Shereene IdrissBoard Certified Derm, Founder and Chief Nerd

Collagen supplements are a scam and here’s why.

17 Oct 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:19

In this YouTube segment, Shereene Idriss explains that recent researchers re‑examined the primary studies underlying popular meta‑analyses on collagen supplements. They discovered that the original papers misreported numbers and combined disparate measurement methods as if they were identical. After correcting the data and re‑running the analyses, the previously touted benefits for skin hydration, elasticity, and firmness essentially vanished. Idriss notes that this does not categorically prove collagen is useless, but it shows the scientific support is far weaker than marketing claims suggest. She shares her own six‑month trial, which yielded only a negligible improvement, leading her to stop buying collagen and instead invest in a personal trainer. She teases a full‑length video where she will outline alternative ways to preserve collagen in one’s 40s.

Chapters

Not enough people are talking about how collagen supplements are potentially a scam. So researchers recently went back and reviewed the studies behind the meta-analyses that people have often been referring to when saying that collagen works. And what they found— they found problems. So don't shoot the messenger, because what they found was that the numbers from the original studies were reported incorrectly from the get-go, and they were using very different measurements that had been combined as though they were measuring the exact same thing. So these brilliant minds went back and corrected the data and ran the analysis over again, and the convincing benefit that you have been sold for your skin in terms of hydration, elasticity, firmness essentially disappeared. So does this prove that collagen supplements are absolutely useless? Maybe not quite, but what it does prove is that the evidence is nowhere near as clean as the marketing would have you believe. And I firmly believe don't knock it till you try it. So I did try it for 6 months and I saw a difference of Jack Chateau. That for me was enough for me to stop. Why would I keep spending money on something that doesn't have that evidence? I'd rather go spend the money on a personal trainer. So where do I spend my money when it comes to preserving my own collagen in my 40s? That's what I break down in the full video below.