If you’ve ever wondered why some women (and men!) appear to have effortlessly glowing skin or thick hair that looks great, even when it hasn’t been washed for a week, you’re not alone. While some of these traits are inhairited, even if you had luscious locks and dewy skin in your teens and 20s, a combination of hormonal changes and a decrease in the body’s production of certain proteins means that many people see major changes to the appearance of their skin and hair as they age. “Starting in our late 20s, we begin losing about one percent of collagen each year,” says Jaclyn Safrath, MPH, MS, and medical affairs manager at the Nature’s Bounty brand. “Natural collagen loss leads to thinner, less-elastic skin with more wrinkles, and can also impact your scalp and hair follicles.”
While expensive hair products and topical skin treatments can help mask damage, they don’t necessarily provide the essential building blocks your body needs to restore skin elasticity or support hair growth. For that, you need to include key vitamins, minerals, and protein in your diet. But even if you eat three well-balanced meals a day, getting the daily recommended requirements of every vitamin and mineral you need to keep your body in tip-top shape sometimes just isn’t feasible. Luckily, there are plenty of supplements that can deliver the nutrients you need, via the convenience of a daily supplement.
If you’ve ever browsed the supplement aisle, you know that there are hundreds of options on the market, in dozens of dose levels, flavors, and formulations. That’s why we asked Safrath to help us determine which beauty supplements are truly effective — and which ones might offer more hype than help. While she unfortunately confirmed that no pill will make you wake up looking like Beyoncé, consistently taking supplements containing nutrients like collagen and biotin could hold the key to a future of healthy-looking skin and more great hair days.
The skinny on collagen
We know that collagen can give you better-looking skin, and supplements can boost your mane, too. “Collagen supplements are packed with amino acids that help your body create keratin, which is a key protein for healthy hair,” explains Safrath. But how do you know which product to choose?
If you’ve ever dipped your toe into the world of collagen supplements, you know it can feel more like diving into an ocean: With marine, bovine, and vegan options available in powders, serums, syrups, and even broths, the shopping experience can quickly become overwhelming. “The first thing to understand is that collagen comes from animals,” explains Safrath. “So the term ‘vegan collagen’ is a bit of an oxymoron. Collagen is made from animal bones and cartilage, and bovine, poultry, and marine sources are relatively similar in efficacy.”
Safrath’s job includes helping to translate the science behind supplement brand Nature’s Bounty into consumer-friendly language, so she’s well-versed in the research behind the ingredients the brand selects for their products. “In addition to collagen, our Ultra Collagen Booster complex includes hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate, which are the building blocks for healthy skin.* We rigorously test our products, they’re backed by clinical evidence, we use high-quality ingredients, and we lean on our 50-year history in the supplement aisle to create an accessible brand.”
Nature’s Bounty Ultra Collagen Booster contains a clinically studied collagen complex that helps reduce the appearance of facial lines and wrinkles.* Safrath, who takes Nature’s Bounty Ultra Collagen Booster herself, loves being able to confidently recommend a product that’s available at an affordable price.
It’s also important to consider how a product delivers its ingredients to the body. When you ingest collagen, your body breaks it down into smaller peptides, which then enter your bloodstream and can directly impact the appearance of your skin. But, Safrath warns, “Collagen molecules are too large to be absorbed into the skin. So while topical collagen might provide temporary hydration, it can’t penetrate deeper into the skin for lasting structural benefit.”
Tricks for thicker hair
If you’ve got friends who seem to have twice as much hair as you do, it’s probably not because of their shampoo or the vitamins they take. “Genetics are the largest factor in why some people have thicker hair than others,” says Safrath. “But there are plenty of other lifestyle factors that can have an impact on your hair, including activity level, diet, stress, sleep, and damage from UV exposure and pollution.”
That said, there are some options for those of us with thinner hair who want more density. “Using a topical hair growth serum that penetrates the scalp can help target specific areas,” says Safrath. “You can amplify their benefit by using a scalp massager, which helps open up the follicles to stimulate blood flow and remove scalp buildup, making serums even more effective.” If you want to address wimpy hair from the inside out, an oral hair-growth supplement can deliver necessary nutrients through your bloodstream to directly impact hair health.
Which nutrients should you look for in a hair supplement? There’s a reason biotin has been a go-to ingredient for decades: It’s been shown to promote protein synthesis to support hair structure. The Advanced Hair Complex in Nature’s Bounty Hair Growth supplement blends biotin with silicon to nourish hair, and arginine, an amino acid found in keratin which helps enhance nutrient delivery to the follicle.* In fact, it’s clinically shown that just one pill per day can help grow thicker, fuller hair in just 12 weeks.* If you’ve got a sweet tooth, this supplement is now available in peach mango gummy form, so it’s also a tasty way to start your day.
Do beauty supplements really work?
The answer is yes — with the caveat that you need to be patient and consistent. In a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study, women taking the active Advanced Hair Complex in the Nature’s Bounty Hair Growth supplement daily for three months experienced a significant increase in hair thickness, compared to those taking a placebo. And while it’s highly unlikely that any woman will wake up one day with the skin she had 20 years ago, considering how early we begin losing our natural collagen, there’s no time like the present to start replenishing it with supplements.
However, Safrath emphasizes that you can’t just take a supplement occasionally and expect to see results. “No supplement is magic,” explains Safrath. “We know that our products show clinically significant results, but results are going to differ based on where you’re starting from, and whether you’re taking the product regularly as directed.”
It’s also important to remember that with any supplement, more isn’t always better. “If you’re taking multiple supplements, be mindful of whether they contain overlapping ingredients,” Safrath explains. “With some ingredients, taking more than the recommended dose can be toxic.”
The good news is that Nature’s Bounty Ultra Collagen Booster and Hair Growth supplements are safe to take together, bringing healthier skin and hair just a few capsules away.*
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
