VITAMINE C + COLLAGEN: WHAT'S THE CONNECTION?

Vitamin C has been sitting on bathroom shelves for years. In serums, creams, masks and just about anything promising brighter-looking skin. But vitamin C does something else that’s particularly interesting to us: it plays an essential role in how your body makes collagen. So why exactly does collagen need vitamin C? Does taking more vitamin C mean making more collagen? And if you’re already taking collagen, do you need vitamin C alongside it? Back to the lab.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: YOUR BODY MAKES COLLAGEN

We tend to talk about collagen as something we consume, but your body has been making its own collagen all along. It’s the most abundant protein in the human body and provides structure to your skin, bones, tendons, ligaments and other connective tissues. Producing it is a multi-step process. Your body uses amino acids to build collagen chains, which then need to be modified and stabilised before they become functional collagen.
And one of the nutrients needed along the way is vitamin C.

SO, WHAT DOES VITAMIN C HAVE TO DO WITH COLLAGEN?

Quite a lot: vitamin C acts as a cofactor for enzymes called prolyl and lysyl hydroxylases. These enzymes help modify specific amino acids during collagen production, allowing the collagen structure to form and stabilise properly. In simpler terms: your body needs vitamin C for normal collagen formation.
We know how important that relationship is partly because of what happens when vitamin C is severely lacking. Scurvy, the disease caused by severe vitamin C deficiency, is characterised by symptoms including fragile skin, bleeding gums and impaired wound healing. Many of these symptoms are linked to disrupted collagen formation.
So the connection between vitamin C and collagen isn’t a beauty trend but basic human biology.

DOES VITAMIN C “BOOST” COLLAGEN?

You’ll often see vitamin C described as a “collagen booster”. There is some biological reasoning behind the phrase, but it can give the impression that taking increasingly large amounts of vitamin C will simply make your body produce increasingly large amounts of collagen. That isn’t how it works.
A more accurate statement is that vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of the skin. In fact, that wording isn’t ours. It’s an authorised health claim in the European Union.
Vitamin C is necessary for the process. That doesn’t mean more and more vitamin C equals more and more collagen.

DOES COLLAGEN NEED TO BE TAKEN WITH VITAMIN C?

Another claim worth looking at. Because vitamin C is involved in collagen formation, collagen supplements are often paired with large doses of vitamin C. That can make it sound as though collagen peptides won’t work unless you take vitamin C at exactly the same time. There isn’t strong evidence for that.

If your vitamin C intake is already adequate, taking a large additional dose alongside your collagen doesn’t automatically mean you’ll get better results. Your body needs enough vitamin C to perform its normal functions. Timing your orange perfectly with your collagen drink? Probably less important.

SO HOW MUCH VITAMIN C DO WE ACTUALLY NEED?

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient, which means humans can’t produce it ourselves. We have to get it through our diet. Luckily, it isn’t exactly difficult to find. Citrus fruits may get all the attention, but peppers, kiwi, strawberries, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and plenty of other fruits and vegetables contain vitamin C too.

And when it comes to supplementation, more isn’t automatically better. Vitamin C is water-soluble and the body regulates its concentration tightly. As oral doses increase, the percentage absorbed decreases and more is excreted. 

WHAT ABOUT VITAMIN C SERUM?

Also valid, just different. Vitamin C is naturally present in the skin and has antioxidant functions alongside its role in collagen biology. That explains why it has become such a popular skincare ingredient.
Topical vitamin C has been studied for several aspects of skin health, including photoageing and pigmentation. But getting vitamin C through the skin isn’t as straightforward as putting “vitamin C” on a label. Stability, concentration, pH and the form of vitamin C used can all influence a topical product.

Dietary vitamin C and topical vitamin C also shouldn’t be treated as interchangeable. One supplies an essential nutrient systemically. The other attempts to deliver vitamin C directly to the skin. 

AND WHAT ABOUT SKIN?

The skin contains high concentrations of vitamin C, particularly in healthy tissue. Vitamin C is involved in normal collagen formation and also acts as an antioxidant.

Observational research has found associations between higher dietary vitamin C intake and measures such as better skin appearance, while clinical research into vitamin C-containing interventions has reported effects on several skin parameters.
But isolating vitamin C is difficult. Diets contain thousands of compounds, and many supplement studies combine vitamin C with collagen, antioxidants or other nutrients.

So we’re not going to tell you that drinking vitamin C alone will magically give you perfect skin. We are comfortable saying something much less dramatic and much better established: your body needs vitamin C. Your skin needs collagen. And vitamin C plays an essential role in normal collagen formation.

WHY YOU’LL FIND VITAMIN C IN BEAUTY BADDIE

By now, you probably know we don’t build Beauty BADDIE around one trending ingredient.

Every can contains 10g of hydrolysed marine collagen peptides. And because vitamin C has a well-established role in normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin, you’ll find vitamin C in the formula too. 66 mg of vitamin C, or 82.5% of the daily reference intake.