Every week there is a new beauty breakthrough with a new miracle ingredient that suddenly appears in every supplement and cream on the shelves. And collagen has become the new ingredient du jour in many products that promise younger, healthier skin, faster healing, and more.

But do the benefits of collagen really live up to the hype? Before we get started, here's what you need to know about collagen

What is collagen?

Think of collagen as an important building block of your body. Collagen is a protein found throughout our bodies, in skin, joints, tendons, ligaments, bones and connective tissues, says Erica Schwartz, M.D., internist and founder of Evolved Science in New York City.

From a beauty perspective, collagen is something that helps maintain youthful skin . Collagen is essential to our health, but we usually think of collagen as being related to the skin, and its production declines with age, she says. One of the first signs of facial aging is loss of volume, and this is due to reduced collagen production.

What is collagen good for?

Scientists have found that the benefits of collagen peptides for type 2 diabetes, arthritis, and burns, have some promising results. Taking oral collagen peptides may have some benefit for joint and bone health, says Dr. Schwartz.

As far as collagen's effect on skin aging, there have been a few small studies published showing increased elasticity and firmness with supplementation, but most of them are funded by supplement manufacturers. Most of them are funded by the manufacturers of the supplements, and doctors have found their results to be a bit questionable.

"Both collagen and elastin are important for maintaining youthful skin and are generally regulated by genetics," says Lindsay Bordon, M.D., a dermatologist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. Taking collagen orally has not been shown to improve the appearance of the skin.

That's because you can't direct where the collagen you're taking goes in your body. Dr. Schwartz says that most collagen supplements are useless because they are digested in the intestinal tract or stomach and do not even reach the areas of the body where collagen production occurs. They only provide protein to our body as a nutritional by-product.

Dr. Schwartz says that topical collagen treatments may be a better solution to help boost aging skin. Creams used in aesthetics may be a bit more effective if they contain binding agents such as hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, and retinol, she says. She recommends a prescription-strength topical collagen peptide, such as GHK-Cu.

Where does the collagen come from?

The collagen in your body is built by you. Collagen is what your body makes in the skin and other tissues of your body, says Dr. Bordone. It helps provide structure to the entire body in general. Younger children make more and sometimes different kinds of collagen than older people.

Since collagen is a dietary protein, it is found in many foods that we already eat, such as organic bone broth, citrus fruits, blueberries, raspberries, garlic, dark leafy greens, and cashews. Since these foods are generally good, eating more of them will improve your nutrition and keep you healthier and younger, says Dr. Schwartz. So go ahead and add these to your diet. But don't expect miracles.

Facial Massage to increase collagen

Stimulating the face muscles with regular massage helps to bring oxygen to that area—which is a natural form of anti aging skin care in itself. “More blood flow to the area increases collagen production, which gives a healthy and natural glow to the complexion,” says Baba. We recommend skincare facial tools from L&L Skin:  https://www.llskin.jp/  for your facial massage!