Collagen and the Menopause: Skin, Bone and Muscle Evidence

Collagen peptides have been tested in women after the menopause for skin, bone and muscle, and the trials measured gains: higher skin elasticity and hydration within eight weeks at 2.5 to 10 g a day, rising bone mineral density at the spine and hip after twelve months at 5 g a day, and more fat-free mass when 15 g a day was paired with resistance training. Skin collagen falls with the years since the menopause rather than with age alone.¹ No trial tested collagen against menopause symptoms, and collagen is not an alternative to HRT: that decision belongs with a GP.

What happens to collagen at the menopause?

Oestrogen supports the cells that make collagen, and when it falls, skin collagen falls with it. In 1980s studies, skin biopsies from women after the menopause showed collagen content declining in step with the years since their last period, not with chronological age.¹ Women who had used oestrogen and testosterone implants for two to ten years had 48% more skin collagen than untreated women matched for age.²

Those studies tested hormone therapy, not supplements; the supplement trials come next. How collagen is made, used and lost is in the Wellgard collagen guide.

What did the skin trials in women over 50 find?

The skin trials recruited women aged roughly 35 to 65, spanning the transition. A 2023 meta-analysis of 26 randomised trials in 1,721 people found collagen peptides improved measured skin hydration and elasticity against placebo, and the elasticity result did not differ by whether the collagen came from fish, cattle or pigs.³ In an eight-week trial of 69 women aged 35 to 55, 2.5 g and 5 g a day both raised skin elasticity against placebo, and in the older women the gain was still measurable four weeks after they stopped.⁴ A six-month trial in menopausal women found elasticity 12% above baseline on 5 g of fish collagen alone, and hydration 23% higher when calcium and vitamin D were taken with it.⁹

What we don't know. Most skin trials were run or funded by peptide manufacturers; a 2025 meta-analysis of 23 trials in 1,474 people found the effect overall but not in the independently funded or highest-quality trials on their own.⁵ That is a gap in the evidence, not a finding that collagen does not work. No trial has recruited perimenopausal women as a group, and the evidence stops at about 65: the one six-month trial in women aged 60 to 93 with thinned, fragile forearm skin found no change on 5 g a day.⁶ Wrinkles are on does collagen make you look better; firmness after weight loss on which collagen is best for sagging skin.

Does collagen help bone density after the menopause?

This is the best-studied menopause-specific outcome. In a twelve-month placebo-controlled trial of 131 postmenopausal women, average age 64, with age-related low bone density, 5 g of collagen peptides a day increased bone mineral density at the spine and femoral neck while the placebo group lost density: spine T-score +0.10 against -0.03, femoral neck +0.09 against -0.01. A bone-formation marker rose on collagen; a breakdown marker rose on placebo.⁷ Thirty-one carried on, without a placebo group, for four years in total; spine density kept rising.⁸

Bone is slow. A 2025 six-month trial in menopausal women saw no change in bone-formation markers on 5 g a day, with or without calcium and vitamin D, which fits the twelve months the positive trial needed.⁹ What we don't know: whether fractures fall (no trial has counted them), whether the effect holds alongside bone medicines, and anything about women under 50. Low bone density found on a scan is managed by a GP; collagen sits beside that care, never in place of it. Protein, calcium and vitamin D together are on the bones page.

What about muscle and strength after the menopause?

The NHS lists weakening bones and muscle aches among the changes of the menopause.¹³ A 2024 meta-analysis of 19 randomised trials in 768 adults taking collagen peptides for eight weeks or more alongside exercise found more fat-free mass than training alone (effect size 0.48, moderate certainty) and a smaller gain in maximal strength (0.19).¹⁰ In one trial, 53 men in their seventies with low muscle mass gained 4.2 kg of fat-free mass on 15 g a day with three resistance sessions a week, against 2.9 kg on placebo.¹¹ Without training: in a one-year trial of 208 adults over 65, 20 g of collagen or whey twice a day changed neither muscle size nor strength against a carbohydrate drink.¹²

Lacking tryptophan, collagen adds to meat, fish, dairy, eggs and pulses rather than replacing them. No trial has tested collagen with training in older women specifically.

Does collagen help joint pain after the menopause?

The collagen joint trials were in people with osteoarthritis and in active adults with knee discomfort on exercise, not in menopausal joint pain, so the evidence is indirect. The red flags, and what exercise, HRT and supplements have shown, are on menopause joint pain: what actually helps.

How much collagen, and for how long?

The trials above used these doses and durations; how much collagen should you take a day explains the ranges.

Collagen has no authorised health claim in Great Britain; the results above are reported as what the trials measured, not as anything a supplement may claim.¹⁶

When should I see a GP?

The NHS says to contact your GP if you think you have symptoms of menopause or perimenopause and want to know your options; if you have a fast heartbeat (palpitations); if you still have periods but your bleeding pattern has changed and you are bleeding more, not less; or if you have not had a period for 12 months or more and have any vaginal bleeding.¹³

Frequently asked questions

Is collagen an alternative to HRT?

No. HRT is a prescribed medicine that replaces the oestrogen the body has stopped making, and the NHS describes oestrogen as the main type of HRT for managing symptoms; collagen peptides are a food protein that no trial has tested against menopause symptoms, hot flushes included (see which menopause supplements have evidence).¹⁴ Whether to take HRT, in which form and for how long, is decided with a GP, nurse or pharmacist; the NICE menopause guideline, NG23, sets out that conversation.¹⁵

Can I take collagen with HRT?

No interaction between collagen peptides and HRT has been documented, and none would be expected from a food protein. What we don't know is whether collagen adds a measurable skin or bone effect on top of HRT; no trial has tested the two together. Collagen alongside medicines generally is on can I take collagen with thyroid medication.

Does collagen help menopause dry skin?

The NHS lists dry and itchy skin among the changes of the menopause.¹³ The trials measured skin hydration with an instrument, not dryness as a symptom, and found it higher after eight weeks at 2.5 to 10 g a day.^{3, 4} Emollients, sun protection and a GP conversation address the symptom (what destroys collagen covers sun, smoking and sugar); collagen at a trial dose can sit alongside them.

Is marine or bovine collagen better for the menopause?

Neither has outperformed the other in a trial. The 2023 meta-analysis found no difference in the elasticity result by source, and the positive six-month trial in menopausal women used fish peptides.^{3, 9} Choose the one you will take every day.

Does the menopause affect your gums?

Observational studies suggest so: a 2026 systematic review of nine studies in women not on HRT found greater clinical attachment loss, deeper probing depths and more pronounced gum inflammation after the menopause, rated moderate to low certainty.¹⁷ It is a reason for regular dental checks rather than self-treatment: bleeding, swollen or sore gums go to a dentist first. What collagen and vitamin C have shown for gums is on is collagen good for your gums.

Sources

1. Brincat M, et al. Long-term effects of the menopause and sex hormones on skin thickness. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 1985. PubMed 3978054.
2. Brincat M, et al. Sex hormones and skin collagen content in postmenopausal women. British Medical Journal, 1983. PubMed 6416400.
3. Pu SY, et al. Effects of oral collagen for skin anti-aging: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrients, 2023. PubMed 37432180.
4. Proksch E, et al. Oral supplementation of specific collagen peptides has beneficial effects on human skin physiology: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 2014. PubMed 23949208.
5. Myung SK, Park Y. Effects of collagen supplements on skin aging: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. American Journal of Medicine, 2025. PubMed 40324552.
6. Guadanhim LRS, et al. Efficacy and safety of topical or oral hydrolyzed collagen in women with dermatoporosis: a randomized, double-blind, factorial design study. Dermatology and Therapy, 2023. PubMed 36547800.
7. König D, et al. Specific collagen peptides improve bone mineral density and bone markers in postmenopausal women: a randomized controlled study. Nutrients, 2018. PubMed 29337906.
8. Zdzieblik D, Oesser S, König D. Specific bioactive collagen peptides in osteopenia and osteoporosis: long-term observation in postmenopausal women. Journal of Bone Metabolism, 2021. PubMed 34520654.
9. Duangjai A, et al. Calcium and vitamin D supplementation with and without collagen on bone density and skin elasticity in menopausal women: a randomized controlled study. Clinics and Practice, 2025. PubMed 41002783.
10. Bischof K, et al. Impact of collagen peptide supplementation in combination with long-term physical training on strength, musculotendinous remodeling, functional recovery, and body composition in healthy adults: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 2024. PubMed 39060741.
11. Zdzieblik D, et al. Collagen peptide supplementation in combination with resistance training improves body composition and increases muscle strength in elderly sarcopenic men: a randomised controlled trial. British Journal of Nutrition, 2015. PubMed 26353786.
12. Mertz KH, et al. The effect of daily protein supplementation, with or without resistance training for 1 year, on muscle size, strength, and function in healthy older adults: a randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2021. PubMed 33564844.
13. NHS. Symptoms of menopause and perimenopause. nhs.uk.
14. NHS. Treatment for menopause and perimenopause. nhs.uk.
15. NICE. Menopause: identification and management, NG23. nice.org.uk.
16. DHSC. Great Britain nutrition and health claims (NHC) register. gov.uk.
17. Martín FC, Rus MJ, de la Cruz Gándara Álvarez A, et al. Impact of menopause on clinical periodontal outcomes: a systematic review. Clinical Oral Investigations, 2026. PubMed 41870718.