Another delightful part of growing old is that we produce less collagen, which leads to more wrinkles and saggy skin.
So beauty brands started pushing collagen creams with all sorts of grandiose claims. But before splurging on any expensive collagen serums/creams, listen to what science has to say.
The bottom line; collagen is too big of a molecule to penetrate the upper layer of skin. At best, it will just moisturize your skin as well as some drugstore brands.
Ridiculous ad for collagen cream.
As for the popular collagen supplements and powders, science doesn’t back up beauty brand’s claim that it helps the skin. Since the collagen is digested through the liver, there’s no way of ‘directing’ it to help wrinkles in your face and it may not even help your bones.
Doctors agree that usually the collagen supplements are safe but there is no evidence that it actually works.
What does work is prescription retinol and sunscreen. Not only do Retinoids ( which are derived from vitamin A) boost collagen production, they’ve been proven to improve skin wrinkling, texture and elasticity in multiple studies.
As for sunscreens, too much sun leads to premature aging of the skin and increases your chances of skin cancer.
When in doubt, ask your dermatologist, not TikTok.