Collagen is the most common protein found in the body and it’s what keeps our skin from sagging, giving it a plump, youthful look. As we get older, usually when we pass 30, our bodies begin to lose collagen and over the years it becomes more noticeable – this is when people start looking for the best collagen supplements to stem the tide.
Regarded as the ‘holy grail of skin health,’ collagen supplements come in powders, pills, or creams, making it really easy to improve your health.
It’s not just your skin that will benefit from a collagen supplement. They also boost the health of your bones and joints, give you stronger hair and nails. They can help boost your metabolism, aid your weight loss because they keep you feeling fuller for longer, prevent and reverse arthritis, and more.
They can also counteract the effects of smoking, sun exposure, eating too much sugar, or consuming too many refined carbs. All of which have been linked with reducing or damaging the collagen in your body.
To help you choose the best collagen supplements for you, we’ve handpicked the powders, liquids and tablets that won’t break the bank and which actually work below.
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Collagen is pretty much the glue that holds together your skin, bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. It provides your skin with structure and strengthens your bones. You can read more about this in our What is collagen and what do the different types of collagen do for skin? guide.
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It is possible to boost collagen levels by eating certain foods, but it can be harder for your body to digest the protein this way.
Foods like root vegetables, beans, and soy help increase hyaluronic acid – a compound that improves collagen in your skin.
Eating chicken is recommended to boost your collagen levels.
However, numerous studies have shown that supplements are much easier to absorb into your blood, so they’re the easiest way to improve your skin and nails.
Unlike the collagen your body produces naturally, collagen supplements are made of amino acids and are derived from animal or fish protein, which is why they’re easy to absorb into your bloodstream.
Therefore if you’re vegan or vegetarian you’re not going to want to use most collagen supplements because the majority are animal-based and are produced using the bones and proteins of animals. The exception is the Ingenious Vegan supplements listed under our Luxury Buy.
The most effective collagen supplements feature what’s known as Hydrolysed Collagen peptides combined with amino acids.
The amino acids are beneficial to cell reproduction, strengthening your bones and replacing dead skin cells, whilst also giving your hair and nails a boost.
The Collagen Hydrolysate provides a lot of health benefits, including better joint comfort and flexibility. They strengthen connective tissue, which also helps prevent injuries and speeds up recovery, as well as help to build muscle mass.
Working together with the amino acids, Collagen Hydrolysate technology helps improve your skin’s tissue strength, elasticity, and smoothness.
When shopping for collagen supplements it might be tempting to go for the cheapest, but with collagen supplements, you get what you pay for. The potency level of the collagen supplements is an important feature.
You’re going to want to avoid collagen supplements with less than 500mg of collagen peptides.
Collagen supplements can’t reverse the signs of aging completely, but they will mean you have younger-looking skin for longer.
The other health benefits that come from taking a collagen supplement are really worth it too.
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Why we love it: The Revive Collagen brand was set up by Samantha Faiers, who you’ll probably know from ITV2’s The Mummy Diaries. After suffering from adult acne Sam Faiers wanted to create skin products that really work. She started taking collagen supplements for anti-aging but then realised it was also helping the condition of her skin too, leading to the creation of Revive Collagen supplements.
The reason Revive has taken the Editor’s Pick in our best collagen supplement list is because its potency level is high – with 8,500mg to 10,000mg per serving. These collagen supplements are in liquid form, meaning they’re really easy to take on-the-go and they’re absorbed into your body as soon as they enter your stomach.
The absorption rate of these sachets is 90%-95% and taking one of these collagen sachets is the equivalent of taking 20 collagen tablets (which typically have an absorption rate of 30% – 40%). The Revive Collagen products formula also contains glycine and proline, proven to help elastin formation.
You take one sachet daily and can order them as a one-time purchase, or set up a fortnight or monthly dose delivery. The Revive collagen supplements taste great and don’t include any added flavours, colours or sugar. They also don’t include any dairy, soy, lactose, or gluten.
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£26.99 | Buy now
Dose & Co Why we love it: Dose & Co is co-owned by Khloe Kardashian – after she became so being impressed with the collagen supplements the brand produces – alongside certified nutritionist Libby Mathews.
Mathewa initially designed the product because she was breastfeeding and wanted a product that was safe for all women to use, and she designed the range to be both effective and affordable (relatively speaking) as well as free from any added nasties.
This is a really easy collagen supplement to take because it can be added to hot or cold drinks, as well as food.
It’s also free from gluten, dairy and soy.
The taste isn’t as good as other collagen supplements in this list, but it’s a lot cheaper and there’s also the choice of chocolate, vanilla or caramel flavour.
You should start to see the results of taking Dose & Co collagen supplements within a couple of weeks. You should notice that your hair and nails are stronger.
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£60 | Buy now
Why we love it: The Ingenious collagen supplement was specifically designed to target three areas – skin radiance, wrinkle reduction and hydration. It has won numerous beauty awards including from Good Housekeeping Institute and The Independent and this collagen supplement has been clinically proven to improve the quality of the skin of 98% of the women tested.
Unlike other collagen supplements for sagging skin, we’ve featured, that release their ingredients in the stomach, these Ingenious supplements dissolve and release a high amount of collagen into your small intestine. This means they bypass digestion and have a 90% absorption rate.
It’s recommended to take these on an empty stomach, so we found that taking one before bed meant they could work overnight when we weren’t eating.
As is often the case with collagen supplements you can save money by bulk buying and can get a 60 day supply for 20% off (a saving of £24). You can also save more by setting up a subscription.
Ingenious Beauty also offers a vegan version that uses a 100% plant-based formula to stimulate collagen synthesis and improve your skin, hair, nails and joints.
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£26.99 | Buy now
Great Lakes Why we love it? You can get the Great Lakes collagen supplement for sagging skin in either a powder form to use at home, or in sachets if you need to travel with them.
With this collagen supplement, you add it to your drink or food and we found it easiest to sprinkle over our breakfast each morning.
The collagen supplement powder is flavourless and odourless, so it won’t affect what your drink or food tastes like, and thanks to the high levels of glycine, proline and hydroxyproline, this supplement will help to renew and maintain your natural levels of collagen.
The formula of this collagen supplement is designed to replicate the same collagen that’s naturally found in your bones, skin and cartilage. Great Lakes has been studying collagen since 1922 and were the first ever to offer Collagen Hydrolysate technology.
We’ve linked to the full-size pack, but you can also get a small number of sachets for just a fiver if you want to give it a go without committing fully.
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£33 | Buy now from Amazon
Why we love it: These Absolute Collagen supplements for sagging skin are award-winning and have fantastic reviews (including on Trustpilot). Similarly to the Revive Collagen supplements, the Absolute Collagen supplements have an absorption rate of 90% – 95%.
These collagen supplements are made up of Hydrolysed Marine Collagen (65%) with a natural lemon flavouring. There are no additives and they’re infused with Vitamin C.
You can order these liquid supplements as a one-time purchase, or save money by subscribing and receiving fortnightly or monthly boxes of sachets. The brand also offers a Collagen Booster Serum with Hyaluronic Acid to complement the collagen supplement drinks.
That way you can take care of your skin from the inside and give it an extra boost on the outside, too.
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£39.99 | Buy now
Why we love it: Hydrolysed Marine Collagen (often referred to as Type 1 collagen) is made of peptides that come from fish scales.
It’s one of the most eco-friendly collagen supplements for sagging skin because it’s made from bits of fish usually thrown away.
The Hydrolysed Marine Collagen fights against signs of ageing, boosts immune function, improves the health of your hair and nails, and encourages metabolic health with a single supplement.
This collagen supplement also contains sea kelp extract, to further boost your immunity; Vitamin E to help protect your skin and reverse damage from UV rays; Hyaluronic Acid to help prevent your nails yellowing and cracking; Biotin to improve your skin health, and Vitamin C to boost hydration so you have a brighter complexion.
Hyaluronic acid is clinically proven to improve skin and joint health, making it more effective than a lot of other collagen supplements.
Hey Nutrition is so confident in its collagen product that it offers a 60-day money back guarantee, so you can try this one out risk-free.
This marine collagen supplement comes in a capsule and they recommend taking two a day when you have a meal.
Buy now from Hey Nutrition
Kat is a freelance journalist, photographer, and the founder of Simply Gender Free – a company dedicated to smashing gender stereotypes in kids’ products. As a mum of two, Kat is passionate about making the world a better place for the next generation
