Collagen for Hair Growth: What Makes It So Popular?

Collagen for hair growth may help you prevent hair problems like greying and thinning (Image via Pexels @Irina Edilbaeva)
Collagen for hair growth may help prevent hair problems like greying and thinning. (Image via Pexels/Irina Edilbaeva)

Collagen for hair growth is becoming extremely popular these days. There're a variety of causes for the hair loss that many people experience. Loss of collagen production in the body is a major contributor to hair thinning. Collagen deficiency leads to thinning of hair and a generally unhealthy scalp.

Collagen saves the day by giving hair the nutrients, strength, and moisture it needs to stay healthy. Collagen supplements work faster than other hair loss pills, as the collagen peptides are more easily absorbed by the body. Apart from preventing hair loss, collagen boosts circulation, which carries oxygen and nutrients to the hair follicles.


Collagen for Hair Growth: Is Collagen Good for Hair?

Read more about how collagen for hair growth can help nourish and sustain your hair. Read here about the health benefits of collagen peptides.

Let's get started about the benefits of collagen for hair:

1) Provides Amino Acids needed to Build Hair

Include more meat in your diet to get the required amount of collagen. (Image via Pexels/Lukas)
Include more meat in your diet to get the required amount of collagen. (Image via Pexels/Lukas)

Keratin is the main component of hair. Keratin is constructed in the body using a variety of amino acids, some of which can be found in collagen.

Consuming proteins like collagen for hair growth results in the breakdown of these macromolecules into their constituent amino acids, which can be used to assemble new proteins and compounds.

The human body can synthesize the 11 nonessential amino acids, but it must get the nine essential ones from food. Collagen primarily consists of non-essential amino acids proline, glycine, and hydroxyproline.

Keratin is primarily made up of the amino acid proline. So, if you want hair to grow, you should give your body the building blocks it needs by consuming collagen high in proline.


2) Reduces Damage to Hair Follicles

Fruits having a higher content of vitamin C can help improve collagen level. (Image via Pexels@Lukas)
Fruits having a higher content of vitamin C can help improve collagen level. (Image via Pexels@Lukas)

A powerful antioxidant, collagen for hair growth can protect cells from free radicals. The body creates free radicals when it'ssubjected to things like stress, air pollution, smoking, poor diet choices, alcohol, and so on. A build-up of free radicals can wreak havoc on cellular components like proteins and DNA.

There's evidence to suggest that free radicals can also harm hair follicles. As the body's natural defenses against free radicals weaken with age, hair becomes more vulnerable to damage.

Antioxidants are vital to the body's ability to combat free radicals and maintain healthy hair. Collagen, and particularly fish scale collagen, has been shown in several in-vitro studies to have potent antioxidant activity.

However, it'simportant to keep in mind that studies to date have only been conducted on isolated cell cultures in research labs. Therefore, collagen's potential as an antioxidant in the body is uncertain.


3) May help slow down hair greying

Chicken is also a good source of collagen. (Image via Pexels/Harry Dona)
Chicken is also a good source of collagen. (Image via Pexels/Harry Dona)

Collagen for hair growth, with its antioxidant properties, may protect cells from damage and delay graying of hair. However, free radical damage to cells that produce hair color may also play a role in age-related graying, which is largely influenced by genetics.

The cells in the body that make the melanin pigment, giving hair its natural color, gradually die as you get older. Melanin-producing cells are vulnerable to free radical damage from poor diet, stress, and environmental toxins.

Greying hair can be a sign that you aren't getting enough antioxidants to counteract free radicals in the body. Collagen for hair growth has been shown to protect against free radical damage in vitro, suggesting that it may also protect the cells responsible for hair pigmentation in the body. Therefore, it has the potential to delay or stop the onset of grey hair associated with ageing.


4) May prevent hair thinning

Seventy percent of the dermis, the layer of skin that houses the hair follicles, is composed of collagen. In particular, collagen helps keep the dermis flexible and sturdy. Collagen production slows down, and dermal cell renewal slows with age. This is a possible explanation for the gradual thinning of hair that occurs with age.

If you want to keep your skin and hair strong, it may help to supplement with collagen for hair growth. As hair originates from the skin, it stands to reason that collagen's ability to reverse signs of skin aging can improve hair growth and slow thinning. While collagen may play a role in preventing hair loss, there's currently no available research on this topic.

Biotin and collagen are both necessary for healthy hair growth. If you wish to prevent hair thinning, greying, hairfall and hair damage, consult a dermatologist about adding both to your diet. Moreover, collagen for hair growth is pretty easy to add to your diet.

Chicken, beef, pork, and fish all contain collagen, as it's a component of mammalian connective tissue. Collagen and gelatin (a cooked form of collagen) can be found in bone broth. Bone broth is a versatile liquid that can be consumed on its own or used as a soup stock.

Check out why collagen is good for your hair.


Consuming vitamin C-rich foods may also stimulate collagen production in the body. Vitamin C can be found in plentiful quantities in oranges, bell peppers, Brussels sprouts, and strawberries.

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