Hair Loss

Hair is primarily made up of the protein keratin.

Your body uses several amino acids to build keratin — some of which can be found in collagen.

When you consume collagen and other proteins, your body breaks them down into amino acids that provide your body with the building blocks it needs to create hair.

Collagen can also act as an antioxidant and fight damage caused by free radicals.

Research shows that free radicals may damage hair follicles. Since your body’s defense against free radicals decreases with aging, older adults are especially susceptible to hair damage.

To fight free radicals and promote healthy hair, your body needs antioxidants. Collagen may act as an antioxidant that can fight free radicals and prevent hair damage.

References:

Montagna, W., & Ellis, R. A. (Eds.). (2013). The biology of hair growth. Elsevier.

Wu, G. (2009). Amino acids: metabolism, functions, and nutrition. Amino acids, 37(1), 1-17.

Yang, F. C., Zhang, Y., & Rheinstädter, M. C. (2014). The structure of people’s hair. PeerJ, 2, e619.