I tried to drink my way to better skin
I have a throwing-spaghetti-at-the-wall mentality when it comes to my skin. In an attempt to erase fine lines, sun damage, and acne scars, I will try pretty much anything that claims to fix my skin.
When I was offered the chance to drink collagen for a month, I was like, HELL YEAH, SEND IT OVER.
We all know that collagen is the elixir of youth for skin. Your body produces collagen naturally, but after the age of 20, it produces 1% less collagen in the dermis each year. I’m 29, so I have some catching up to do. While drinking collagen itself sounds a bit like Goop-y pseudoscience, I figured, why not try it?
I got a month’s supply of liquid collagen from U.K. brand Skinade and was told I’d see results in a month.
According to Skinade, their drinkable beauty elixir is a combination of “high-grade collagen and essential micronutrients to help your body rebuild and strengthen the collagen matrix.” Their studies show that ingesting collagen is far more effective than, say, putting a collagen cream on your face. They also add, “drinking Skinade also stimulates the body’s own natural collagen production. When the body senses collagen in the blood stream, it stimulates the proliferation of fibroblasts reinforcing the collagen matrix and playing a critical role in wound healing.” Well, doesn’t that sound fantastic.
The collagen itself comes in a little bottle that you drink daily. It tastes like apple juice and besides actual collagen is packed with vitamin C, B-12, niacinamide, biotin, and other skin-loving nutrients. You’re actually told not to take another multi-vitamin while on the collagen cleanse. I dutifully drank this little bottle each day.
My ~hope~ was that it would erase the fine vertical lines creeping up around my lips. Spoiler alert: It didn’t really help with that, but here’s what it DID do.
After a month drinking Skinade, did I notice life altering changes to my skin? No. But I did notice a brightness and a firmness I didn’t have when I started the experiment. You know when you exfoliate and then run a mile and your skin has that ~glow~ to it? Similar to a post-facial glow? My skin had that kind of noticeable lit-from-within vibe as I approached the end of the month-long trial. This is me with nothing on my face — photos taken a month apart.
Skinade isn’t cheap, at $150 for a month supply, and luckily I tried it free of charge. Do I feel like I have the skin of a baby? No. Did my mom recently say “Why is your skin so dewy lately?” Absofuckinglutely. For that, I say it was worth it.
