Benefits of Liquid Collagen

October 18, 2021

3 min read

Skincare can be made out to be glitzy and glamorous, but the truth is, for people who have dry, sensitive, damaged, or acne-prone skin, trying to find a solution can be one of the most frustrating never-ending pursuits.

There are many tips about skincare on the internet. Some people recommend diet changes, others prefer dermatology visits (including antibiotics/topical treatments). You may have tried it all! Salicylic acid, vitamin C, retinol, niacinamide, antibiotics, antihistamines, or accutane. Or perhaps you have even ventured into treatments like facials, chemical peels, botox, lasers, exfoliation, dermal fillers, or dermabrasion.

But have you ever heard of liquid collagen?

Some people describe liquid collagen as an attempt to treat unhealthy skin from the inside out. Let’s explain.

What is liquid collagen?

Collagen is a natural protein that makes up a HUGE part of the human integumentary (skin) system. Your skin is actually an organ, and it relies on proteins, like collagen, and tissue, like the epidermis and dermis, for protection from outside elements.

Your skin has a tough task, protecting the rest of the body from trauma, toxins, pollution, allergens, UV sun rays, dirt, and bacteria. Sometimes that wear and tear takes its toll. As a result, your collagen and tissue can advertise its damage, affecting your confidence or causing you to stress about your health.

Collagen is a protein that helps the skin be more elastic, which means the skin does not get cracked or damaged/torn as often. This function, paired with water and moisturizer (which hydrates the skin), makes skin more resilient.

How does liquid collagen work?

The protein collagen contains a wealth of amino acids, namely proline and glycine, which help support and repair joints, tendons, and bones. Overall, collagen is an extremely helpful and valuable part of the human body.

Picture the scaffolding or backbone of a building… that is what collagen does for your tissues. It supports the health, elasticity, and structure of the skin.

Collagen is naturally produced less with age, which is why people who age start to obtain more wrinkles or skin damage. It happens to everyone as a natural process of aging, but it can be lessened with proper skincare.

Similar to supplemental vitamins (like a multivitamin or hair-and-nail vitamin), liquid collagen is a supplement of animal-derived collagen that you can take to help boost your skin’s health.

Typically, ingestible liquid collagen is taken from the connective tissue of fish, chickens, pigs, or other animals. Scientists are currently working on deriving collagen from plants and bacteria for a vegan alternative, but there is currently no vegan liquid collagen on the market.

Certain foods, like papaya, kale, berries, almonds, and spinach, have been regarded as collagen-boosting, so adding these foods to one’s diet might have the potential to increase collagen production.

However, this would be a different process than drinking liquid collagen. Liquid collagen can be drunk alone, or sometimes powdered collagen can be mixed into a liquid, and drunk that way.

Benefits of Liquid Collagen

Every person’s skin is different, but here are some of the common benefits seen if you take liquid collagen:

Slower formation of wrinkles and lines in the skin
Improved skin texture, elasticity, and/or firmness
Skin is able to maintain moisture better
Skin feels thicker and protective (flakes/breaks less)
Less discoloration or skin pigmentation
Joint and bone health
Stronger nails and teeth
Increased nail growth
Less instances of cellulitis
Can even encourage heart health, muscle maintenance with aging, and quicker/healthier wound healing

Is liquid collagen safe and effective?

There have been several studies that have shown liquid collagen to be beneficial for improving the texture, moisture, elasticity, and appearance of skin.

As people become more educated about liquid collagen, research is ongoing to understand its effectiveness. It is important to thoroughly understand any product before consumption, but because most liquid collagen products are derived from animals, if manufactured and stored safely, they are considered very safe for consumption.

Like many other supplements and vitamins, liquid collagen is not required to be evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is the government body that regulates prescription and over-the-counter medications.