Loss of collagen primarily looks like sagging, wrinkled skin with a loss of firmness, dullness, and texture changes like dryness or enlarged pores, but it also affects joints, muscles, and gut health, causing stiffness, aches, and slower healing. Visually, expect more prominent fine lines (especially around eyes/mouth), hollowed cheeks, dark circles, and a generally less plump, radiant complexion, with skin taking longer to bounce back after being stretched.
Other signs of losing collagen include the skin appearing thinner, the area around the eyes appearing more hollow, changes in the face shape such as narrow temples, more visible cellulite, brittle nails and hair, and even joint pain and muscle weakness.
Some users have reported skin changes such as a mild rash, hives, or even acne after starting collagen peptide supplements. One of the causes for this could be an allergic reaction to collagen or other ingredients used in the supplement. Allergy to the collagen itself is a rare event, but it may occur.
These signs and symptoms include:
Low collagen levels may lead to some effects, which include: Skin changes: collagen has elastin which improves skin elasticity. When collagen reduces, skin starts thinning and looking dry. With time, wrinkles start to appear, and cheekbones may start to more prominently show.
For those seeking more significant collagen restoration, professional treatments performed by an expert dermatology provider offer more substantial results. These procedures work by creating controlled damage to the skin, which triggers the body's wound healing response and stimulates collagen production.
Five signs collagen is working include improved skin hydration/firmness with fewer fine lines, stronger/faster-growing nails, thicker/shinier hair, reduced joint pain/stiffness, and faster post-workout muscle recovery. These benefits show up gradually, with skin improvements often seen first, followed by joint and hair/nail changes over a few weeks to months of consistent use, notes Oreate AI Blog and Ancient + Brave.
Factors which can lead to collagen degradation include ageing (this is the main cause), disease, exposure to UV radiation and smoking. A typical form of collagen degradation associated with smoking is the loss of collagen in the skin, leading to premature ageing of the epidermis (i.e. wrinkles).
Bone Broth
Chicken bone broth is a potent source of collagen. This broth, made by boiling chicken bones in water, is believed to extract collagen, thus supporting body health.
But due to pollution, stress, sun exposure, and other toxins, the body's capacity to produce collagen starts to deplete at age 30. Production starts to dwindle in our mid-to-late 20s and early 30s and we start losing 1% of our collagen per year after that.
Thickening and Hardening: Skin may feel unusually thick or tough, making it less flexible. Shiny and Tight Skin: Overproduction can lead to taut, shiny skin that restricts movement in severe cases. Color Changes: Affected areas might change in appearance, becoming lighter, darker, or even yellowish in some conditions.
You may be wondering if collagen makes your joints hurt, but collagen probably isn't the cause. With rheumatoid arthritis (RA), uncontrolled inflammation damages cartilage, ligaments, and tendons, which causes joint pain.
However, the answer is no, collagen does not cause weight gain. The only way to gain weight is to consume more calories than you burn, and collagen is not high in calories. In fact, each serving of Absolute Collagen contains only 32 calories per 10ml serving.
Poor diet and nutritional deficiencies (e.g., too much alcohol and sugar, and not enough vitamin C, zinc, copper, amino acids, or proteins) Chronic health conditions (e.g., diabetes) Certain medications (prolonged steroid use can decrease collagen production and weaken skin structure.)
The Pinch Test. Another technique for testing skin elasticity involves gently pinching the skin on your cheeks, arm, or abdomen. Similar to the snap test, if it the skin is slower to bounce back to its shape, this can indicate a loss of elasticity or dehydration.
Pinch test: Gently pinch the area in question. If you grasp a thin layer of skin with minimal substance, it is likely loose skin. If the pinched area feels thicker and you can feel softness underneath, it's most likely fat.
Oranges, lemons, and grapefruits top the list of best fruits for collagen production due to their exceptional vitamin C content. A single orange provides over 90mg of vitamin C - more than the daily recommended intake for most adults.
5 things to avoid while supplementing with Collagen
The best sources for collagen include fish, egg whites, beef, gelatin, chicken and beef/chicken/fish bone broth. Marine or fish collagen is known to have the most efficient absorption of all collagen types. Eating salmon with the skin is an excellent way to include more collagen in your eating plan.
Avoid collagen saboteurs: Sugar and ultra-processed foods (they trigger glycation, damaging existing collagen) Smoking + pollution (oxidative stress = collagen breakdown) Unprotected sun exposure (UVA rays are collagen's worst enemy)
Collagen is a protein that gives your skin its structure, firmness, and elasticity. Unfortunately, caffeine can interfere with collagen synthesis. A group of Polish researchers discovered that caffeine decreases collagen production in human skin cultures.
While collagen production naturally declines with age, many lifestyle factors accelerate its breakdown. These include excessive sugar intake, UV exposure, smoking, alcohol use, chronic stress, poor sleep, and environmental pollution.
You can't measure exactly how much you have, but when it drops you may have symptoms such as joint pain or stiff tendons or ligaments. Your muscles may weaken. You could also have papery skin. Taking collagen supplements may help ease these symptoms.
Skinade: the collagen supplement Victoria Beckham, Millie Macintosh and Emma Louise Connelly all swear by. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body – it's in your skin, bones, muscles, cartilage, ligaments and blood.
One study tracked participants taking daily collagen for 8–12 weeks who saw less deep wrinkles, denser skin, and smoother texture. These improvements get better over time, as a new 2024 study showed a 22.7% boost in skin elasticity after 12 weeks of regular use.