Patrick Carroll, MD Medically reviewed by Written by Our Editorial Workforce Final up to date 12/20/2019
Collagen is a protein that serves as a constructing block for our hair, pores and skin, nails, muscle tissue, tendons and even blood vessels. It’s really probably the most considerable protein in people, making up 75 p.c of the pores and skin’s dry weight and 30 p.c of our physique’s complete protein mass.
As we become older, our our bodies naturally produce much less collagen. And solar harm can additional lower our collagen manufacturing. This lack of collagen could contribute to a number of the basic indicators of getting old in many individuals — like wrinkled and sagging pores and skin, roughness, dryness, itchiness, elevated fragility and pores and skin that’s extra susceptible to breaking.
It’s not stunning, then, that some folks look to merchandise containing collagen as the important thing to reversing these undesirable badges of age, and that merchandise — from eye lotions and shampoos, to oral dietary supplements — tout the advantages just like the promise of supple pores and skin and a thick head of hair.
There may be some analysis to recommend collagen dietary supplements can enhance the well being and look of our pores and skin — it’s been proven to enhance elasticity and improve hydration. Analysis has proven different well being advantages of collagen dietary supplements, together with decreased joint ache and elevated muscle mass in research of athletes who consumed each day collagen dietary supplements shortly after understanding.
However the reality is: we actually don’t know but if collagen dietary supplements might help struggle hair loss or cease hair from turning grey.
This text breaks down a number of the theories about what collagen dietary supplements can do for hair well being.
Idea: Amino Acids in Collagen Dietary supplements Act as Constructing Blocks for Thicker Hair
It’s hypothesized that the amino acids in collagen dietary supplements assist your physique make extra keratin, which contributes to thick, wholesome hair. Collagen itself is made up of amino acids — particularly glycine, proline and hyrdoxyproline. Hair is principally made up of the protein keratin, which itself consists of proline (amongst different amino acids).
Collagen dietary supplements are often already damaged down into peptides of two or three amino acids to make them simpler in your physique to course of.
At the very least two of collagen’s major amino acids — proline and glycine — play roles in hair well being.
Extra analysis is required to find out whether or not growing the collagen you eat — whether or not within the type of collagen-rich meals or a collagen complement — might help your physique to make the keratin it wants for thicker, more healthy hair.
Protein powder for extra than simply your bicepts.
Idea: Collagen Peptides Combat Free Radical Injury to Hair Follicles
One concept about why hair loses high quality as we age focuses on the battle between free radicals and antioxidants. Free radicals are extremely reactive molecules that may immediately harm the proteins, DNA and lipids that make up our cells. Specifically, circumstantial proof means that free radicals could harm our hair follicles — the tunnel-like construction underneath our outer layer of pores and skin the place hair begins to develop — and collagen is especially prone to assault.
Our our bodies produce free radicals (and this manufacturing will increase with age), however they’re additionally present in the environment in issues like UV rays, cigarette smoke and different pollution. Antioxidants, in distinction, can cut back and neutralize these molecules however, not surprisingly, we make fewer of those as we age.
The concept is that as a result of collagen is assumed to spice up the exercise of fibroblasts — which induce pure collagen manufacturing in our our bodies — oral collagen supplementation could assist counter the lack of collagen by way of free radicals by serving to spur pure collagen manufacturing.
Extra analysis is required to find out whether or not taking collagen dietary supplements might help struggle free radicals in your physique, together with people who could harm your hair follicles.
Idea: Collagen Peptides Sluggish Hair from Graying
It has additionally been proposed that free radicals contribute to graying hair, the so-called “free radical theory of graying.” Our hair naturally loses pigment because it ages, however publicity to free radicals presumably makes this worse.
The speculation is that free radicals destroy the cells that make the pigment in our hair, and with out sufficient antioxidants to assist defend towards this destruction of cells, hair begins to show grey. Presumably, in keeping with this concept, growing antioxidant consumption might decelerate the graying course of.
We want extra analysis to raised perceive the impact of antioxidants on the graying course of and whether or not collagen dietary supplements can promote antioxidant exercise in your physique to assist struggle free radicals and gradual this course of.
Idea: Collagen Peptides Forestall Hair Thinning
As we age, our our bodies produce much less collagen, our dermis turns into weaker and it’s advised that due to this — or, a minimum of partly due to this — our hair follicles miniaturize, which ultimately results in hair loss.
However as a result of collagen supplementation has been proven to enhance pores and skin elasticity and hydration, some consider that it could assist stop hair thinning as we age.
Nevertheless, it’s price noting that this is likely one of the many areas involving collagen and hair well being that also requires extra analysis.
Want Extra Analysis
Collagen is a constructing block for lots of issues in our our bodies, together with your lustrous mane of hair.
Seeing as we make much less collagen as we age — and unavoidable issues just like the solar can cut back our collagen manufacturing even additional — it is pure to surprise what sort of results this will likely have in your hair well being and what you are able to do to defend towards the harm.
There are a number of theories about what growing your collagen consumption — both with collagen-rich meals or collagen dietary supplements — can do in your hair.
Based on the accessible analysis, collagen dietary supplements could improve our our bodies’ fibroblasts, that are particular person cell networks within the pores and skin that produce collagen. And collagen, as we already know, is utilized by our our bodies to construct connective tissues, pores and skin and nails.
And whereas the analysis suggests collagen does play an energetic function in supporting hair well being, there’s nonetheless much more analysis that must be carried out to find out if it could stop hair thinning and graying, and harm to your follicles.