Collagen is essentially the most plentiful protein within the human physique. It is a vital structural component in your hair, pores and skin, bones, connective tissues, and nails. Due to this, folks usually really feel like getting extra collagen, both as a topical remedy or as a complement, may help improve these elements of the physique. This is not fairly true, although, so let’s talk about what’s actually occurring and the way it can have an effect on your hair.
Let Us Know Your Experiences – Does Collagen Help Your Hair Grow
Collagen is plentiful all through the physique, together with the hair, but it surely’s not really fairly as outstanding in hair as you would possibly assume. Relatively than being a part of your hair itself, it is related for the hair follicle, the pore-like gap in your pores and skin that grows the hair.
Collagen is discovered within the outer shaft of the hair, however that collagen is not “alive” in the identical method collagen in your pores and skin and bones is alive. Since your hair does not heal from harm, it depends on remedies like oils, moisturizers, and different topical functions to remain clear and healthy-looking. As an alternative, collagen is primarily used within the development a part of your hair, centralized within the hair follicle.
Earlier than we will discuss how collagen impacts the hair, we have to talk about the hair development cycle.
Hair Progress Cycles
Opposite to standard perception, your hair is not simply continuously rising at a hard and fast fee. Relatively, it grows in a cycle. This cycle has three phases.
The primary section is the anagen section. The anagen section is the lively, rising section of your hair. Your hair follicles develop and divide at a fast fee, staying lively and rising for fairly some time, anyplace from two to seven years. Throughout this time, your hair grows round 1 centimeter monthly, relying in your private genetics.
As soon as the anagen section begins to finish, your hair follicles enter the catagen stage. The catagen stage is a transitional stage and lasts round two or three weeks. That is kind of like a “shutdown process” on your hair. Progress stops, and the hair sheath shrinks and attaches to the basis of the hair, forming what is known as a “club hair.” This hair not grows, and there is nothing you are able to do to stimulate it into rising once more.
The telogen stage is the third stage of the hair cycle and usually lasts round 100 days. That is the results of the catagen stage’s cessation of development. The hair follicle is dormant and inactive. The hair, reduce off from its development line, finally falls out. If you happen to’ve ever questioned why you shed hair, this is the reason; the hairs within the telogen section merely fall out.
Don’t be concerned; this cessation is just not everlasting. After the dormancy interval of the telogen section, the hair follicle returns to life and new hair begins to develop in that follicle. If the previous hair has been shed – which it often has – it is free to develop. If the hair has not but been shed, the brand new hair will push the previous hair out and it’ll shed then.
Your hair is just not uniform in its development by means of this cycle. At any given time, round 3% of your hair is progressing by means of the catagen section, and one other 6-8% is within the telogen section, whereas the remainder continues to be actively rising. On condition that the typical particular person has round 100,000 hairs on the scalp, that is nonetheless loads of hair for most individuals. After all, the hair cycle applies to hair all around the physique as properly, although that hair does not are inclined to develop as lengthy.
How Collagen Impacts the Hair Cycle
Collagen could affect the hair cycle, although the affect is just not at present well-studied. Here is what we all know: collagen is thick and robust in the course of the anagen section of hair development. When the follicle reaches the catagen stage, collagen drops away. It is probably, although not confirmed, that the presence of collagen helps the hair develop thicker and stronger, although not essentially longer or sooner.
We all know that collagen is current in hair development, however we do not know what it does. We additionally do not know whether or not or not including extra collagen will strengthen hair, make it develop sooner, or in any other case affect the hair development cycle in any respect. See, there’s one tough factor about collagen, and that is how the physique makes use of it.
How the Physique Makes use of Collagen
Collagen is a big molecule, and it isn’t absorbed by means of the pores and skin. Most collagen pores and skin remedies do not do something. Collagen in a pores and skin cream? Most of it’s underwhelming. This consists of scalp remedies; collagen utilized to the scalp will not do a lot, if something.
There are two methods collagen can get “under your skin” so to talk and have an effect on the physique. The primary is as an injected filler.
A collagen filler, injected subcutaneously, serves to fill out low spots and wrinkles in your pores and skin. This, nonetheless, is not actually your physique utilizing the collagen, a lot as simply packing materials beneath the pores and skin. Collagen is used as a result of it is a secure protein for the physique to soak up, not as a result of it has any particular utility.
The opposite method is to eat collagen. Once more, although, there is a little bit of a false impression right here about how the physique really makes use of collagen.
Many individuals appear to assume that your physique makes use of collagen and you’ll eat collagen, so while you eat collagen your physique simply identifies it and ferries it to the suitable areas for use. That is not really the way it works.
As an alternative, your physique wants to interrupt down and digest the collagen protein, and use its constituent elements – the amino acids – all through the physique. Your strategy of digestion breaks down the collagen into little bits, then shops these bits all through the physique in swimming pools to attract on as mandatory.
By the way, collagen peptides will usually come up on this a part of the dialogue. Since your physique wants to interrupt down collagen earlier than it may be used, why not break down the collagen earlier than consuming it, to make it even simpler on your physique to make use of? That is what collagen peptides are. The one lengthy collagen molecules are damaged down into peptides, which your physique finds simpler to then additional break down into amino acids, nutritional vitamins, and minerals. Collagen peptides are only a extra direct method of getting collagen in your weight loss plan than getting in complete by means of bone broth.
So as to really use these constructing blocks, you additionally want a key ingredient to place them again collectively into collagen. That ingredient is Vitamin C. With out vitamin C, your physique cannot produce collagen. You additionally want some minerals, together with iron, zinc, and copper, with a view to produce collagen.
Collagen is destroyed repeatedly within the physique. It’s used and consumed all through the physique to restore microdamage within the pores and skin, bones, and connective tissues. It’s consumed as hair grows. It’s also destroyed by outdoors components like smoking, UV rays, and stress, which produces cortisol, which breaks down collagen. Moreover, as you age, your physique produces much less collagen naturally. Growing your collagen consumption can solely offset this a lot as a result of it is the slowdown of a bodily course of, not an absence of elements that causes the issue.
None of that is meant to say that collagen does not work. It is simply barely extra sophisticated than many individuals assume, and you may get the advantages of collagen by consuming meals with the constructing blocks of collagen slightly than simply the collagen straight, however each is after all even higher.
How Collagen Helps Hair Progress
So how does collagen help hair development? The reply is straightforward: vitamin. Wholesome hair wants correct vitamin to develop, and that features each the constructing blocks for collagen and the constructing blocks for the hair itself. This consists of vitamins like biotin, nutritional vitamins like A, D, and E, and naturally the amino acids that type collagen.
There is no actual analysis completed as to how collagen consumption impacts hair development, hair energy, hair well being, or different components. There have been a number of research, however these research are typically small, poorly formulated, and sometimes sponsored by the businesses promoting collagen within the first place. In different phrases, they are not very statistically important. No massive, long-term research has been carried out as of but.
That is to not say that collagen does not profit the hair. It simply implies that any advantages haven’t but been examined and confirmed by science. Anecdotally, many individuals who take collagen dietary supplements report noticing that their hair grows sooner and longer. This would possibly point out that collagen fuels hair development, permitting it to develop sooner, and retains the anagen stage going longer, to permit for longer hair development and fewer shedding.
Can You Get Too A lot Collagen?
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So if collagen could assist hair, is it doable that an excessive amount of collagen can have the alternative affect? Fortunately, most likely not. Consuming an excessive amount of of a collagen complement is unlikely to do any harm. Your physique will both not break down a few of it and it’ll move by means of you, or it can break it down and use the surplus constructing blocks for different functions all through the physique.
There may be one medical situation associated to extra collagen, known as Scleroderma. Scleroderma is an autoimmune situation that causes your physique to supply an excessive amount of collagen. When this occurs, it makes your pores and skin act surprisingly, usually by thickening and hardening. Localized scleroderma impacts the pores and skin, however a worse situation, systemic scleroderma, has the identical affect on inner organs the place collagen is in heavy use, together with the guts, lungs, and kidneys.
Whereas the precise reason for scleroderma – and certainly most autoimmune illnesses normally – is unknown, it isn’t one thing you possibly can set off by consuming an excessive amount of collagen. You both have it or you do not. That stated, when you’ve got scleroderma, it’s best to most likely keep away from taking further collagen dietary supplements.
Issues with Hair Loss
Hair loss could be brought on by quite a lot of completely different issues, and a few of these issues could profit from collagen dietary supplements, whereas others will not.
Some hair loss is brought on by some type of malnutrition. An unbalanced weight loss plan or a weight loss plan that lacks sure proteins and minerals can have widespread points all through the physique. For instance, if you happen to aren’t consuming sufficient vitamin C, your physique would have a tough time placing collectively all of the collagen it desires. Consuming extra vitamin C may help remedy that difficulty.
Different hair loss could be brought on by worrying occasions. Due to how lengthy the hair cycle is, although, this implies you may usually have a worrying occasion, and end up shedding loads of hair a month or two later. It’s because the worrying occasion triggers the telogen stage of the hair cycle early, but it surely takes a while for the hair to transition by means of the catagen stage and into the “hair loss” stage. This hair loss is momentary until you retain experiencing worrying occasions, no less than.
It is doable that the stress causes excessive cortisol (the stress hormone) ranges within the physique, and that cortisol damages the collagen within the hair follicles, resulting in the catagen stage early. That is only a concept, but when it is the case, enhancing the collagen you soak up might assist counteract the consequences of stress, notably in your hair. It will not inherently cut back stress simply by taking the complement, however if you happen to can mix it with rest, meditation, train, and wholesome consuming, it may well profit you throughout the board.
Let Us Know Your Experiences
Lots of you’re followers of our collagen dietary supplements, so we’re curious: what have you ever skilled whereas taking them? Particularly, take into consideration your hair.
If in case you have hair loss, has collagen slowed it down? Has it stopped progressing completely? Do you discover that your hair grows longer, sooner, or thicker? We would like to listen to your tales, so go away us a remark and tell us.