Collagen Peptides

Collagen Peptides: Better Skin, Hair, and Joint Health

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body, providing structural support for the skin, tendons, bones, and ligaments.

It's composed primarily of three amino acids — glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline. The primary sequence of these amino acids is glycine–proline–X or glycine–X–hydroxyproline. X represents any of the other amino acids that comprise proteins in the body.

Although milk-based proteins, especially whey, remain the optimal choice for building muscle since they provide all essential amino acids in the proportions that the body needs, collagen offers various health benefits that other protein types don't since its amino acid composition is equivalent to human connective tissue.

Dive into PEScience's Collagen Peptides and discover how its advanced formula supports healthy skin, hair, and joints.

Collagen Peptides: A Closer Look at the Ingredients

There are 28 types of collagen, but the most common are types I through V, with type I comprising over 90% of collagen in the body (1).

PEScience's Collagen Peptides provides 10 grams of collagen peptides types I and III from bovine (cow) per serving.

Type I collagen is found in the skin, teeth, bone, tendons, ligaments, and vascular ligature, and Type III is the main component of reticular fibers, which offer structural support for the cellular components of various tissues and organs, including red bone marrow, liver, and kidneys. These fibers also surround small blood vessels, nerves, and muscle cells.

PEScience's Collagen Peptides also provides acerola juice powder, which offers strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Much of its antioxidant properties are related to its rich vitamin C content, which increases collagen protein synthesis.

Benefits of Collagen Peptides

Owing to collagen's structural importance, PEScience's Collagen Peptides supports healthy skin, hair, and joints.

Anti-Aging Skin Benefits

Type I collagen — a main type in PEScience's Collagen Peptides — is the major type found in the skin where it supports its integrity, structure, and strength.

It also provides proline-hydroxyproline, which stimulates hyaluronic acid production in skin cells. Hyaluronic acid has a unique ability to retain water molecules and thus plays an important role in skin moisture.

Unfortunately, the natural aging process as well as environmental and lifestyle factors like ultraviolet radiation, air pollution, poor nutrition, tobacco smoke, and use of certain cosmetic products can contribute to collagen loss and function, leading to reduced skin strength and elasticity.

However, collagen supplementation can increase skin strength, elasticity, and hydration, helping combat some of the collagen loss that occurs due to aging and the various environmental and lifestyle insults.

To this point, a review of 11 randomized controlled trials of over 800 people demonstrated that supplementation with 2.5 to 10 grams of collagen for four to 24 weeks significantly improved signs of skin aging and cellulite (2).

The anti-aging effects of collagen supplementation were demonstrated in another review — this time of 19 trials with more than 1,100 participants — in which daily collagen supplementation with 2.5 to 10 grams for four to 16 weeks led to significant improvements in skin hydration and elasticity, skin thickness, and facial wrinkles. These benefits were evident after 60 and 90 days of supplementation and were maintained for up to 30 days after supplementation (3).

Finally, a larger review of 26 trials demonstrated similar results, suggesting significant improvements in skin hydration and elasticity, particularly when supplemented daily for more than eight weeks (4).

Healthy Hair

Hair-papilla cells — which are vital for healthy hair development — are known to produce considerable amounts of collagen type I and III. Collagen is also a building block for the protein keratin, a key component of hair (5).

Owing to these roles, supplementation with collagen peptides may support healthy hair. Collagen supplementation is unlikely to promote hair growth but it may be helpful by reducing excessive hair shedding and thinning associated with aging or patterned hair loss (6).

To this point, in a study using human hair follicles, exposure to digested-stimulated bovine-hide collagen peptides preserved hair follicle stem cells and promoted the growth of new stem cells (6).

Joint Support

Physical activity — especially resistance training — is known to preserve collagen by keeping bone, muscles, tendons, and ligaments strong, but factors inherent to exercise and sports like physical impact, repetitive strain, and joint overload, increase the risk of joint pain and injuries.

Joints can also be affected by certain clinical inflammatory and degenerative conditions, leading to reduced mobility, pain, and discomfort.

Because collagen peptides can be absorbed and accumulated in cartilage, supplementation can be an effective strategy for supporting joint health. Furthermore, collagen peptides offer antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and stimulate the synthesis of other extracellular macromolecules like proteoglycans, which largely comprise articular cartilage (7).

To these points, a review of four trials with more than 500 older patients with a degenerative joint disease, found that supplementation with eight to 10 grams of collagen peptides daily for three to six months led to significant improvements in knee pain. This decrease in pain may translate to increases in mobility and functionality while improving quality of life (8, 9).

When paired with resistance training, higher doses of collagen peptide supplementation can be useful for promoting muscle recovery, decreasing pain, and improving strength and body composition. However, its effects on muscle growth and body composition are far from superior to milk-based proteins like whey or casein (10, 11, 12, 13).

Other trials have demonstrated benefits with daily supplementation with five to 10 grams of collagen peptides for reducing joint discomfort and knee pain, improving ankle and knee functionality, and accelerating recovery from an Achilles tendon injury in athletic populations (14).

The Bottom Line

PEScience's Collagen Peptides offer a rich blend of type I and III collagen to support healthy skin, hair, and joints. The inclusion of acerola juice powder, a natural source of vitamin C, further boosts collagen synthesis and provides antioxidant protection.

So, whether you're aiming to maintain youthful skin, support joint health, or improve recovery from physical activity, incorporating PEScience's Collagen Peptides into your daily routine can be a valuable addition.

Smoothies, juices, water, or even your morning coffee are ideal liquids to combine with Collagen Peptides.

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Gavin Van De Walle, MS, RD

Gavin Van De Walle holds a master’s degree in human nutrition and exercise physiology. He is also a registered dietitian. Gavin has a bias for the truth and aims to provide the public with the information they need to make educated and informed health decisions. His work has appeared in a variety of publications, including Healthline, Livestrong, the American Botanical Council, Underwriter Laboratories, Verywell Health, and many more.