The collagen supplement proven to reduce wrinkles
Not all collagen supplements are created equal. The market is flooded with pills, sachets, powders and gummies, but none can touch Absolute Collagen when it comes to proving its claims. “We’ve done the largest, most robust clinical trial of a collagen supplement ever,” says the brand’s chief scientist, Dr Dave Reilly.
Not only has the brand (voluntarily) put its money where its mouth is, the results are undeniably impressive, winning acclaim from leading skin doctors and trichologists. “We carried out a 12-week study on 130 volunteers, aged 40 to 60, and by the end 100% of them saw an improvement in fine lines and wrinkles,” Dr Reilly tells us. “People tell us what they see and how the product makes them feel about their appearance, which is very important. But we also have expert assessors to do lots of measurements in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.”
Sharing the results at this year’s Good Housekeeping Live, Dr Reilly ticked off the key lab-measured findings: “We’ve proven that taking this supplement every day will improve hydration, elasticity and skin evenness. Your wrinkles will decrease, your collagen levels will increase. Your collagen damage decreases, too, which was really interesting. Collagen is a protein that’s in your skin for a long time, and UV light, stress, hormones and lack of sleep are all things that damage it over time. So it’s nice to have really robust evidence to show both a decrease in damage and also an improvement in new collagen formation.”
Marine Liquid Collagen Supplement
As well as outlining the trial findings, Dr Reilly and Absolute Collagen co-founder Darcy Laceby took questions from the audience and GH beauty editor Lynne Hyland to unpick some of biggest questions about collagen. Here’s what we wanted to know.
What is collagen?
It’s a VIP: very important protein. “About 70% of your skin is made of collagen, and it forms a scaffold matrix that holds everything together and stops tissues sagging. As we age, collagen starts to deteriorate; you see that in the way the skin stops bouncing back as quickly,” says Dr Reilly. “The form in Absolute Collagen is able to stimulate new production of your own collagen.”
Should we start taking collagen as elasticity falls?
Nope! “You should definitely start taking it earlier,” says Dr Reilly. “Collagen is in the skin for years and it accumulates damage, so you really want to get in as early as possible to be repairing it. The sooner you can take collagen, the better the chance of successfully repairing and keeping it.”
Aren’t gummies easier to take?
They’re not as effective, says Darcy. “We looked at one of the gummy brands and found you’d need 65 gummies to get the equivalent of one Absolute Collagen sachet, which gives 8000mg of really high-grade, sustainable marine protein. This formula is unique to us, and it’s the only one that’s gone through these clinical trials.”
What time of day is best to take collagen?
You can literally take it any time of the day. “All this product contains is collagen and vitamin C, so there’s nothing that might keep you awake at night. The most important thing is to try to fit it into your daily routine. Our clinical trial showed that taking it every day is four times more effective than every other day,” says Darcy.
Can I take a vegan collagen?
Vegetable proteins don’t have the same collagen-stimulating properties as the marine form found in Absolute Collagen, says Dr Reilly. Adds Darcy: “There isn’t such a thing as vegan collagen to ingest at this point. You’re generally taking different vitamins and minerals to try to boost collagen. But ‘vegan collagen’ isn't necessarily going to stimulate your fibroblast cells to make collagen.”
How quickly does collagen work?
The journey is different for everyone, but perseverance and consistency pays off, says Darcy, whose mother Maxine co-founded the company after seeing a huge difference from taking collagen herself. “Usually hydration is one of the earliest signs people see, which can be as quickly as three to four weeks. In our trial, we took clinical measurements at both six weeks and 12 weeks. You do get some results by six weeks, but they’re not as good as those seen at 12 weeks. For instance, after six weeks, wrinkles decreased by 7%, but at 12 weeks that was 20%.”
Does it only benefit skin?
Absolute Collagen is clinically proven to improve hair, too, says Darcy. “Collagen is literally everywhere in your body. In our trial, we looked at new hair count and there was a 27% increase in new hairs at the end of the 12 weeks, which is really impressive.”
Doesn’t your stomach acid destroy the supplements?
This is one of the most common myths, says Darcy. “Collagen is a protein, and the stomach’s acidic digestive juice is part of how we extract nutrients from our food. It doesn’t destroy collagen; it’s part of how we break it down and get it into the bloodstream. That’s how supplements work.”
You Might Also Like
