Is Collagen an Important Supplement to Take to Address Aging?
15 Dec 2025 · 13 min
Podcast episode of 'Ask the Health Expert' hosted by JJ Virgin featuring guest Rachel Varga discussing whether collagen supplements help address aging. The episode includes ad-read segments (Wayfair, Earth Breeze, Buffalo Trace, Monarch, Ray-Ban/Meta) and a focused conversation on collagen formulations, cofactors, product quality (third-party testing, research), and clinical/esthetic practice recommendations.
Chapters
Hey, J.J. here. Can you believe how fast the holidays are knocking at the door this year? One minute it's pumpkin spice season, the next you're getting your guest room ready and wondering where their wrapping paper went. And that's when I turned to Wayfair. From bedding and towels to holiday decor and last minute stocking stuffers, Wayfair has everything you need to get your home and holidays together fast. And for way less. With Wayfair, I know I can refresh my guest room in no time. Maybe I'll add a soft new comforter or a few holiday throw pillows. With Wayfair, it's so easy and everything arrives super fast. Plus, there's free shipping for any order over $35 easy and total peace of mind. So whether you're hosting, gifting, or just adding those final festive touches, Wayfair has your back. And when the holidays wind down, Wayfair has everything you need to tuck it all neatly away. Smart storage solutions for every room from the kitchen to the closet. Get organized, refreshed and ready for the holidays. For way less head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. Wayfair Every style, every home. That's W-A-Y-F-A-I R.com hey, it's JJ here. You know, I've been talking about environmental toxins forever, and laundry detergent is a sneaky one. A lot of them contain harsh chemicals like dyes, preservatives, and even UV brighteners. Those brighteners don't actually clean anything. They just coat fabric so your eyes think things look whiter or brighter. That's more chemicals I don't want on my family's sheets or skin. And if you've got sensitive skin or allergies around the house, this can be a big problem. That's what got my attention about Earth Breeze. It looks like a dryer sheet, but it's actually laundry detergent. You toss one in the washer and that's it. No pouring, no mess, and no heavy plastic jug. Their packaging is lightweight cardboard, which helps reduce plastic waste. And if you choose the fragrance free option, it's gentle, hypoallergenic, non irritating and non sensitizing. I really like how simple it is and how fresh and clean everything comes out without those unnecessary chemicals. Right now you can try Earth Breeze for up to 40% off with free gifts@earthbreeze.com virgin that's earthbreeze.com virgin for up to 40% off plus free gifts on.
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Is Collagen an Important supplement to take to address aging? This is JJ Virgin, four time New York Times bestselling author, celebrity nutrition expert and and Fitness hall of Famer. I've been on a lifelong quest for answers to the toughest health questions and now I'm sharing what I found with you. Welcome to Ask the Health Expert. Jessica from Instagram asks, is collagen an important supplement to take to address aging? Hey, it's JJ and I've got celebrity skin expert and board certified aesthetic aesthetic nurse Rachel Vargo with me to answer this question. Rachel is an accomplished international clinical trainer and academically published award winning author in the space of aesthetic medicine and nursing and also an Executive board member of the Plastic Surgery Nursing Journal. She's also one of the biggest tomboys you'll ever meet and grew up taking apart motors, riding motocross and riding horses. We'll be right back with the answer, so stay with us.
Hey jj, Virgin here. Okay, real talk. So often the holidays sneak up on me, travel, gifts, hosting, you know, all the things and suddenly it's like, wait, who spent what and where? And I know I'm not the only one who's looked at a bill in January and thought, wow, that escalated quickly. If you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch. It's rated the Wall Street Journal's best budgeting app of 2025. Monarch is the all in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface. On your laptop or on your phone. Monarch lets you link everything and gives you real time visibility so you're not shocked later. Right now, I've been checking the holiday spending category so I don't accidentally start the new year with that dreaded debt hangover. And honestly, just seeing everything laid out is already helping me stay more aware. This season, Monarch does the heavy lifting. It links your accounts in minutes, gives you smart categorization and super clear visuals. Yes, that end of year reset could be a real goal. This time, don't let financial opportunities slip through the cracks you use the code virgin@monarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year@monarch.com with the code Virgin.
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Such a great question, jj. I'm thrilled that you asked me this. So is collagen an important supplement to take to address aging? And I 100%, 110% actually say that it is certainly a layer or a piece of the puzzle to add to your daily routine because collagen is one of the most abundant proteins in our body. It's literally the building block of our tissues and soft tissue. So it's going to basically get absorbed throughout the entire body in your soft tissue, in your joints and. But also in your skin, obviously. But one of the cool things about really well made collagen formulations is that they can be mixed with other awesome cofactors as well. So this is great. And there's a really cool link here between an antioxidant serum or really well made medical grade moisturizer. So medical grade is aesthetic nurse, aesthetic physician access only kind of product just to make that distinction. And then there's going to be things like nootropics and nutraceuticals. There's going to be pharmacy grade and also products that really are only wanting to be offered through a consultation with an aesthetic nurse or physician like myself. So I work with about 13 different brands that allow me to give my clients what they need because every line has duds and superstars. That's why I work with such a wide variety of brands that I've really come to trust over the last 10 years and that clients keep coming back for. So let's talk about, you know, collagen supplement with cofactors being similar to an antioxidant serum. So I've heard of clients. You know, I've met with clients and they say, rachel, how can I kind of optimize my skincare routine? I'm cleansing. I'm putting on like four serums and then a moisturizer. What can I do? How can I streamline this? Well, number one, you do not want to be layering that Many things because you can actually potentially have interactions. So say for example, you're using a separate vitamin C serum. I see this a lot. A separate vitamin A serum, a separate copper peptide, a separate gray growth factor serum. Those serums, you're basically layering them on top of one another. They could actually have a negative chemical interaction. So what I love is working with brands that have been able to smash all of those ingredients together in one formulation that is then tested. The final formulation is then tested. And this is a key distinguishing factor between a really good medical grade antioxidant serum and and something you're going to find in the magazines or over the counter at your drugstore. We don't really care about the claims of the individual ingredients. So for example hyaluronic acid, it's a humectant, it makes the skin nice and hydrated. Copper peptide can help with things like brown spots. Vitamin C can gobble up free radicals that will say, for example, sneak through your sunscreen like I mentioned earlier and lots of other really great things. Vitamin A helps to speed up your cell turnover, but you have to use it properly. That is again a product that I recommend you reach out for some professional guidance on. I'm totally willing to connect with each and every one of you. Just reach out. Send me an email inforachelbarga ca I would love to hang out and connect. So in a really good formulation.
All.
Of those ingredients are going to be behaving synergistically, right? We don't really care about the individual claims of the ingredients. We want to know that the final formulation is actually created creating a positive benefit to the skin and that there aren't any negative interactions. So the same. And then you can basically use one serum instead of four things, right? Who has time to put four serums on? Not to mention the cost with that is just crazy. So just getting really well formulated products is the way to go. And the same thing goes with collagen. When you have say for example a collagen that also has excellent co factors and other antioxidants mixed in with it, that that's also a great thing too so that you're not having to stack too many nutraceuticals or too many nootropics to get the outcome that you're hoping for. There's a lot of really great third party lab tested supplements out there. But those are definitely things that I want you guys to start looking for is if they are third party lab tested and if they have any research to back up their claims. We're not talking about a research. That study that says, you know, 30 people were looked at and 90% of the the group noticed a 90% improvement in their skin. That is not clinical data and efficacy, just so you know. So a really great little tip is when you're looking at companies, do they, for example, have a research tab? Do they publish their studies? And I write studies myself, so I'm looking, I'm always looking for that information. So it's kind of like the good, bad and the ugly about, you know, dermal rolling antioxidant serum supplements. When you work with really great formulations, you can actually buy fewer products and really kind of just maximize your time and money. And that's what JJ and I love to help you guys with. Jj, thank you so much for having me on the show. It's been an absolute pleasure hanging out with you again and I look forward to having you back on my show, the Rachel Varga Podcast. So if you're looking for more free information from me, hang out with me at RachelVarga CA where one on one sessions are available. Use promo code JJVIRGIN for 15% off of your one on one session with me where I can give you some customized guidance to get the celebrity skin that you want and help you maximize what you're doing at home and also in the clinic. And yes, I will definitely walk you through if dermal rolling is going to be a good option for you or not. And I have a ton of free information that I share on the Rachel Varka podcast. I also have a second podcast, the Beauty and the Biohacker podcast. And yeah, I just love hanging out with all of you today. And jj, again, thank you for having me back on the show and I can't wait to connect with you again soon. Keep up the great work and keep helping, you know, everybody here tuning in. If you want to age well, it's not going to happen by accident and there are some really great sophisticated ways to go about it. And you know, keep hanging out with JJ Virgin here on the show. She will definitely keep you on the straight and narrow. Have a great rest of your day, everybody. Thanks, jj.
This is JJ with Ask the Health Expert. I do this five times a week, so make sure you never miss a show by going to subscribetoj that.
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