Collagen for hair is a topic we can’t ignore, especially because of how important this protein (Collagen) is. Collagen is regarded as the most abundant protein in your body. It helps to make up tendons, ligaments, and skin. Your body produces collagen, but you can also get it from supplements and foods like bone broth. Thus, you can use Collagen for your hair.
Furthermore, it may offer a variety of health benefits, like promoting healthy, strong hair.
Reasons You Need Collagen For Hair
Here are five evidence-based ways that collagen is good for your hair and might help improve it.
#1. It Helps Combat Damage to Hair Follicles
To begin with, you need collagen for hair because it can act as an antioxidant and fight damage free radicals cause.
Free radicals are compounds that develop in your body because of stress, air pollutants, smoking, poor dietary choices, alcohol, and other environmental influences. Having too many free radicals in your body can cause harm to your cells, proteins, and DNA.
According to research, free radicals might also damage hair follicles. Because the body’s defense against free radicals reduces with aging, older adults are more prone to hair damage.
Furthermore, your body needs antioxidants to fight free radicals and promote healthy hair.
A lot of test-tube studies have shown that collagen, especially from fish scales, might have powerful antioxidant activity.
According to one study, marine collagen was able to fight four different free radicals. Also, according to another study, the protein might be a more effective antioxidant than a well-known compound found in tea.
Still, remember that research has only been performed in isolated cells in labs. Hence, the antioxidant potential of collagen in your body is not clear.
In short, free radicals can cause damage to hair follicles. Also, Collagen might act as an antioxidant that can combat free radicals and prevent hair damage but has little research.
#2. It Provides Amino Acids That Can Build Hair
Primarily, the protein Keratin makes up our hair. The body uses several amino acids to build this protein. Collagen contains some of these amino acids. Thus, you need collagen for hair.
Your body breaks collagen and other proteins into amino acids when you consume them. These are then used to build new proteins and compounds.
Furthermore, there are 11 nonessential amino acids that your body can make and 9 essential ones that you need to get from your diet. Primarily, Collagen is consists of 3 nonessential amino acids which are proline, glycine, and hydroxyproline.
Also, the main component of keratin is Proline. Hence, the intake of proline-rich collagen provides your body with building blocks it needs to create hair.
However, human studies in humans on the effects of collagen on hair are just a few. Thus, it is difficult to know if this protein promotes hair growth.
Summarily, Collagen is rich in amino acids that your body needs to build keratin. This protein makes up the hair. Nevertheless, human studies on using collagen to increase hair growth are lacking.
#3. It’s Easy to Add to Your Routine
You can easily add collagen to your diet through foods or supplements.
Furthermore, since it makes up the connective tissue of mammals, you find them in the skins, bones, and muscles of chicken, beef, pork, and fish.
Again, Broth from animal bones contains both collagen and gelatin, a cooked form of collagen. You can sip this bone broth as a drink or use it as the base for soups.
Also, eating foods high in vitamin C might increase your body’s natural collagen production. Oranges, Brussels sprouts, bell peppers, and strawberries are very good sources of vitamin C.
You can take Collagen as supplemental pills or powder. Most collagen supplements are hydrolyzed. This means that they’re already broken down and easier to absorb.
Related: Foods That Increase Collagen Production Naturally
Collagen powder is flavor and odorless. Thus, you can add it to smoothies, coffee, and other hot or cold liquids. Flavored varieties are available also.
Collagen supplements appear to be safe for most people according to current research. However, some reports say that supplements might cause a lingering aftertaste, heartburn, or stomach discomfort.
In conclusion, you can find Collagen in food like bone broths and animal meats, including the skin. Also, Collagen supplements are available and many of them contain collagen that has already been broken down for easy absorption.
#4. It Might Prevent Hair Thinning That Comes With Aging
Another reason why you need collagen for hair is because it makes up 70% of the middle layer of your skin that contains the root of each individual hair. This layer is called the Dermis.
In fact, collagen contributes to the elasticity and strength of your dermis. Your body becomes less efficient at producing collagen and replenishing cells in the dermis with age. This might be one of the reasons why hair gets thinner with time.
With this in mind, providing your body with collagen might help maintain a healthy dermis and prevent hair thinning.
According to an eight-week study in 69 women between ages 35 and 55, taking collagen supplements daily significantly improved skin elasticity compared to a placebo.
Also, according to another 12-week study in more than 1,000 adults found, a daily collagen supplement improved the amount of this protein in the skin and reduced signs of skin aging.
Furthermore, since hair grows out of your skin, the potential of collagen to counteract skin aging effects might contribute to better hair growth and reduce thinning. However, there is no available research on the impact of collagen on hair thinning.
Summarily, collagen protects the layer of skin that contains hair roots. Thus, it might help prevent age-related hair loss and thinning.
#5. It Might Help Slow Graying
You also need Collagen for hair because it might be able to fight cell damage and slow graying due to its antioxidant properties.
Genetics largely influences age-related hair graying. However, free radical damage to the cells that produce hair color might also play a role.
As you get older, the cells that produce the melanin pigment that gives your hair its color begins to die naturally. Nevertheless, free radicals due to poor diet, stress, and environmental pollutants can damage melanin-creating cells also.
Furthermore, your hair may begin to gray without enough antioxidants to fight free radical damage. In fact, according to a test-tube study, the antioxidant activity of gray hair follicles was much lower than that of hair follicles that still contained pigment.
Again, since collagen has been shown to fight free radicals in test tubes, it may, in theory, help prevent damage to cells that produce hair color. Hence, it might prevent premature graying or slow down age-related graying.
However, research on the antioxidant effects of collagen in humans is currently limited.
In summary, free radical damage to cells that produce hair color might quicken graying to an extent. Also, since collagen can act as an antioxidant, it might be able to fight this damage and slow graying.
Summary
As we get older, our body produces less collagen in our skin yearly. This is why we tend to see wrinkles and thinning skin as we get older. However, you can also get it from supplements and foods like bone broth.
Since collagen might offer a variety of health benefits, like promoting healthy, strong hair, you can use Collagen for hair.
However, research on the effects of collagen on the human hair is not much.
Thus, if you’re interested in trying collagen to improve your hair, try bone broth or supplements you can mix with food or drinks.
In addition, you can buy collagen supplements from local retailers or online.
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