Does Collagen Help With Hair Loss? 5 Reasons To Give This Supplement a Try
If you’ve found your way to this article, we’re guessing you’re aware that collagen can be beneficial for your body. Perhaps you’ve heard that it can improve your skin and nails, but does collagen help with hair loss? And, if so, which collagen hair loss formulations work?
Collagen is a vital protein that ensures our body has the tools it needs to stay healthy, inside and out. While we produce collagen naturally, our body’s natural production slows down drastically as early as age 25.
With decreased collagen production at such an early age, it is no wonder that many people start to see things like brittle nails, wrinkles, and even hair loss earlier than they’d hoped.
Is hair loss and thinning just a natural part of aging then, or is there something we can do about it? And does collagen help with hair loss? Let’s examine if collagen does help with hair loss, and if so, HOW.
Does collagen help with hair loss and thinning?
Our hair’s thickness is often associated with genetics, but our diet has a lot to do with our overall hair health and appearance. When collagen production slows, our body naturally redirects the remaining collagen to more vital parts of our body, like our organs.
That leaves our hair to fend for itself.
There’s no question that collagen is a crucial building block for bones, cartilage, skin, and hair.
But does collagen help with hair loss, too?
Studies suggest that it just might. Collagen supplements could improve our hair health in a number of ways.
5 reasons collagen may help with hair loss
Collagen has shown promising results and is widely accepted as a way to strengthen hair and maybe even prevent hair loss. So yes, collagen does help with hair loss!
Here are a few reasons why:
1. Collagen has plenty of antioxidants
Adding more antioxidants to your diet is never a bad thing.
When it comes to hair health, antioxidants protect our hair follicles from damage often created by free radicals. Just as our collagen production slows, our body’s natural defense against free radicals also decreases as we age.
Free radicals are highly reactive molecules that directly attack proteins, our DNA, and lipids that make up cells in our body. Since collagen is a protein, it is susceptible to a free radical attack.
Our body is always making a small number of free radicals, and we tend to produce even more of them as we age. Plus, free radicals can enter our bodies via a variety of pollutants like UV rays and air pollution. These free radicals can wreak havoc on our hair follicles.
Our hair follicles are the tube-like structures under the first layer of our skin that our hair grows out of.
Since our skin is mostly made up of collagen, it is even more important to have defenses against free radicals. There is also some speculation that free radical attacks on our hair follicles may contribute to graying hair. And our body needs antioxidants to protect our cells from attack.
We can get antioxidants from many different sources, including fruits like berries and proteins like collagen hair loss supplements.
Since we are targeting our hair follicle health, choosing to get antioxidants directly from collagen supplements may be the best choice. This is because it directly replaces the collagen that is being attacked by free radicals in our bodies.
This is one way collagen does help with hair loss.
2. Collagen promotes healthy hair roots
While collagen is actively defending and rebuilding the outer layers of our skin, it can also improve the health of deeper layers.
The middle layer of our skin, the dermis, is what holds our hair in place. So, if our dermis or our scalp isn’t healthy, it is harder for our hair to stay in place. As we lose out on necessary collagen to build up and repair our skin, it becomes easier for hair loss to begin.
The dermis that is holding the roots of our hairs in place is made up of 70% collagen. No wonder hair loss and balding increase as we age, because our collagen production is decreasing.
Collagen contributes to the elasticity of your dermis; it also replenishes dead or damaged cells. The continually supported structure of the dermis keeps hair roots in place, making it possible that an increase in collagen does help with hair loss.
3. Collagen contains amino acids
You may be wondering, "how can amino acids help my hair grow?"
Our hair is primarily comprised of a protein called keratin, which is built using several amino acids. Some of the amino acids essential for keratin growth are found in collagen.
Collagen contains 3 nonessential amino acids: proline, glycine, and hydroxyproline. Although the word “nonessential” can make us believe we don’t need those amino acids, what it actually means is that our body can produce them naturally.
While we may be able to produce these nonessential amino acids, it doesn’t mean that we are producing enough to build proteins like keratin that promote healthy hair.
As with other proteins we consume, when we ingest collagen, our body breaks down the protein into amino acids. We can then use these amino acids to build new proteins, compounds, and tissues.
So, when taking some collagen supplements, our body converts the protein directly into amino acids that we need. The added boost of proline from collagen supplements essentially provides the necessary tools for our body to construct keratin and build up healthier hair.
This is yet another potential way that collagen does help with hair loss.
4. Collagen may improve scalp health
Collagen hair loss formulas are not only beneficial for the health of your hair, but also for the health of your scalp. A healthy scalp is a foundation for healthy hair, so it’s important to take care of it!
One way collagen hair loss formulas can improve the health of your scalp is by reducing inflammation. Inflammation is a common cause of hair loss, so reducing it can help to prevent or slow down hair loss.
Collagen hair loss products can also help to improve scalp circulation. Improving blood flow and circulation in the scalp helps to deliver essential nutrients to the hair follicles, which promotes healthy hair growth.
In addition, collagen hair loss supplements may help to strengthen the hair shaft, which can prevent breakage and promote thicker, stronger hair. Yet another way that collagen does help with hair loss!
5. Collagen can increase the production of fibroblasts
As if collagen supplements weren't amazing enough already, taking collagen supplements can actually boost your own natural collagen production! That's because collagen is thought to increase the production of fibroblasts as well.
Fibroblasts are what control our natural collagen production. This means that we are strengthening our hair follicles, but we are also potentially boosting our natural collagen production in the process!
While we can see the benefits of taking collagen, it’s important to know what types of collagen supplements we should look for when trying to treat hair loss.
The best collagen supplements for hair loss
We must remember that collagen hair loss products differ according to the source of collagen itself. Not all collagen hair loss supplements are created equal, and not all collagen hair loss supplements are easy for us to digest and absorb.
Be sure that when you add a collagen hair loss supplement to your diet, you follow a medical professional’s guidance and seek out a trusted brand. Beyond collagen supplement brands, there are also different types of collagen. In fact, there are over 28 different kinds of collagen!
To make things easy, we found the best type of collagen to target your hair health: type 1 collagen.
Luckily, type 1 collagen is the most widely used type of collagen when it comes to supplementation. It specifically targets the health of bodily tissues like skin.
Type 1 collagen is seen as the most effective collagen for hair loss prevention because of its ability to target and restore structure to our scalp and dermis skin layers.
The different types of collagen all have slightly different concentrations of amino acids. Type 1 collagen has a higher concentration of hydroxyproline and proline, making it easier for our bodies to convert those acids into tissue-building proteins and compounds.
So while all collagen does help with hair loss to some extent, type 1 collagen is the best kind of collagen to use. Now let’s talk about what type of supplement you should look for.
The best collagen for hair loss prevention
While the type of collagen is an important factor in how well your collagen supplement will prevent hair loss, how well our bodies can absorb may play an even more significant role.
Even if we take a collagen supplement, if our body cannot absorb or break it down into amino acids and antioxidants, it won’t do any good.
You’ll still be scratching your head and asking yourself, “does collagen help with hair loss?”
To really see results, the best kind of collagen is hydrolyzed collagen. And, even better, nano-hydrolyzed collagen, such as our medical-grade collagen protein at ProT Gold.
The reason nano-hydrolyzed collagen is so effective is because of the size of the molecules. It has undergone the process of hydrolysis more than once, which breaks down the collagen molecules to 1% of their original size - making them incredibly easy to digest.
This makes the collagen supplement more bioavailable for our bodies and helps us get the most out of the benefits. If you are struggling with, or trying to prevent, thinning hair, see if collagen for hair loss could be the answer to your problems.
FAQ on collagen and hair loss
Here are a few of the questions people often ask on collagen and hair loss.
What is the best collagen for hair loss?
The best collagen for hair loss is a hydrolyzed or nano-hydrolyzed collagen supplement that contains type 1 collagen. This type of collagen can help improve your hair health from the inside out. Collagen does help with hair loss when used in other forms, but it is not as effective.
Does collagen help with hair growth?
Not only does collagen help with hair loss, collagen also helps for hair growth! As we mentioned before, collagen can help to improve scalp circulation and deliver essential nutrients to the hair follicles.
In addition, collagen can help to strengthen the hair shaft and prevent breakage. All of these things promote healthy hair growth.
How much collagen should I take for hair loss?
If you’re asking yourself, “How much collagen should I take”? There is no one-size-fits-all answer. The amount of collagen you need will depend on your age, diet, and lifestyle. However, a good starting point is 10-15 grams per day.
How long does it take for collagen supplements to work?
How long does it take for collagen supplements to work? It depends on the person! However, it typically takes around 2-3 months of regular collagen consumption to see results in terms of hair loss.
Is topical collagen effective for hair loss?
Does collagen help with hair loss when applied externally? Not so much.
Topical collagen is not really effective for hair loss.
The reason for this is down to the molecular weight. Collagen molecules are too big to get through the epidermis, rendering topical collagen ineffective.
The first layer of skin (the epidermis) alone has multiple layers of protection to prevent toxins from entering our bloodstream. If any collagen is able to penetrate deeper to the second layer of skin, the dermis, then it has a higher chance of being used by the body.
The problem is that most of the collagen isn’t even getting that far. So, does collagen help with hair loss when used topically? NO.
So, if you’re interested in collagen hair loss supplements, use an oral formula consisting of either powder or liquid.
Can you use liquid collagen for hair growth?
Yes, you can use liquid collagen for hair growth! Collagen hair loss formulas are equally as effective in liquid form as powder form.
Plus, the convenience of a ready-to-drink collagen hair loss beverage like ProT Gold hydrolyzed collagen means that you’re more likely to stick to your supplement routine, making it more likely that you’ll see flourishing results for your hair.
