Many of us understand the importance of collagen supplements for skin to help protect against ageing skin but collagen plays a crucial role in how scars form and heal, particularly acne scars. I have written an editorial ‘How To Fade Acne Scars’ sharing topical treatments such as retinoids to improve the appearance of acne scars as well as supplements to try and prevent breakouts.

What are acne scars?

Acne is a very common skin condition which can cause pustules, blackheads, and cysts to form. Although spots often leave a red mark which can fade over time, severe acne can lead to scars due to the spots damaging the nearby skin tissues. For many, these scars do not fade away with time, but there are treatments available to improve their appearance.

How does collagen help acne? 

In many cases, the cause of acne may be due to hormonal imbalances or concerns with the digestive system. Let’s look at digestive health and the link to breakouts.

There are many good bacteria in the gut that keep the bad bacteria from thriving. When there is an imbalance between the good and bad bacteria, which may be due to medications such as regular antibiotic usage, a diet laden with sugar, stress or some other reason, these bad bacteria thrive producing inflammatory chemicals that can trigger inflammation in skin. The result may be an overproduction of oil that can clog pores resulting in breakouts.

Collagen supplements may alter the ratio of good to bad bacteria by producing short chain fatty acids which are the food source for the beneficial bacteria.

Another common digestive disorder linked to skin breakouts is leaky gut. Our intestine is easily damaged by environmental and dietary toxins, acids and other inflammatory compounds which allows these toxins to pass into the bloodstream causing inflammation in the skin which leads to excess oil production and acne.

How does collagen help with acne scars?

Acne scars occur because of the damage to the walls of the pores in skin due to inflammation of the acne blemishes. Some blemishes may be small and so the scars heal easily whilst in other cases, the blemishes may spread or be deeper resulting in deep scars.

Whatever the size, the body uses collagen to repair the damage, and a lack of collagen will mean that the indented scars, that are so often left behind after an acne breakout, may not improve in appearance. Supplementing with a high-quality collagen supplement should over a period improve the appearance of depressed scars for a smoother complexion.

It is important to understand that hypertrophic scars (raised scars) and keloid scars are characterised by excess deposition of collagen, and taking collagen internally is not going to be beneficial. 

Which is the best collagen for scars?

There are many collagen supplements on the market predominantly containing hydrolysed collagen peptides from marine or bovine sources. Collagen peptides are very large fragments of protein containing between 30 and 100 chains of amino acids.

In studies, collagen peptides have been shown to exert anti-inflammatory properties, and it is theorised that this is possible because they strengthen the extracellular matrix even with their low absorption, which is the material surrounding the cells and tissues composed of proteins and other molecules.¹

Collagen tripeptides are the smallest unit of collagen composed of various chains of amino acids such as hydroxyproline and glycine. These small units of amino acids are absorbed several times more efficiently than peptides which means they should display the same properties and should be quicker in action to strengthen the extracellular matrix and prevent inflammation.²

DoSe Collagen Tripeptide Complex contains collagen tripeptides combined with nutrients such as Vitamin C, Silica, and Zinc which all play a role in reducing inflammation and enhancing the repair processes. Whatever your type of scar, taking DoSe Collagen Tripeptide Complex can only be beneficial for scars and for healthy skin.

References:

1.  Spectrum-Effect Relationships between High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) Fingerprints and the Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Collagen Peptides. Molecules - December 2018 - 23(12):3257 - Junwen Wang et al.  
2. Sontakke SB, Jung JH, Piao Z, Chung HJ. Orally Available Collagen Tripeptide: Enzymatic Stability, Intestinal Permeability, and Absorption of Gly-Pro-Hyp and Pro-Hyp. J Agric Food Chem. 2016 Sep 28;64(38):7127-33. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.6b02955. Epub 2016 Sep 13. PMID: 27573716.