Aging is a natural process that affects everyone, but the right diet and lifestyle choices can help slow its visible effects. While nutrient-rich foods play a key role in maintaining youthful skin, boosting collagen production, and supporting overall cellular renewal, certain supplements can further enhance skin health by promoting hydration, elasticity, and protection against oxidative stress. It’s an easy way to give your skin the collagen that it loses over time.
Chris Gibson, an esthetician with 458K subscribers on YouTube, recently shared how collagen supplements, specifically vegan ones, can help boost collagen production in older women. Read on to get all his helpful insights and which supplement he specifically takes!
Collagen supplements for anti-aging
Gibson states that “your diet can really make a difference in the process of skin aging and actually help reverse the look of signs of aging, one of those [benefits] being boosting the collagen production in your skin,” something we lose over time.
Even with a perfect 10-step skincare routine, your diet will always reflect on your skin. He adds, “Since that’s a biological process that occurs inside the body, it makes perfect sense [to give] your body what it needs to boost that collagen. It’s going to be way more helpful than just putting something on the surface of your skin. Because after all, the surface of your skin is dead; it’s old news. In fact, it’s really old.”
This is where collagen supplements can play an important role. “Supplementation for collagen has been tested and tested scientifically. Lots of studies have come out in the last three or four years proving without a doubt that giving your body what it needs in the form of collagen-boosting supplementation can make a really big difference.”
He specifically highlights collagen peptides, which “are amino acids that your body uses and needs.” They can help with “everything from skin hydration to skin elasticity to hair and nails.”
Choosing a collagen supplement
When looking for a collagen supplement, Gibson usually opts for a vegan one with a few key ingredients. He suggests looking for one that has a vitamin and mineral blend, specifically designed to help support your body's immune function, speed up cellular turnover, and boost collagen production. Then, of course, it contains that collagen-boosting blend of vegan plant-based proteins, glycine, lysine, and proline, which all three help your body create and form its own collagen. Proline, for instance, makes up 70% of collagen in your body, so it's actually very integral. to the process of creating collagen and you holding on to it.
He further adds that glycine is "super important for collagen synthesis" because "it really truly is one of the essential amino acids you need to maintain levels of collagen in your skin and body." As for lysine, it's "another essential amino acid for collagen production that you have to actually get through your diet; your body doesn't make that on its own, so if you've been concerned with skin hydration, fine lines and wrinkles, and loose, sagging skin," a supplement like this can give you that youthful look.
Gibson recommends City Beauty Essential Radiance Collagen Boosting Blend, which is a “physician-formulated vegan supplement that contains amino acids to boost your body’s own natural collagen for a firmer, healthier look.” He raves over its convenient nature, adding, "I've been taking this product every day. It's very simple to use; it has a wonderful Peach Berry flavor, and unlike animal-based protein peptides, it can be mixed in cool water or your favorite drink or a smoothie. You can mix this in anything that's going to dissolve and start to work right away."
