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You've been lied to. It's about time you knew the truth. Stop following the masses and take a step back to understand what's really going on
Collagen is having its main character moment. You’ll find it in coffees, gummies, and £30 tubs promising miracles.
Here’s the gist: collagen peptides can slightly improve skin hydration and elasticity — but for hair growth, healthy joints in the average person, and general “tissue repair,” the proof is weak, inconsistent, or only applies to people with certain health issues.
And even then, the benefits are small.
Multiple randomized controlled trials (fancy science experiments where one group gets the real thing and another gets a fake version, and neither knows which they got) and meta-analyses (a big “study of studies” that combines lots of research to see the bigger picture) have found small-to-moderate improvements in skin hydration, elasticity, and wrinkles after 8–12 weeks of hydrolysed collagen peptides (collagen that’s been broken down so your body can absorb it more easily)
That’s the part supplement brands love to quote — fair enough.
⚠️ Industry bias alert
Many of these trials are paid for by the companies selling collagen. (Think of it like a biscuit brand funding research into why biscuits are the healthiest breakfast.) When you only look at studies not paid for by these companies, the benefits often shrink or vanish.
⏳ Patience required
Even when there is an improvement, it’s small and takes weeks, not overnight or a few days..
Bottom line: If you want a small boost for skin, collagen can help a bit. Just don’t expect “ten years younger” in a month.
Most “hair growth” hype comes from:
In-vitro studies (tests done in a lab dish, not in actual humans)
Animal research
Multi-ingredient blends (so you can’t tell what’s actually working)
Tiny, company-funded human trials that don’t isolate collagen
The reality:
There’s no strong, independent, collagen-only human evidence for meaningful hair regrowth.
If hair is your goal, start with proven options:
Check for deficiencies like iron or vitamin D
Consider treatments like minoxidil or finasteride (if appropriate)
Get medical advice before throwing money at collagen coffee for goodness sake
Some meta-analyses show small pain reductions in people with knee osteoarthritis (a type of wear-and-tear joint damage) when they take collagen peptides or undenatured type II collagen (a slightly different form)
Translation:
This is about people with an actual joint condition — not healthy gym-goers trying to “bulletproof” their knees
Even in those with osteoarthritis, the improvements are modest, and the study quality is all over the place
For healthy people, you’ll get far more bang for your buck by:
Strength training
Gradually increasing your exercise load
Eating enough complete protein
Managing your bodyweight to reduce knee stress
You don’t absorb whole collagen and send it straight to your cheeks or knees. Your body breaks it into peptides and amino acids (protein building blocks).
Collagen is low in leucine (one of the key muscle-building amino acids) and incomplete (missing another essential amino acid called tryptophan)
In plain English:
Collagen is not as good as whey, soy, meat, or eggs for muscle growth and recovery
If your goal is muscle, strength, or recovery, a complete protein will do a better job.
No. Most people can tick all the important boxes by:
Eating 1.6–2.2g of protein per kg of bodyweight daily (from complete sources like meat, dairy, eggs, soy, or smart plant combos)
Eating vitamin-C-rich foods (needed for collagen production)
Lifting weights, getting enough sleep, wearing SPF, and following basic skincare
Final takeaway:
Collagen can be a mild cosmetic boost for skin if you want to try it.
But for hair, joints, and tendons in healthy people? The hype is running way ahead of the science.
References
Skin
Pu, S.-Y., et al. (2023). Effects of oral collagen for skin anti-aging: Systematic review & meta-analysis (26 RCTs). Reported improvements in hydration/elasticity but calls for larger, independent trials. PMC
Myung, S.-K., et al. (2024). Meta-analysis (23 RCTs). Benefit seen overall; no effect in non-industry-funded subgroup — suggests funding bias. PubMed
de Miranda, R. B., et al. (2021). Meta-analysis. Small improvements in wrinkles/elasticity/hydration after ~90 days. PubMed
Hair
Ablon, G. (2016). Marine complex supplement in men with thinning hair (placebo-controlled RCT). Multi-ingredient; not collagen-only. Findings don’t isolate collagen. PubMed
Reilly, D. M., et al. (2024). “Active collagen” supplement for skin/scalp/hair (12 weeks). Company-linked; more research needed; not generalizable. PubMed
Hwang, S. B., et al. (2022). In-vitro/animal models on fish collagen and hair. Not human clinical proof. PMC
Joints (mostly knee osteoarthritis patients)
Lin, C.-R., et al. (2023). Meta-analysis of RCTs. Small analgesic effect vs placebo in knee OA. PMCPubMed
García-Coronado, J. M., et al. (2019). Meta-analysis. Reduced WOMAC/VAS scores; heterogeneity and modest effect sizes. PubMed
Liang, C.-W., et al. (2024). Updated meta-analysis. Concludes efficacy/safety for OA; still OA-specific, not healthy joints. PubMed
Kumar, P., et al. (2023). Undenatured type II collagen (UC-II) review. Notes promise but calls for larger trials. PMC
Protein quality (why collagen isn’t “better” protein)
Oikawa, S. Y., et al. (2020). Whey vs collagen peptides: Whey stimulates acute and longer-term muscle protein synthesis more than collagen. PubMed
Jacinto, J. L., et al. (2022). Training study: Whey outperforms leucine-matched collagen for muscle size. PubMed
McKendry, J., et al. (2024). Aminoacidemia kinetics: Whey delivers higher, faster leucine availability than collagen/pea. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Absorption basics
Virgilio, N., et al. (2024). Bioavailability study: Collagen is absorbed as peptides; doesn’t mean targeted delivery to skin/joints. PMC
