What Are the Benefits of Collagen for Skin?
Your health is important. It’s why you take your vitamins, eat right, and do what you can to live a healthy lifestyle each day. But how much attention do you pay to your skin?
Your skin sees a lot of abuse from the sun and elements. Incorporating the right skincare routine and supplements into your life can help keep your skin in better shape, and few supplements are more popular than collagen.
If you have questions regarding the benefits of collagen for your skin health, you deserve the answers to help you make the best decisions for your skin’s needs.
Can Collagen Supplements Replenish Your Body’s Natural Collagen Levels?
Your body produces collagen every day. It’s how your joints, muscles, bones, and skin stay healthy throughout your life. But as you age, the amount of collagen your body produces starts to diminish, and the quality of the collagen your body makes degrades.
The less high-quality collagen you produce, the more likely you are to develop wrinkles, fine lines, and sagging skin.
Incorporating collagen into your supplement and skincare routine can help you replace some of the missing collagen that your body no longer produces. The amount of change you notice will vary based on your body’s ability to use the collagen in the supplements.
Does Collagen Really Reduce the Appearance of Wrinkles and Fine Lines?
If you’re thinking of using collagen for wrinkles, you’re in luck! Collagen can help reduce the appearance and severity of wrinkles and fine lines with regular use.
When your skin absorbs it, the collagen helps strengthen and improve skin elasticity. This means that it’s harder for wrinkles to form in the first place because your skin will bounce back after you change your facial expression.
Keep in mind that using collagen to help your skin better withstand your smiles and laughter won’t completely get rid of your wrinkles, although it’s a great start. You’ll still want to incorporate additional serums and cleansers to get the best results possible.
Will Collagen Supplements Promote Firmer Skin?
If you’re using collagen for skin elasticity, you’ll likely notice that your skin will feel firmer and less prone to sagging. This is because collagen fills out your skin’s structural integrity, making it better able to handle the demands you put it through each day.
Does Using Collagen Improve Moisture Retention?
Collagen topical creams and supplements don’t just help make skin firmer and less prone to wrinkles, they also help your skin stay more hydrated.
How? By replenishing collagen levels just below the skin’s surface. When your body produces enough collagen on its own, your skin is better able to hold onto moisture.
Once collagen levels drop, your skin can start to dry out more quickly and more easily. By rebuilding your skin’s strength along with a regular moisturizing routine, you’ll avoid having overly dry, red, and itchy skin each day.
Can High-Quality Collagen Supplements Help Your Nails and Cuticles?
Though many people start using collagen to help the skin on their face and neck, using collagen-containing skincare products and supplements also benefits other parts of your body.
Believe it or not, the same collagen that makes the skin on your face firmer and softer also helps strengthen your nails and cuticles. Over time, you may notice a decrease in the number of hangnails and broken nails you experience.
You should notice these improvements whether you’re taking collagen capsules and powders or are using collagen-rich skincare products.
Does Collagen Just Benefit the Skin?
One of the most surprising collagen benefits for skin is that it does far more for your body than just improve your skin health. Regular use of collagen is linked with improvements to your muscles, joints, connective tissues, and even your bones.
Your body produces collagen throughout every major system, not just your skin. It’s what provides structural support and integrity for the major connective tissues in your body and helps your muscles and joints recover from strain much faster.
Though most people see benefits from taking collagen internally through powders and capsules, you may notice some improvement by using topical solutions like serums and moisturizers.
Will Collagen Supplements Boost the Efficacy of Your Skincare Routine?
Using collagen supplements helps you reduce dry skin and replenishes your skin’s natural elasticity. This means improving the efficacy of your regular skincare routine because your skin will already be in better condition.
That said, the products you use alongside those supplements matter just as much as the quality of the collagen supplements you buy.
Look for products that have ingredients you’re comfortable using. Remember, you may pay more for high-quality products, but your skin will be healthier for it.
What Forms of Collagen Are Best for Skin Health?
When it comes to using collagen to help your skin, the type you use is one of the most important things to keep in mind. There are two main categories of collagen supplements on the market: normal collagen and hydrolyzed collagen peptides.
In its raw form, collagen is made up of long chains of protein. These chains are largely unaltered in normal collagen supplements, so your body has to work harder to break them down into usable bits.
Hydrolyzed collagen peptides are already broken into more manageable or more bioavailable chunks. Since the protein chains are smaller, your body is better able to use more of the collagen without expending extra energy trying to break down the chains. For most people, this results in softer, healthier, more radiant skin faster.
Are There Skin Side Effects from Collagen That You Need to Worry About?
Luckily, there aren’t really any negative collagen side effects on skin. Instead, you need to focus on possible effects from other ingredients in your supplements or skincare products.
Before you start using any skincare product, read the ingredients label carefully. Make sure you’re not allergic to any of the ingredients in the product.
Then, test the product on a small patch of skin that you can easily cover up if you notice a reaction. The inside of your arm or the skin on your stomach are great options. Let the product sit for a while and see how your skin feels.
If you notice redness, start to develop a rash, or feel any type of discomfort at the site, discontinue use of the product.
So, Does Collagen Help Skin?
Ultimately, using collagen is a great way to improve your skin’s overall health and appearance. For best results, look for topical supplements and collagen-rich skincare products, like our overnight collagen mask, to help improve moisture retention and keep your skin soft and smooth at all times.