Collagen Supplementation for Skin Elasticity
By Prof. Gene Bruno, MS, MHS, RH(AHG)
Huntington College of Health Sciences
A friend recently said to me: “As I get older, I’ve noticed a loss of skin elasticity. Is there anything I can do to improve it?” Here’s what I told her.
A primary reason for loss of skin elasticity, is a concurrent loss of collagen that occurs with aging. This is problematic since collagen is vital to our health and well-being. In fact, it actually makes up from 25 to 35 percent of the whole-body protein content. As the connective tissue protein of choice, collagen has great strength, and along with elastin and keratin, is responsible for skin strength and elasticity—and its degradation leads to wrinkles that accompany aging.
Since collagen is the main structural protein found in skin and other connective tissues, one particularly effective way to improve skin elasticity, is through supplementation with collagen. It should be noted, however, that not all collagen products are created equal. A specific trademarked collagen peptide called Verisol (found in many branded collagen products), has been the subject of human clinical research and shown to be especially effective for skin elasticity. Specifically, a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial1 was conducted with 69 women aged 35-55 years, who received 2.5 or 5 g of Verisol collagen peptides or placebo once daily for eight weeks. Skin elasticity, skin moisture, skin water loss and skin roughness were objectively measured before supplementation began, after four and eight weeks of regular intake. Skin elasticity was also assessed four weeks after the last intake of Verisol collagen peptides. Results were that skin elasticity in both Verisol dosage groups showed a statistically significant improvement in comparison to placebo (p < 0.05). Furthermore, after 4 weeks of follow-up treatment, a statistically significantly 10 percent higher skin elasticity level was determined in older women. A positive influence of Verisol was also observed in a subgroup analysis with regard to skin moisture and skin evaporation.
Of course, Verisol is not the only clinically studied collagen. Two others are Naticol and Biocell. In research,2 Naticol was also shown to reduce wrinkles, improves skin elasticity, maintains skin firmness and improves skin tone and radiance. Likewise, clinical research3 demonstrated that Biocell reduced skin dryness/scaling, lines/wrinkles, and increased collagen—while also help promote healthy joints.
References:
1. Proksch E, Segger D, Degwert J, Schunck M, Zague V, Oesser S. Oral supplementation of specific collagen peptides has beneficial effects on human skin physiology: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2014;27(1):47-55.
2. Dutein L, Roussel CQ, Bruno-Bonnet C, Lacour JP. Effect of Low Dose Type I Fish Collagen Peptides Combined or not with Silicon on Skin Aging Signs in Mature Women. JOJ Case Stud. 2018;6(4) ID.555692.
3. Schwartz SR1, Park J. Ingestion of BioCell Collagen, a novel hydrolyzed chicken sternal cartilage extract; enhanced blood microcirculation and reduced facial aging signs. Clin Interv Aging. 2012;7:267-73.
Professor Gene Bruno, MS, MHS, the Provost for Huntington College of Health Sciences, is a nutritionist, herbalist, writer and educator. For more than 37 years he has educated and trained natural product retailers and health care professionals, has researched and formulated natural products for dozens of dietary supplement companies, and has written articles on nutrition, herbal medicine, nutraceuticals and integrative health issues for trade, consumer magazines and peer-reviewed publications. He can be reached at gbruno@hchs.edu.
