Is Your Collagen Powder Doing What it Promised?

Collagen powder can be beneficial but maybe not in all the ways you think. What is collagen? Collagen is the main structural protein found in skin and other connective tissues. For reference, let's do some word associations for the different generations (hopefully) reading this, collagen →  Lisa Rinna, collagen → Kylie Jenner. You get the picture. For years, when we would hear ‘collagen’ we thought of plump, tight skin and facial features. But now, collagen is a buzzword that goes beyond the scope of skin. 

Thanks to the health and wellness industry being at an all time high, certain trends have emerged, collagen powder being one of them. Of course, this peaked my curiosity. Gut health and plump skin? Sign me up! I have been using collagen powder for about 2.5 years (on and off). As someone who is on a never ending quest to naturally heal my gut, I am into collagen powder. It’s a protein powder that can be added to any beverage or smoothie, and can potentially support and repair the gut lining. Maybe its healing, maybe it's just keeping me full in between meals, who knows? But I don’t think it's making matters worse. 

However, collagen powder companies are marketing this powder as a superhero, “heals the gut completely,” “alleviates all joint pain,” “makes your skin and hair glow like a newborn baby,” etc, etc. There is so much hype in the world of beauty around this powder. So, I started asking myself, is this actually helping my skin?? Because seriously, it is scary what the power of good marketing can do. Someone tells you something and you start to believe it. 

When we age, our dermis loses thickness, which includes the cells that are responsible for collagen and elastin. What a wonderful world it would be if we could eat or drink collagen and it magically went to our skin. However, that is not the case. When you ingest collagen it is broken down by the acids in your stomach, just like the pizza you had for dinner. Since collagen is a protein, when it is broken down into amino acids, it loses function. I realize that this goes against what all those pretty, collagen powder Instagram ads are telling you. But, its science. Now, I am not saying that collagen powder is bad, I still use mine! But, let’s not be tricked into thinking that it’s something it is not. 

Not all hope is lost, there are other ways to build the collagen in your skin! According to board-certified dermatologist and surgeon, Dr. Dennis Gross, the only way to build the collagen in your skin is to get your skin to make more. We can do this by topically applying products like Vitamin C and peptides. Whew, don’t you feel better now? Dr. Gross always makes me feel better too. I have listened to him speak on everything from skin cancer to Botox on podcasts and always appreciate his clinical approach. Dr. Dennis Gross skincare is helpful for more serious skin issues you might be facing and can be found at Sephora. 

So, you don’t have to ditch your collagen powder, just be realistic with yourself about what it can help you accomplish. The more you know, the more skin your skin can glow.