Collagen and skin ageing

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The global collagen market is estimated to grow from $5.1 billion in 2023 to $7.4 billion by 2030. Although there has been a recent surge of interest in collagen supplements for reversing the signs of ageing, collagen itself has a long history of medical use. But what is collagen and why has it become so fashionable in the wellness industry?

Collagen and the ageing process

Collagen is a structural protein synthesised by fibroblasts in the dermis and is a major component of the dermal extracellular matrix. It is regularly replaced in the skin, but a key feature of ageing is a reduced capacity to regenerate it.

Although ageing is an intrinsic process, extrinsic factors such as air pollution, smoking, inadequate nutrition and exposure to UV radiation can accelerate it. Extrinsic ageing gives rise to photo-aged skin, characterised by thickened, dry skin, deep wrinkles and loss of elasticity.

UV radiation is an important contributor to photo-ageing because it reduces collagen production by increasing the activity of matrix-degrading metalloproteinases, which break down collagen. Although UV exposure accelerates natural ageing, studies have also highlighted age-related declines in fibroblasts’ capacity to synthesise collagen.

Given that natural ageing reduces collagen production, could supplements reverse skin ageing? Several meta-analyses pooling these findings have concluded that collagen supplements can indeed reverse signs of ageing. But can they?

Significant improvements?

The first meta-analysis of collagen supplement use was published in 2021. Researchers focused on three outcomes: skin wrinkles, hydration and elasticity. It included 19 studies involving 1,125 participants aged 20–70 years.

The findings were clear: collagen supplements reduced wrinkles and improved skin elasticity and hydration. Two subsequent analyses, published in 2023, also reported significant improvements in markers of skin ageing.

However, meta-analyses use sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness of their main findings. The earlier reviews examined different collagen formulations and sources, such as bovine or fish collagen, and obtained consistent results.

In other words, the original finding that collagen supplements were effective appeared robust.

But the authors of the latest review reached a very different conclusion after conducting sensitivity analyses. In 2025, Myung et al published a fourth meta-analysis that included 23 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) involving 1,474 participants. As in the earlier analyses, collagen supplementation improved skin hydration, elasticity and wrinkles.

Their sensitivity analyses examined the same outcomes according to funding source (industry or independent) and methodological quality. In independently funded or high-quality studies, the beneficial effects of collagen on all three outcomes disappeared. By contrast, low-quality, pharmaceutical company-funded trials reported positive results for all outcomes, with clear evidence of publication bias.

Implications for practice

Collagen supplements are widely available from supermarkets and pharmacies. The latest meta-analysis by Myung and colleagues casts doubt on the earlier reviews and suggests there is little objective evidence that these products improve recognised signs of ageing.

However, the picture is complicated further by a 2026 umbrella review (a review of reviews), which included 113 RCTs involving roughly 8,000 participants. It assessed collagen supplements across a range of health conditions, including skin health.

This review included the analysis by Myung et al and concluded that collagen significantly improved skin elasticity and hydration, but not skin roughness. However, the certainty of evidence across domains was frequently moderate to low, and most meta-analyses were rated as low or critically low quality. In other words: garbage in, garbage out.

So should community pharmacy teams recommend collagen supplements to patients? I would say that the available evidence does not provide a clear-cut answer. On balance, if collagen does improve signs of skin ageing, the benefits are likely to be small.