A Holistic Plastic Surgeon Shares 3 Things To Know About Collagen Supplements

"Your body has regenerative abilities to literally rejuvenate itself. You just have to give it the tools to do so," says holistic plastic surgeon Anthony Youn, M.D., on the mindbodygreen podcast. One of those tools is proper nutrition—plus supplements when you need a bit of extra help.* 

Youn is considered one of the nation's best-known experts in looking younger (with or without surgery), so to no surprise, he’s a big fan of collagen powders. "Collagen is what makes the skin nice and firm, tight and youthful," he reminds us, but it starts to decline once you hit your mid-20s. 

First things first: You'll want to look for hydrolyzed collagen peptides, Youn shares. 

You see, we all have natural collagen in our bodies, but collagen supplements come from animals—sourced from cow hides or fish scales—and the molecules are quite large, so they need to be broken down first so our bodies can use them. This version is called hydrolyzed collagen (or simply collagen peptides), created through a process called hydrolysis, where water molecules rupture the chemical bonds.

"The other important thing with collagen supplements you need to keep in mind is that there are five different types of collagen," says Youn. "Three of them are the most important: Type I collagen is in your hair, your skin, your nails, and your bones; type II collagen is in your joints; type III is in your muscle; type IV and V aren't as important (IV is in your kidneys and V is in your placenta)." 

So, "if you're taking a collagen that's, say, type II, that's not going to help your hair, skin, and nails at all," says Youn. Make sure your label clearly states what type of collagen it has, as each plays a different role. 

The peptides in collagen powders are made up of amino acids, the building blocks of all proteins. Still, general protein intake is important, as it supplies your body with the nine essential amino acids it needs to function and thrive.

"Really getting enough protein [is important], because collagen, once again, is a large protein," Youn says. "[Protein] is so, so important to keeping our collagen nice and firm and youthful."

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of protein is 0.8 gram per kilogram of body weight2 per day, but this number is the minimum amount of protein a sedentary person needs to meet their nutritional requirements; most experts we regularly work with suggest aiming for a goal of around 100 grams of protein per day.