![](https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/11/750x445/1286345.jpg)
An eight-week study involving 69 women aged 35 to 55 found taking daily collagen supplements significantly improved skin elasticity compared to a placebo.
Another 12-week study involving more than 1,000 adults found a daily collagen supplement improved the amount of collagen in the skin and reduced signs of skin ageing.
As hair grows out of skin, there’s potential of collagen to counteract the effects of skin ageing, contributing to better hair growth and decreasing thinning.
Collagen may also help prevent hair thinning by helping fight damage to hair follicles.
DON’T MISS
Collagen can act an an antioxidant and fight damage caused by free radicals – unstable atoms.
Free radicals may damage hair follicles, particularly because the body’s defence against free radicals decreases with ageing.
To fight free radicals and promote healthy hair, the body needs antioxidants.
READ RELATED: Natural sugars can be a healthy replacement in sweets without boosting diabetes risk, study finds
A number of test-tube studies have shown collagen, particularly from fish scales, may have powerful antioxidant activity.
Collagen is primarily made up of three nonessential amino acids – proline, glycine and hydroxyproline.
Proline is the main component of certain, so consuming proline-rich collagen could provide the body with the building blocks it needs to create hair.
The NHS says there are things you can try if your hair loss is causing you distress, but most treatments aren’t available on the NHS.
The health body advises: “Finasteride and minoxidil are the main treatments for male pattern baldness.
“Minoxidil can also be used to treat female pattern baldness. Women shouldn’t use finasteride.”
But no treatment is 100 percent effective.
Source: Daily Express