Eczema is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that affects more than 10% of people in the US. One in ten individuals is likely to develop eczema during their lifetime, being more at risk in early childhood.
While the disorder is not life-threatening, it has a considerable psychological impact. The dry, itchy red skin is not only embarrassing but painful too.
Lately, collagen-based supplements have become popular solutions for eczema. Collagen supplements’ brands claim that they can significantly reduce the symptoms.
So is this true? Can collagen help treat eczema or minimize its symptoms? In this article, we are discussing everything in detail.
The Link Between Collagen and Eczema
Let’s understand collagen and eczema before we jump into how collagen can make things better for eczema patients.
What is Eczema?
The word Eczema originates from the Greek word ekzein. It means to boil over or break out.
Eczema, or atopic dermatitis, is a non-communicable skin condition that causes your skin to become inflamed or irritated. As a result, you experience dry, red, itchy, and painful skin. It typically shows up on hands, neck, inner elbows, ankles, knees, feet, and around the eyes.
It is one of the many types of dermatitis. The condition damages the skin barrier function, making your skin more sensitive and prone to infection and dryness.
Anyone can develop eczema. However, if you’re a female or an African American, you’re more at risk of developing it. People diagnosed with hay fever or asthma are also at high risk. You may also get it if you have a family history of dermatitis, hay fever, or asthma.
What is Collagen?
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, serving as one of the building blocks for our skin, hair, bones, and muscles. It has a fiber-like structure that makes up the framework of your cells and tissues. In simple words, collagen holds everything together by making up 75% of our skin’s support structure.
Collagen is one of the latest buzzwords in the health and cosmetic industry. The reason is that our bodies slow down collagen production as we age. Our lifestyle choices, such as excess sun exposure, smoking, alcohol, and lack of sleep and exercise, also drastically reduce collagen production.
These factors cause changes in the deep skin layers, and collagen transforms from a tightly organized network of fibers to an unorganized maze. It results in wrinkles on the skin surface and loss of skin elasticity and firmness.
Read: 7 Ways How Collagen Can Benefit Your Skin
Therefore, despite its abundance in our bodies, collagen has become a top-selling supplement so that skin looks youthful. It is available in stores as skin serums, creams, and even in the form of pills, powders, and certain foods.
How Does Collagen Help Eczema?
Here is how collagen works to reduce eczema symptoms…
1. Prevents Inflammation
Eczema is an inflammatory skin disorder. Your immune system gets triggered by genetics, environmental triggers, and stress and overreacts to irritants or allergens. As a result, your skin experiences inflammation.
Collagen has amino acids that exert anti-inflammatory effects through reduced production of anti-inflammatory mediators. One of them is glycerin, which has vital antioxidant properties and can help reduce inflammation.
2. Antibacterial Effects
Research suggests that the staphylococcal bacteria that live on the skin can be one of the probable causes of eczema. It produces biofilm microorganisms that block sweat ducts, thus activating molecules in the body’s immune system. It is the reason why eczema causes itching and irritation.
Collagen is known to have antibacterial properties. Studies have shown that it can fight against skin bacteria, such as staphylococcal. Hydrolyzed collagen, in particular, can be more beneficial as it has significant antibacterial properties.
3. Healing Properties
The most noticeable and irritating symptoms of eczema are roughness and dryness. They lead to a constant urge to itch, making the skin red and causing pain.
As we mentioned earlier, collagen is the building block for our skin. It can help with new skin creation, decrease dryness and roughness, and alleviate other painful and frustrating eczema symptoms. It allows your skin to heal more rapidly. Moreover, collagen has hydrating properties, adding to the skin healing process.
3 Best Collagen Supplements for Eczema
There is an abundance of collagen supplement options in the market. Whether you shop online or offline, you are likely to be confused.
We are listing the top three collagen supplements that can make your hunt easier –
1. Care/of Collagen
Care/of Collagen is one of the most popular collagen supplements. It’s because they provide a personalized subscription vitamin and supplement service. Instead of serving everyone with the same supplement, they ask you to take a skin quiz. They personalize your product based on your answers.
The supplement claims to support elasticity and hydration in the skin. You can blend it into your favorite drinks, such as coffee, tea, and smoothies.
2. Vital Proteins Beauty Collagen Peptides Powder
The highlight of Vital Proteins collagen supplements is that they contain probiotics and hyaluronic acid, promoting skin repair, wound healing, and tissue regeneration. It also focuses on enhancing skin elasticity and hydration.
It comes in different flavors, such as lavender lemon, watermelon mint, tropical hibiscus, and strawberry lemon.
This cow-sourced collagen brand is an NSF-certified, Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP)-compliant facility and adheres to quality standards set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
3. Garden of Life Grass-Fed Collagen Beauty
Collagen Beauty is bovine collagen that includes ingredients such as probiotics, vitamin C, biotin, and silica. Silica, in particular, helps boost collagen synthesis and improve skin strength and elasticity.
The brand sources collagen from grass-fed and pasture-raised cows. They are gluten-free, free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and certified paleo- and keto-friendly. The supplement comes in a sweet strawberry lemonade flavor.
Research well about the collagen supplements and their brands before you purchase one. Have a good look at their ingredients list to ensure it does not trigger your eczema. Once you find the right fit, track the progress of the overall improvement of eczema on your skin.