Collagen peptides: what your skin can actually use

Collagen is the scaffolding of your skin. From your mid-twenties you make roughly 1% less of it each year. Sun exposure speeds that up a lot. That loss is most of what we call ageing skin: finer lines, less bounce, thinner texture.

Drinking collagen

When you swallow collagen, your gut breaks most of it into amino acids. But some small fragments get through intact, and they seem to signal skin cells to make more of their own. A 2021 review of 19 trials found oral collagen improved skin hydration and elasticity over about 90 days.¹ The effect is modest, and many studies were funded by the companies selling it.

GHK-Cu, the copper peptide

GHK-Cu is a tiny peptide bound to copper that your body already makes. Blood levels fall sharply with age.² In lab and topical studies it supports collagen production, wound healing and hair follicles. The evidence for injecting it is much thinner than for using it on the skin, and we tell you that before you choose.

No peptide outperforms the boring two: sunscreen every morning and a retinoid at night.

The order we would do it in

First, daily SPF 30 or higher, including in Lagos traffic. Melanin protects against burning but not against collagen loss. Second, a retinoid at night. It has decades of evidence for building collagen.³ Then, if you want more, add peptides.

Pregnant or trying? Skip retinoids and injectable peptides, and talk to your doctor.