Using Collagen to Look Your Best for the Holidays

The holiday season means gathering with family and friends that you may not see often, attending parties, and posing for many selfies. Naturally, you want to look your best throughout the holiday season, and many people begin refining their beauty routines in the fall in anticipation of the festive season. Unfortunately, even the best beauty products often fail to deliver their promises.

If you've been let down by skin creams, hair treatments, and nail strengtheners in the past, it may be time to take a different approach to supporting beauty ahead of the holidays. One way that you may be able to accomplish this is with collagen supplements. So, what does collagen do, and what is collagen good for? Read on to discover the answers.

What Is Collagen?

Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body. The benefits of collagen are many, as it helps form, build, and strengthen your:  

• Skin: Collagen proteins form your skin's foundation, helping to keep it firm and supple.

•  Bones: As an essential structural protein, collagen is responsible for much of your bone mass.

• Muscles: Collagen helps muscles to flex, strengthen, and adapt.

• Ligaments: This tissue that connects your bones contains collagen.

• Tendons: Collagen is a vital component of the tendons that join muscle to bone.

• Connective tissue: Collagen is a crucial aspect of the cartilage that insulates joints and other vital connective tissue in the body.

What Are Collagen Peptides?

Your body naturally produces collagen, but as we age, the rate of collagen production slows down. As a result, many people wish to raise collagen levels. While this can often be done by consuming large amounts of collagen-rich foods such as bone broth, organ meats, and sardines, taking collagen supplement products can often be a more straightforward solution.

For your body to properly utilize the protein found in a collagen powder or other supplements, it must be able to absorb it. Collagen peptides can make it easier for this to happen. A collagen peptide is a small piece of protein that’s derived from an animal. Because collagen peptides are small, they can be absorbed and utilized more readily. This is why collagen peptides are a critical ingredient in the best collagen supplements.

Can Collagen Enhance Hair, Skin and Nails?

We've already established that collagen benefits many key parts of your musculoskeletal system, but you may now wonder how collagen is good for nails, skin, and hair. Let's look at how taking collagen supplements can benefit these specific aspects of your appearance.

Collagen for Hair

The benefits of collagen peptides for hair are owed primarily to its relationship with keratin, the protein that is the primary building block for hair strands. Amino acids found in collagen fibers supply the materials for building keratin. This gives collagen peptide powder supplements several benefits for your hair, including all the following

Fights Split Ends

By supporting keratin production, collagen may promote stronger hair strands. Properly reinforced strands are more resilient and less prone to developing split ends.

Maintains Moisture Levels

Moisture is essential to healthy hair. When your locks become parched, the strands lose flexibility and are more likely to split and break. Your hair is naturally designed to retain moisture, but environmental damage can make it difficult for hair strands to do so. By promoting keratin production with collagen supplements, you can often improve hair's structure to help it stay hydrated.

Addresses Brittle and Thin Hair

Assisting with keratin production through hair, skin, and nail collagen supplements can help transform troubled tresses. Over time, collagen may help to restore brittle hair, making it less likely to break. This, in turn, can help hair appear thicker and fuller. As a result, many people take collagen for hair growth.

Adds Volume and Shine

As previously mentioned, collagen can help boost hair volume by supporting collagen production. By supporting healthy hydration, collagen supplements may also support more lustrous locks, giving hair an overall more attractive appearance.

Collagen for Skin

In the first section, we discussed that collagen supports your skin. Taking collagen supplements can help support healthy, more youthful-looking skin by doing all of the following:

Increases Skin Elasticity

If you're looking for answers to improving skin elasticity, collagen supplements are an excellent solution. Properly supported skin is more resilient and much firmer. Boosting collagen levels through supplements helps reduce sagging and enhances the overall elasticity of the face and body skin.

Maintains Skin Moisture

Similar to your hair, your skin needs adequate moisture to feel and look its best. Not only can skin become rough and dull when dehydrated, but parched skin also makes fine lines and wrinkles more evident. Taking collagen for the skin may help improve moisture levels while also supporting skin elasticity. This means that collagen supplements may help skin feel smoother, look more radiant, and lessen the appearance of lines and wrinkles.

Slows Progression of Wrinkled and Crepey Skin with Age

Part of the reason that wrinkles and crepey skin develop with age is due to the reduction in collagen levels. As collagen production slows, skin loses its elasticity and becomes more prone to developing lines and deeper wrinkles. The best collagen products can supply the building blocks that your body needs to synthesize new collagen fibers and may help delay the appearance of signs of aging.

Collagen for Nails

Keratin isn't just found in hair. It's also a key component of your fingernails and toenails. By supplying materials for increased keratin production, collagen powders, as well as other collagen supplements, may provide the following benefits for nails:

Strengthens Brittle Nails

As with hair, nails can become brittle when deprived of moisture. Supporting a healthy keratin structure with collagen may help the nails better retain moisture, making them less likely to develop brittleness.

Promotes Nail Growth

Keratin production is what drives nail growth. Collagen powder benefits nail growth by supplying the amino acids needed to manufacture keratin. As a result, supplements may aid in better nail growth.

Protects Nails

When your nails are made up of robust and healthy keratin fibers, they're less likely to split and break, and an adequate supply of collagen can help your body produce this needed protein. In other words, collagen helps protect nails from damage because it assists with keratin production.

What Is the Best Form of Collagen to Take?

As you can see, there are many benefits to taking collagen for hair, skin, and nails, but to fully benefit from collagen peptides, you need to take the right supplement. Follow these tips to select the best collagen supplement for you:

Prioritize Powders

Many people consider collagen powders to be the most beneficial collagen supplement form. Powders don't need to be broken down into capsules for your body to absorb it. Plus, you can take collagen powder in several ways. For example, you can easily add it to smoothies or mix it into your protein shakes.

Consider Combination Formulas

Collagen is one of the two essential structural proteins found in the skin. The other is elastin, which helps the skin to stretch and flex. A supplement combining collagen and elastin allows you to take a more complete approach to supplementation.

Meet Body Kitchen Collagen + Elastin Powder

Whether you're looking for the best collagen peptides for your nails or the best collagen for hair and skin, Body Kitchen Collagen + Elastin Powder is a standout option. Our supplement contains proprietary Versitol collagen, which has been shown to diminish eye wrinkles by 32%, increase skin elasticity by up to 30%, and raise moisture levels by 65%. Complementing the actions of the collagen is Pro-Lastin, a concentrated marine elastin. Each serving also contains Vitamin C to support collagen production and provides antioxidant protection from the free radicals that drive the aging process, as well as hyaluronic acid, which helps skin retain moisture. You may want to consider learning more about Body Kitchen Collagen + Elastin Powder and ordering a jar today to prepare for the holiday season.