My Simple Collagen in Skin Care FAQ

So I wanted to buy drinks with collagen because well.. they're kind of big here, and I want to experiment if collagen will have any effect on my skin. Also, it is supposed to be anti-aging, a skin smoothing miracle. However, this miracle may not come cheap - some of the collagen beauty products can fetch for hundreds of dollars. This warrants some research (or rather Google-ing) and here are a few things I learned (sources are linked within the post):


Q: What is collagen?
A: Collagen is a "main component of connective tissue, and is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up about 25% to 35% of the whole-body protein content". 

Q: How does it affect our skin? 
A: To be simple, it supports our skin. As we age, our naturally occurring collagen is degraded and it is this lack of support which results in wrinkles.  

Q: I've seen it as ingredients in creams. Will it replenish the lost collagen? 
A: The pore size of our skin barrier (stratum corneum) is estimated to be around 0.5 to 0.8 nm. Collagen is 1.5 nm in diameter. There are current studies on ways to effectively deliver collagen through the skin, but for now.. No. It will not work (meaning, replenish your collagen) as the collagen can't get into your skin.

Q: What if I eat or drink it then? Will it work?
A: Eating and drinking collagen is a big thing in Japan, but even among Japanese scientists, there are skeptics. On the other hand, there are studies suggesting that ingesting collagen increases fibroblast (collagen-producing cells) density in pigs. Assuming ingestion of collagen does help our skin, I would rather get it from eating meat than from supplements. It's much more fulfilling and less expensive (I saw a bottle of supplement which costs 50 USD). 

Like this! (from wisegeek.com)

Q: How about collagen injection? It should work right?
A: "The results of collagen injections aren’t permanent and will fade over time. To keep wrinkles, folds, or scars from coming back, you will need to go back to your doctor for more injections." For something that will only last in months, this sounds expensive (400 USD per session). Apparently, the injected collagen will still be broken down by enzymes. This is similar to maintaining the water level in a leaky bucket with holes by manually filling the bucket with water and not fixing the hole. Buy hey, whichever works, right? But this certainly is not an option for me. 

Because I have little money and collagen drinks (around 1600 php a month) are akin to eating meat, I'll abandon the collagen drink experiment for now.