I got this question from a reader recently, "Do collagen pills help your skin?" I thought that the subject of building collagen would be of interest to a number of other people, especially those of us who are getting a little older.

You see, the processes involved in building collagen slow down with age. That's one of the reasons that we begin to see wrinkles and/or lost firmness. The skin becomes thinner, wrinkles become more visible. You start to see bags under your eyes more often, along with dark circles.

So, the real question is this: Do collagen pills help your skin look younger and firmer?

The claims made by supplement manufacturers are sometimes overstated or misleading. Collagens are proteins. Proteins are long chains of amino acids. Amino acids are necessary for building collagen, cells, tissues and fibers.

The supplements were originally marketed primarily to body builders, as a way to increase protein intake, without adding lots of extra calories to the diet. Eventually, they were marketed to people who needed to lose weight. In order to build more muscle, which helps burn fat, you need to increase your protein intake. Low calorie diets may not provide sufficient protein. In addition, collagens seem to be more filling than other forms of protein.

Now, people are asking, do collagen pills help your skin, because manufacturers claim that they improve the skin's health, the strength of the hair and the fingernails, as well as the joints. If you are getting enough amino acids on a daily basis, you do not need supplemental collagens. The protein is broken down in the digestive system into its amino acid components. They may be used to reform collagen-fibers in the skin or they may be used for something else. This is not a miracle pill. It's just another health supplement and it can be an expensive one.

For building collagen fibers in the skin, you need a nourishing cream that contains the necessary amino acids in a form that can be used by the skin's cells. The best one that anyone has come up with so far is a form of hydrolyzed keratin protein. It is largely composed of the smallest of the 20 amino acids, glycine.

Here's another question: Do collagen pills help your skin as much as hydrolyzed keratin? I have not seen this in the results of clinical trials involving the use of collagen supplements to improve the skin's appearance and/or health. However, I have read the results of clinical trials for hydrolyzed keratin and I have used it myself.

Now there is only one company, that I know of, that uses this ingredient. Most of the keratin creams on the market contain a form that cannot be taken up by the skin's cells. The molecular structure is too large. But when it comes to building collagen, the clinical trials indicate that there's nothing else like this new cream.

So, the final answer, do collagen pills help your skin? No. But, the right cream can.