Marine Collagen vs. Bovine Collagen

Collagen has many important functions to the body, including providing skin with structure and strength. Taking collagen supplements doesn’t just improve your skin, it has other health benefits including relieving joint pain. As you age, your body produces less collagen, leading to wrinkles, loss of elasticity, and dry skin.  After age 30, you can lose up to 10% of your collagen per decade.

There are three different types of collagen a human body produces: Type I, Type II, and Type III.

There are two different kinds of common collagen supplements, bovine and marine. It’s important to understand the difference. The biggest difference between Marine and Bovine collagen is the source, and how it’s absorbed.

Bovine Collagen

Bovine collagen is a naturally occurring protein in the connective tissues, bones, cartilage, and hides of cows. Bovine collagen typically contains Type I and Type III collagen. These two types of collagens help the health and structure of skin, bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, and organs. The primary benefit of bovine collagen is that it helps hydrate your skin. It also assists in supporting digestion and gut health.

Marine Collagen

Marine collagen is derived from fish skin and scales. Marine collagen contains mostly Type I collagen, the most abundant collagen found in the human body, which helps form our bones, skin, and tissues. Type I collagen also assists with skin elasticity, digestion, and gut health. Marine collagen absorbs into the body 1.5 times faster than other types of collagen. Marine collagen is most well-known for promoting overall skin health. If topical skin care has not improved your skin, there is a good chance that your body needs a shift in diet and supplements. In this case, collagen can be very beneficial and marine collagen is easier to absorb than bovine collagen.

As with any supplement, it is important that you find the purest possible ingredients. Marine collagen is derived from wild-caught fish and is much more likely to be hormone-free as opposed to most bovine derived collagen. For this reason, in addition to how quickly marine collagen can absorb, and its proven skin health benefits, Hall and Wrye promotes marine collagen exclusively.

To find out if your skin needs collagen, schedule a consultation.