Allure is a big fan of science, which makes us not big fans of supplements. Thousands of capsules and gummies flood the health aisles, but since they’re not required to be regulated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, they have to show zero proof of efficacy before they’re put on a shelf. So a supplement’s claims can potentially be murky, if not outright false. And the few solid, independent trials we have on supplements’ effects on our hair and skin and nails (and hearts and bones and mood) haven’t been able to prove to us that even the most above-board products in this space are actually doing anything. (A 2013 Johns Hopkins study was bluntly titled “Enough Is Enough: Stop Wasting Money on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements.”) But we have some big news: A recently published review of 113 clinical trials on collagen supplements specifically showed some promising evidence that taking them consistently over time has the potential to have positive effects on your skin, musculoskeletal, and oral health.
So, we may owe you a mea culpa because, well, we have really never said anything nice about collagen supplements. But it’s a mea culpa with caveats.
In the beauty space, collagen supplements have long been king among the pills and powders we wishfully ingest to look fresher and smoother and plumper. Collagen is the main structural protein in the skin, and it does a lot to make us look younger (babies have a ton of the stuff). It’s no surprise that so many companies are desperate to bottle it up—or that many consumers, searching for the fountain of youth, are here for it: Globally, 60 million people take collagen supplements daily; last year the collagen supplement market size was valued at $2.6 billion.
Doctors, researchers, and Allure editors, on the other hand, have not been here for these lucrative over-the-counter offerings—because of the whole no-proof-of-efficacy situation. So we called up a few MDs to talk about this new review and they have to admit: It’s kind of a big deal. Mona Gohara, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine, says it’s one of the most comprehensive looks we’ve had at collagen supplements maybe ever. “Collagen appears to offer modest but consistent improvements in skin hydration and elasticity, with some added benefits for joints and musculoskeletal health,” she says of the review. Hadley King, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City, told us that this new review provides more tangible evidence than we’ve ever had that ongoing collagen use can have positive impacts, especially when it comes to skin elasticity and arthritis symptoms. “It was hard not to see collagen supplements as a possible snake oil because we just didn’t have data,” she says. “Now, the [new] data we have backs that it is actually potentially helpful.”
Daniel Belkin, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City, says that this evidence gives him enough confidence to recommend collagen supplements to his patients. “Before I wasn’t able to do that,” he says. Dr. Belkin’s favorite supplements are from Elysium Health. He takes Basis, an NAD+ supplement, and Mosaic, a supplement for “collagen support.” He also started dabbling with the brand’s collagen powder after being persuaded by anecdotal evidence from his patients. “I started taking that just because I was like, ‘You know what? My patients are telling me this is helping them. Let me try it,’” he says. As of this month, he also has some data that it could be helping.
