Collagen is often taken as a supplement but is collagen good for eyelashes? Here is a quick guide to what you need to know.
Collagen is good for eyelashes. It’s packed with amino acids which are the building blocks of protein.
Protein is your body’s building material. It’s used to create everything from your skeleton to your eyelashes.
The body’s ability to make collagen decreases with age and so collagen supplements can help to counterbalance this.
Read on to find out more about how collagen can help eyelashes.
What Is Collagen?
Collagen is a structural protein.
It’s mainly composed of glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline. Collagen is the most common form of protein in the human body and serves many functions.
In the context of beauty, probably its most important characteristic is that it helps to repair tissue. This includes your skin and hair.
Your body produces collagen naturally but its ability to do so decreases with age.
This is because the cells that make collagen (fibroblasts) slow down and work less effectively.
You can help to counterbalance this by eating a protein-rich diet and/or taking a collagen supplement.
Signs Of Collagen Deficiency
A certain level of collagen is essential for your body’s overall health.
If you become deficient in collagen, you may notice some or all of the following symptoms:
- Thinning hair
- Loss of skin elasticity (wrinkles)
- Brittle nails
- Weakened bones
- Loss of strength in muscles.
Should You Use Collagen On Eyelashes?
Your eyelashes literally need collagen to grow. This means that the key question is whether or not you should boost your collagen intake.
If you do, there are three main ways to increase your collagen levels:
1. Collagen In Diet
You can eat collagen-rich foods. These include foods made from the bones, ligaments, and/or skin of animals and some kinds of seafood.
Alternatively, you can eat food that can help your body to produce more collagen itself. The most obvious example of this is protein-rich foods including eggs and beans.
Your body also needs Vitamin C to produce collagen.
It’s therefore important to ensure that you get enough of this. Citrus fruits are well known for their Vitamin C content.
Berries are good too as are sweet peppers and many green vegetables.
2. Collagen-Infused Hair Products
At present, it’s unclear whether or not collagen provides any benefits when used topically.
You may wish to try using collagen-infused hair products to see if they work for you.
Keep in mind, however, that these products may contain other ingredients.
If they do, then the real benefit may come from these other ingredients rather than the collagen.
3. Collagen Supplements
If you find it a challenge to get all the collagen you need through diet, then collagen supplements may help.
You should, however, be aware that regular collagen supplements are generally made with either meat (usually from cows) or fish.
There are “vegan collagen” products available.
These are often based on yeast or other bacteria. You would need to check the label to be sure.
It is, however, very likely that “vegan collagen” products contain ingredients that help your body to produce collagen. This is different from actually taking collagen although it may still be useful.
Can Collagen Help Grow Eyelashes?
Collagen can help grow eyelashes. In fact, that’s literally one of its functions. Some of the amino acids in collagen are used in the production of keratin. Keratin is the main protein in hair, including eyelash hair. If you are deficient in keratin, the health and appearance of your hair may suffer.
It’s important to understand, however, that collagen cannot help you grow more eyelashes.
The number of eyelashes you can grow is determined by your genetics.
Similarly, it cannot make your eyelashes grow beyond their natural, maximum length.
What it can do is make your lashes as strong and full as they can naturally be. Even so, there is a limit to how much collagen can do.
Essentially, if you are lacking collagen then taking extra collagen may benefit your eyelashes.
If, however, your collagen levels are correct, then you would need to explore other options for making your eyelashes look fuller.
3 Alternative Ingredients That Are Good For Eyelashes
If you want to boost your eyelashes without using collagen, there are plenty of other options.
Here are three alternative ingredients that are good for eyelashes:
Eggs
The main reason why eggs are good for eyelashes is that they’re packed full of protein.
More specifically, they’re rich in keratin.
This is exactly the protein your eyelashes need most. Eggs also contain a wide range of other useful vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Seaweed
Seaweed is vegan but its protein profile is very similar to the protein profile of eggs.
Furthermore, seaweed contains some of the same amino acids as collagen, including glycine and proline.
Mascara
Any decent mascara will give the appearance of longer, fuller lashes.
A high-quality mascara will probably also contain ingredients that condition and protect your eyelashes.