Do You Need a Collagen Supplement?
Gobshites, hollyoaks & CollyG
If you don’t know who Davinia Taylor is, she is an English actress best known for her role in Hollyoaks and was slammed for alcoholism which lead to her loosing custody of her son. Since this point she describes as ‘rock bottom’, Taylor has achieved sobriety (go on gal) and has transcended into an online wellness guru and health influencer.
Which is a massive red flag, especially since one her books is called ‘hack your hormones’ and she is regularly featured in news articles talking about how she has ‘biohacked’ her way to a biological age of 20 (she is 47) with tips on how to ‘make your own Ozempic’. YIKES.
But what does this have to do with Collagen?
Taylor has her own supplements company (of course she does) called Willpowders which sells all kinds of expensive, biohacking, clean powders and capsules…including Collagen.
In a recent social media post, Taylor ranted about ‘gobshite doctors and gobshite fitness people’ and ‘dickheads who sit on the ITV sofa and say collagen don’t work’.
Using the fact that she is nearly 50, has 4 kids, is divorced etc etc as proof that collagen supplementation DOES work because she looks how she looks.
What is important to understand is, a sweary rant, 1 million+ followers on social media and being nearly 50 does not qualify as evidence for what you are selling. And calling people who like evidence ‘gobshites’ (I mean, I am a gobshite so she is right there) instead of providing evidence for her claims is absolutely wild.
Way before Taylor called everyone Gobshites, I’d been delving into research papers on Collagen for lots of the clients that have asked me about whether they should buy it or not. And as someone who does not have an affiliation with a supplement company, my answer was quite basic. Don’t overpay. Make sure it’s hydrolysed. It might have some benefit for skin elasticity.
But since Willpowders has a load of other claims on their website about CollyG, so for shits and gigs, shall we dig into those?
CLAIM 1: ‘Loaded with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory amino acids’
This claim is overstated and unsupported by direct clinical evidence for collagen specifically. While collagen does contain amino acids (particularly glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline), the clinical evidence does not demonstrate that collagen supplementation delivers meaningful antioxidant or anti-inflammatory effects through these amino acids.
At the moment, there are no studies that directly measure antioxidant activity after collagen supplementation - probably because it is just an established fact that collagen doesn’t contain the right compounds.
BUT, collagen supplementation combined with vitamin C might explain some anti inflammatory benefit as Vit C is an established antioxidant.
Cost/Benefit Verdict: Not justified for this claim. If you want antioxidant benefits, polyphenol rich foods (berries, tea, dark chocolate) or supplements are more evidence based.
CLAIM 2: ‘Hello glowy skin and strong hair and nails’
This is the most evidence supported claim for collyG, but the effect size is modest and requires 8 to 12 weeks minimum use, plus there are plenty of issues within studies which means we have to take this with a pinch of salt.
Many studies use unique combined formulas, for example, in one study the collagen contained hyaluronic acid, biotin and vitamins C and E. Making it difficult to determine how much of the heavy lifting the collagen was doing.
In a study for hair and nails, the collagen contained taurine, cysteine, methionine, iron and selenium, again making it difficult to judge how much the colly was doing itself.
In the most recent literature review, once studies were held to the highest methodological quality, the effect sizes were alot smaller. Meaning the studies are considered low quality with a high risk of bias, since many studies are funded by the brands themselves, this is not surprising.
Cost/Benefit Verdict: Partially justified, but overstated. Effects are real but modest (13–22% improvement in skin metrics). Results require strict adherence (daily dosing for 8–12+ weeks). You're likely paying a premium for branding and marketing rather than for superior efficacy. Cheaper collagen products likely work similarly if dosed correctly and combined with vitamin C.
CLAIM 3: ‘Decreases signs of ageing, which start to creep in after 30 when natural collagen reduces at 1% a year’
Interestingly, collagen synthesis peaks in the mid 20s and gradually declines from there. It doesn’t suddenly just happen at 30.
Collagen loss is also not linear. it accelerates with UV exposure, oxidative stress, and lifestyle factors like smoking, not simply ageing.
We have some data that wrinkles and skin elasticity can be improved but as mentioned above, this is usually when using combined formulas and the effect sizes are quite small.
We also have no RCT data on whether collagen supplementation prevents future decline vs. temporarily improving existing skin quality, much like a moisturiser works while you’re using it.
Cost/Benefit Verdict: Not justified for this specific claim. Collagen does help with existing aging signs, but the preventive claim and the specific age threshold are not evidence based.
CLAIM 4: ‘Studies show collagen is gut barrier fortifying’
No, studies don’t show this. This claim is NOT supported by clinical evidence in humans. It is based on mechanistic plausibility and animal data, not human RCTs.
Not only did the animal studies not even work that well, they also didn’t use collagen. lol. While we are here, ‘leaky gut’ is also not a validated clinical diagnosis.
Cost/Benefit Verdict: Not justified. This is speculative marketing. There is no clinical evidence that collagen strengthens the gut barrier in humans. If gut health is a concern, probiotics and dietary fibre have stronger evidence.
CLAIM 5: ‘Research highlights collagen aids muscle, tendon and ligament repair’
This claim is partially supported for specific contexts (resistance training + collagen), but the evidence is modest and limited to certain populations.
We have some evidence that taking collagen supps with resistance training might be worthwhile for muscles but we need way better, bigger trials before we can confirm this.
When it comes to tendon and ligament repair, the evidence here is slightly weaker because again, they are mostly animal studies not humans.
Cost/Benefit Verdict: Partially justified, but only in a specific context. If you are doing resistance training 3+ times per week and want to optimise connective tissue adaptation, 15g/day of collagen is supported by some evidence. However, you could achieve similar results with adequate total protein intake + vitamin C + training.
CLAIM 6: ‘May shut down aches and pains’
The evidence here is mixed and has issues mentioned previously. One meta analysis found good results and the other found that collyg didn’t perform better than placebo for osteoarthritis pain. This could potentially be down to earlier studies being industry funded, low quality and very bias.
We also don’t have enough studies in this area to suggest a dose either.
Cost/Benefit Verdict: Weakly justified for OA pain and increasingly uncertain. Early evidence suggested modest pain reduction in knee OA, but a recent rigorous RCT found no difference from placebo. The evidence is contradictory, and long-term benefits are unestablished. For acute or chronic pain outside OA (muscle soreness, general aches), there is no evidence. You're likely paying for hope rather than proven efficacy.
CollyG - Is She Worth It?
Collagen can marginally improve skin appearance if you take it for at least 8–12 weeks with vitamin C. Cheaper products work as well as premium brands - provided the collagen is hydrolysed.
Most other claims (gut health, pain relief, anti aging prevention) lack solid evidence.
Before forking out £££ you should ask yourself: Is a 13–22% (not guaranteed) skin improvement worth it, or would sunscreen, moisturiser and adequate dietary protein achieve the same result for less?
I think my issue with collagen is the influencers influence. Brands market ‘collagen’ as the active ingredient, but the actual clinical benefit often depends on the combination. When you buy a premium collagen supplement with vitamin C, zinc and other ingredients, you're paying for a formulation. Most brands don't clearly isolate which ingredient drives which benefit, making it hard to assess whether you're overpaying for the collagen component specifically versus the synergistic formula. And it might be more cost effective and beneficial to buy something else.
I’m not against people taking collagen whatsoever, but I do not like over inflated claims and ignoring evidence. If that makes me a gobshite then fine.
The algorithm also compels me to ask you to like, comment and restack this post (only if you enjoyed it of course) so that new people can find me. The best way to support me is to either leave me a little tip here or by joining my fitness community - The Snack Pass. There are no paywalls here and I’d like to keep it that way. Despite myself, I also still use Instagram, so maybe follow me there too.
REFERENCES
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M. Simental-Mendía, D. Ortega-Mata, C. Acosta-Olivo, L. Simental‐Mendía, V. Peña-Martínez, and F. Vilchez-Cavazos, “Effect of collagen supplementation on knee osteoarthritis: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.,” Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology, 2024, doi: 10.55563/clinexprheumatol/kflfr5.
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