We briefly mentioned collagen powder's benefits for skin health in our Deep Guide to Collagen video (which you can find here) and received numerous requests to explore oral collagen supplements further. We'll try to provide honest and accurate information on whether they work or are just a waste of money.
Studies suggest that porcine collagen (from pig skin) is the most effective supplement as it closely resembles human skin collagen. Marine collagen is a viable alternative for pescetarians, while "plant-based collagen" is questionable — it typically contains ingredients that only claim to aid collagen production. When shopping, look for "hydrolyzed collagen" or "collagen peptides", which indicate the collagen has been broken down into smaller, more bioavailable proteins.
We greatly appreciate your trust in us and thank you for contacting us for product recommendations. However, please understand that we are unable to make specific product recommendations due to our lack of visibility into how other brands and companies source their ingredients, run their production lines, and conduct quality assurance.
Oral collagen supplementation — is it legit?
As discussed in our Deep Guide to Collagen, the natural collagen content in our skin decreases with age, leading to the formation of wrinkles. In a previous video, we highlighted three effective topical ingredients for stimulating collagen production: Vitamin C, retinoids, and niacinamide — all of which can be applied through serums or creams.
In addition, we also touched upon the topic of oral collagen supplementation, which has been proven effective in boosting collagen levels in the skin, as per multiple studies.
Hydrolyzed collagens show positive results for improving skin hydration, elasticity, and wrinkles in multiple randomized, double-blind trials (de Miranda et al. 2021, Wang 2021, Choi et al. 2019, Aguirre-Crux et al. 2020).
Randomized means that test subjects are randomly assigned to get either the real deal or a placebo. Double-blind means that both the test subject and the investigator don't know who is getting which — eliminating bias from both sides.
What is the best source of collagen — pigs, cows, fish, or plants?
In short, the most effective collagen supplements for skin possess two key characteristics: firstly, they closely resemble human skin collagen, and secondly, they are in a hydrolyzed form.
If you can find something that says it's hydrolyzed collagen from porcine skin (pig skin), that would be the best. Basically, the more different the collagen is from the collagen in your actual skin, the less benefit you'll receive from it.
Marine collagen from fish has been compared to collagen from pig skin in a head-to-head study, and it was shown that the collagen from pigs is superior (Wang 2021, Asserin et al. 2015). Let's look at this study conducted by Asserin and colleagues:
The results showed that peptides from porcine sources outperformed those from fish sources and placebo in terms of improving skin health. However, fish collagen still fared better than placebo, making it a worthwhile supplement to consider. The primary factor is the close resemblance between pig skin collagen and human skin collagen, which enables porcine-sourced peptides to be more effective.
Oral collagen supplementation is complicated for vegans and vegetarians since plants don't naturally produce collagen. Oral Vitamin C supplementation has not yet been scientifically validated to boost skin collagen levels (DePhillipo et al., 2018). If you're vegan, topical serums and creams can still meaningfully benefit skin health — Maelove offers an entirely vegan skincare line.
Look for "hydrolyzed" collagen or "collagen peptides"
Ideally, the collagen that is absorbed by the skin should come in the form of hydrolyzed tripeptides (Yazaki et al., 2017). Hydrolyzed refers to the process of breaking down large collagen proteins into smaller pieces.
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Peptides are short chains of amino acids — from dipeptides (two) to tripeptides (three) and longer. Chains exceeding 50 amino acids are called polypeptides or proteins. Hydrolyzing a protein breaks it down into shorter peptide chains. Collagen peptides are simply shorter chains of amino acids derived from hydrolyzed collagen proteins.
In their study, Yazaki and colleagues tested two groups of collagen peptides: a "small peptides" group (tripeptides in the 1500–1800 Da size range) and a "big peptides" group (longer chains in the 4500–5500 Da range). Individuals in the small peptides group had a significantly greater increase in collagen peptide levels in the blood. They also found that peptides from the blood accumulated in the skin of animals, confirming that collagen tripeptides can be orally administered and transferred to the skin.
Hydrolyzing collagen into tripeptides (smaller fragments) is more effective for oral supplementation than larger peptide fragments. When shopping, look for the terms "hydrolyzed collagen" or "collagen peptides" on the label.
But wait — there's more (Type 1 vs. 2 vs. 3 collagen)
Oral supplementation with hydrolyzed collagen may offer additional benefits beyond improving skin appearance. Older adults experiencing muscle wasting may see improvement with collagen supplementation following exercise, and those with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis may also benefit.
While some supplements indicate their collagen type, if not, checking the source can provide insight — collagen from skin mostly contains Type 1 with some Type 3. Nevertheless, any type of collagen can be beneficial across multiple areas (Wang, 2021).
How does oral collagen work?
The precise mechanisms behind how oral collagen benefits the skin are not yet fully understood, and there may be multiple processes at work. Research by Yazaki and colleagues revealed the transfer of collagen peptides taken orally into the skin. Other studies suggest a more complex picture (Barati et al. 2020):
What is known for sure is that oral collagen has been validated through multiple randomized double-blind studies, and that it certainly benefits skin. CEO Jackie Kim notes: "I take oral collagen myself and I'd recommend it. It's not easy to shop specifically for the 'best' collagen powder, but as mentioned, the best will be hydrolyzed collagen from porcine skin. Frankly I am not too fussy about it because even lesser collagen such as from fish sources are still beneficial — and consistency is the key."
Products related to collagen boost:
Written by our senior scientist Sunbin Song, PhD, and edited for clarity by Bradley Yim, our Head of Formulation. You can read more about them on our Team Page.
- Aguirre-Cruz G, Leon-Lopez A, Cruz-Gomez V, Jimenez-Alvarado R, Aguirre-Alvarez G (2020). "Collagen Hydrolysates for Skin Protection: Oral Administration and Topical Formulation." Antioxidants 9: 181. doi:10.3390/antiox9020181.
- Asserin J, Lati E, Shioya T, Prawitt J (2015). "The effect of oral collagen peptide supplementation on skin moisture and the dermal collagen network: Evidence from an ex vivo model and randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials." J Cosmet Dermatol 14: 291–301.
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- Wang H (2021). "A Review of the Effects of Collagen Treatment in Clinical Studies." Polymers 12(22): 3868. doi: 10.3390/polym13223868.
- Yazaki M, Ito Y, Yamada M, Goulas S, Teramoto S, Nakaya M, Ohno S, Yamaguchi K (2017). "Oral Ingestion of Collagen Hydrolysate Leads to the Transportation of Highly Concentrated Gly-Pro-Hyp and Its Hydrolyzed Form of Pro-Hyp into the Bloodstream and Skin." J Agric Food Chem 65: 2315–2322.
