has become a one-man experiment for how to prolong your life, who says he takes 25g (0.9 ounces) of collagen peptides every day.

But collagen is not always well understood. While there is some evidence that supplementing with this molecule has health benefits, research is limited. The main risk of taking it as a supplement may be of wasting money – there are few known side effects – but is the scientific evidence keeping pace with the marketing claims?

Why collagen is confusing

To start with the basics, "collagen is only found in animal connective tissue", notes Andrea Soares, a registered dietitian in Georgia, US, who is part of the Top Nutrition Coaching network, a company which helps to connect people with dietitians in their area.

Collagen products come from a variety of animals: cows, pigs, chickens and fish. Gelatine, which is used to make sweets, jelly and the capsules for pharmaceuticals, is a form of collagen. "Some plant-based supplements claim to be 'vegan collagen', but what they actually contain are collagen-boosting ingredients like vitamin C, amino acids and minerals that help your body make its own collagen," says Soares. "If you're vegan, you might want to spend your money on a well-rounded diet instead of plant-based 'collagen' supplements that don't actually contain collagen."

Different types of collagen appear to work differently. Hydrolysed collagen (collagen hydrolysate) is collagen which has been broken down into short chains of amino acids known as peptides. These get broken down further as they move through the digestive system EFSA is the EU agency that assesses risks related to novel foods. When they took a look at collagen, they concluded that the health claims submitted about it so far were not supported by enough high-quality evidence.

 They were "not sufficiently defined, lacked supporting human studies, or relied on evidence from animd laboratory research, which cannot predict effects in humans," says Heng. She points out that claims such as the idea that collagen helps to maintain skin elasticity, or that it improves joint functioning, have not yet been demonstrated sufficiently by scientific research.