What Age Should You Start Taking Collagen? 20s to 70s

There is no age at which collagen "should" be started. The body makes a little less collagen each year from the mid-twenties, and the trials that measured results recruited adults from 18 to 93: a knee trial in people aged 18 to 30, skin trials mostly in women aged 35 to 65, a twelve-month bone trial in postmenopausal women averaging 64, and a supplier-funded muscle trial in 53 men averaging 72.^{1, 5, 9, 10, 11, 16, 20} The background is in the Wellgard collagen guide.

When does collagen production start to decline?

From the mid-twenties the cells that make collagen produce a little less each year and break down a little more. The measurement is a 1975 study of forearm skin in healthy people: collagen fell steadily with age and was lower in women than men at every age.¹ The second step is hormonal: in 69 untreated postmenopausal women, thigh skin collagen fell in step with the years since the last period, a fall not seen in 37 women on hormone implants.² The NHS says the menopause usually affects women between 45 and 55, but it can happen earlier.³

Neither study tested a supplement. What destroys collagen covers sunlight, smoking and sugar. Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin, bones, cartilage, gums, teeth and blood vessels: an authorised wording for vitamin C, not for collagen, which has no authorised health claim in Great Britain. The register assessed collagen in 2011 and 2013 and has published nothing since, so the trials below are evidence, not product claims.⁴

Collagen in your 20s: what the trials measured

The trials in this decade were about knees and training, not ageing skin. In 180 active men and women aged 18 to 30 with exercise-related knee pain and no joint disease, 5 g a day for 12 weeks reduced activity-related pain more than placebo.⁵ In a tendon trial in 50 moderately active men (no age range given), 5 g a day through 14 weeks of heavy leg training enlarged the patellar tendon more than training alone.⁶ One small skin study: 30 adults aged 22 to 30 on 5 g a day for six weeks, comparing two peptide preparations rather than collagen with nothing.⁷ No trial has tested whether collagen slows the decline in healthy twenty-somethings; starting early is a choice, not a result.

Collagen in your 30s and 40s: the skin trials' home ground

A 2023 meta-analysis of 26 randomised trials in 1,721 people found higher measured hydration and elasticity on collagen than on placebo, with no difference in elasticity by collagen source.⁸ The core trials recruited women aged 35 to 65 and used 2.5 to 10 g a day for 8 to 12 weeks.^{9, 10, 11} In 69 women, 2.5 g and 5 g both raised skin elasticity at eight weeks.⁹ In 119 sedentary women, 2.5 g and 10 g for 12 weeks both improved elasticity and hydration, and 10 g also reduced the number and length of wrinkles.¹⁰ In 85 women aged 43 to 65, 5 g for 84 days improved dermis density and moisture against placebo.¹¹

In 97 untrained middle-aged men, 15 g a day with 12 weeks of resistance training added more fat-free mass than training alone; in 77 premenopausal women, the same dose and programme raised the percentage of fat-free mass and hand-grip strength more than training with placebo.^{12, 13} More on collagen for men and collagen for women.

Collagen in your 50s: the menopause decade

The skin trials that reach into the fifties recruited women aged 35 to 65, so the transition sits inside their range, not studied alone.^{9, 10, 11} One 12-week trial of a fish collagen in women aged 45 to 60 reported a 20% improvement from baseline in cheek elasticity at six weeks in its 45 to 54 subgroup.¹⁴ In the eight-week trial of 69 women, the older women's elasticity gain was still measurable four weeks after they stopped.⁹ Joint pain has a trial starting at 50: 200 adults aged 50 and over took 1.2 g a day or placebo for six months, with more responders on collagen at six months, though not at three.¹⁵ "Best collagen for women over 50" is therefore a question about doses (FAQ below); the menopause itself is on collagen and the menopause.

Collagen in your 60s: bone, muscle and the training condition

In 131 postmenopausal women with age-related low bone density, average age 64, 5 g a day for 12 months raised spine and femoral-neck density where the placebo group's fell slightly, with a bone-formation marker rising on collagen.¹⁶ Thirty-one carried on for four years in a supplier-linked, open-label follow-up, and their spine density kept rising.¹⁷ Fractures, which it did not measure, are on collagen for bones.

In 208 healthy adults over 65, a year of 20 g of collagen or whey twice a day without training did not change muscle size, strength or function; heavy training did.¹⁸ In 22 healthy women averaging 69, six days of 30 g twice a day showed whey raising muscle protein synthesis where collagen did not.¹⁹ Collagen lacks tryptophan and is low in leucine, so it adds to other protein rather than replacing it; where it added lean mass, people were lifting weights three times a week.^{12, 13, 20}

Collagen over 70: what is known and what is not

In a supplier-funded trial, fifty-three men averaging 72 with sarcopenia took 15 g a day through 12 weeks of resistance training and gained more fat-free mass and quadriceps strength than the training-plus-placebo group.²⁰ Women over 70 have one skin trial, and it is the gap: 56 women aged 60 to 93 with stage I dermatoporosis, thinned, fragile forearm skin, took 5 g a day, a 2.5% collagen serum, or both, for six months, and no measure changed.²¹ That is a gap in the evidence, not a result against collagen: dermatoporosis is a skin condition, not healthy ageing skin, and no trial has recruited healthy women past their early seventies to measure hydration or elasticity.

Three more gaps: no placebo-controlled bone trial in men, no training trial that added muscle in women over 60, and nothing followed past the four-year bone observation. With kidney disease or a protein-restricted diet, ask a GP first.

Is it ever too early or too late to start collagen?

No trial has compared starting ages, so nobody can say that 25 beats 55, and no prevention trial exists in young adults. Across the decades the trials share a dose of 2.5 to 15 g a day, a course of 8 weeks to 12 months, and one specific measurement: elasticity, knee pain, bone density or fat-free mass with training. Protein contributes to the maintenance of muscle mass and to the maintenance of normal bones: two authorised wordings for protein, on a food that is a source of protein, at any age.⁴ The practical question at 25 or 75 is the same: which outcome you want, and whether you will take a trial dose daily for long enough to measure it; the benefits of collagen powder lists them side by side.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best collagen for women over 50?

The trials in women over 50 used 2.5 to 10 g a day for skin over 8 to 12 weeks and 5 g a day for bone over 12 months, and source made no difference to elasticity in the pooled analysis.^{8, 9, 14, 16} Check grams of collagen per serving against those doses, sugar and sweeteners, and price per 10 g; the label tells you, the brand name does not.

Should a 70-year-old take collagen?

The bone trial, in women averaging 64, was followed in a supplier-linked, open-label study for four years in 31 of them, and the supplier-funded sarcopenia trial recruited 53 men averaging 72; collagen for bones has more.^{17, 20}

Can teenagers take collagen?

No trial has recruited anyone under 18; the youngest, the knee-pain trial, recruited from 18.⁵ The NHS Eatwell Guide applies from the age of 2, so a teenager's protein comes from meals in its proportions.²² Under 18 and wanting a supplement: a GP or pharmacist first.

Does collagen work better the younger you start?

No trial has tested that. The two age comparisons inside trials point the other way: the older women in the 35 to 55 trial kept their elasticity gain after stopping, and the supplier-funded 45 to 60 trial found its cheek-elasticity gain in the 45 to 54 group.^{9, 14} Skin that has already loosened is on collagen for sagging skin.

Sources

1. Shuster S, Black MM, McVitie E. The influence of age and sex on skin thickness, skin collagen and density. British Journal of Dermatology, 1975. PubMed 1220811.
2. Brincat M, et al. Decline in skin collagen content and metacarpal index after the menopause and its prevention with sex hormone replacement. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 1987. PubMed 3828252.
3. NHS. Menopause and perimenopause (page last reviewed 19 May 2026). nhs.uk, fetched 11 October 2026.
4. Department of Health and Social Care. Great Britain nutrition and health claims (NHC) register. gov.uk.
5. Zdzieblik D, et al. Nutrients, 2021. PubMed 33562729.
6. Jerger S, et al. European Journal of Sport Science, 2023. PubMed 37424319.
7. Chen L, et al. Food & Function, 2023. PubMed 37970760.
8. Pu SY, et al. Effects of oral collagen for skin anti-aging. Nutrients, 2023. PubMed 37432180.
9. Proksch E, et al. Oral supplementation of specific collagen peptides has beneficial effects on human skin physiology. Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 2014. PubMed 23949208.
10. Paula-Vieira RHR, et al. Dermatology and Therapy, 2026. PubMed 41588262.
11. Vleminckx S, et al. Influence of collagen peptide supplementation on visible signs of skin and nail health and -aging in an East Asian population. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024. PubMed 39143887.
12. Zdzieblik D, et al. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021. PubMed 33946565.
13. Jendricke P, et al. Nutrients, 2019. PubMed 31010031.
14. Evans M, et al. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2021. Supplier-funded. PubMed 32799362.
15. Bruyère O, et al. Effect of collagen hydrolysate in articular pain. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 2012. PubMed 22500661.
16. König D, et al. Specific collagen peptides improve bone mineral density and bone markers in postmenopausal women. Nutrients, 2018. PubMed 29337906.
17. Zdzieblik D, Oesser S, König D. Journal of Bone Metabolism, 2021. Open-label follow-up, 31 women; supplier-linked. PubMed 34520654.
18. Mertz KH, et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2021. PubMed 33564844.
19. Oikawa SY, et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2020. PubMed 31919527.
20. Zdzieblik D, et al. Collagen peptide supplementation in combination with resistance training improves body composition and increases muscle strength in elderly sarcopenic men. British Journal of Nutrition, 2015. Part supplier-funded. PubMed 26353786.
21. Guadanhim LRS, et al. Efficacy and safety of topical or oral hydrolyzed collagen in women with dermatoporosis. Dermatology and Therapy, 2023. PubMed 36547800.
22. NHS. The Eatwell Guide. nhs.uk, page last reviewed 29 November 2022, fetched 11 October 2026.

General information, not medical advice.