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What’s The Best Collagen? Which Type Should You Use?

21st January 2022

Health Nutrition

21st January 2022

By Beth Shelper

In the skincare community, across Instagram and throughout the health and wellness industry, we can guarantee that you will have heard at least one person buzzing about collagen, the benefits of collagen, and the various types and forms that collagen comes in. And to be honest, it’s for good reason.

As one of the most exciting ingredients out there at the moment (big statement, we know), here at Innermost, we just knew we had to harbour the benefits of bovine collagen and integrate this super ingredient into one of our products. Voila, The Glow Booster was born!

Is marine collagen better than bovine collagen? What are some natural sources of collagen? How do we know which are the best collagen supplements?

To answer these questions, we first need to get some of the basics of collagen out of the way. For example, there are multiple different types of collagen, and a variety of formats in which for you to take them. Not forgetting the natural sources of collagen too, of course.

Bovine collagen vs marine collagen

The term animal collagen can pretty much be used to encapsulate a wide range of collagen used in health and wellness supplementations, but for the purposes of this article, and for coherence, we’re going to compare bovine and marine collagen. And then the rest. Gotta get you all clued up, after all. 

What is bovine collagen?

Simply, bovine collagen is that derived from cows. Makes sense.

What is marine collagen?

The clue really is in the name with this one: this collagen comes from fish. In fact, sometimes it’s even called fish collagen. More specifically, this collagen comes from the skin of fish.

Type 1 vs type 2 collagen

Aside from the different sources of collagen, there are also two different types, that are simply known as Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 collagen is commonly found in the skin and tendons of mammals, whereas Type 2 is found in the cartilage instead.

The health benefits of collagen

Now you know about the many different types of collagens, it’s time to take a look at their health benefits. Amongst the many health benefits of marine collagen and bovine collagen are some of our favourites that we’ve listed below… for your convenience, of course.

Here at Innermost we use bovine collagen, but in reality, there is no real winner when it comes to the most effective. Each source of collagen provides the user with great health benefits, including the below:

  • Reported arthritis relief
  • Improved skin health
  • Bone loss prevention
  • Joint pain relief
  • Increased blood flow

What are the best collagen supplements?

One of the best things about collagen supplements is that, if you hadn’t already noticed, are incredibly versatile. As well as a variety of collagen types, there are multiple ways in which you can ingest your collagen supplement.

  • Collagen gummies

Gummies are a pretty common form of supplements due to the ability to flavour and sweeten the supplement with flavourings. As a result, though, whilst collagen gummies can create a fruity treat, this form is often quite heavily laden with sugars, which isn’t the healthiest option.

  • Collagen capsules

This is pretty self-explanatory. Similar to our capsule collection here at Innermost, or over-the-counter medicines such as Ibuprofen, collagen capsules can be taken really easily with a good gulp of water. This makes collagen capsules ideal for on-the-go use too, for those that travel regularly!

  • Collagen liquids

Again, a slightly more controversial form of collagen supplementations, collagen liquids are typically pre-made, ready to drink liquids that you can pop in your fridge to take at any time of day. Whilst this sounds ultra-convenient, many people aren’t a fan of the taste of these.

Which leads us pretty nicely onto the below…

  • Collagen powders

Arguably the most popular form, collagen powders are flavourless powders that provide individuals with the ability to add the collagen supplement to a range of food and drinks. Think coffee, tea, porridge, soup, and even home baking recipes.

Here at Innermost, we loved the versatility of the collagen powder, and opted for this form for our debut skincare product The Glow Booster.

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