Beyond the label · Formulation at Health Royals · 7 min read
A powder gives you grams. A capsule gives you milligrams. Which number suits you depends on what the ingredient is, and on the amount it was actually studied at. That is how we chose the format for our three supplements.
The short answer
• Powder and capsule are two good formats for different jobs. Powder suits ingredients whose useful amount is measured in grams. Capsules suit ingredients whose useful amount is measured in milligrams.
• We build with named raw materials that were studied at specific amounts, so the format has to deliver exactly that amount every day and protect it from air and moisture.
• Beauty Complete contains Cartidyss® fish cartilage collagen 500 mg, Hyabest® hyaluronic acid 120 mg, Ceramosides™ phytoceramides 30 mg, vitamin C 60 mg, vitamin B2 1.4 mg and biotin 50 µg per daily dose of two capsules.
The principle on our own label
Beauty Complete contains six ingredients per daily dose of two capsules: Cartidyss® fish cartilage collagen 500 mg, Hyabest® hyaluronic acid 120 mg, Ceramosides™ phytoceramides 30 mg, vitamin C 60 mg as PureWay-C, vitamin B2 1.4 mg and biotin 50 µg. The amounts are printed so they can be compared with the published research on each raw material.
Capsules or powder: which should you choose?
The one that suits the ingredient. The format follows the raw material, and raw materials differ a great deal in how much of them is used.
Powder exists because some ingredients are used in large amounts. Protein, creatine and hydrolysed collagen peptides are dosed in grams, sometimes in double-digit grams, and a scoop is the practical way to take that much. Putting it into capsules would mean swallowing a handful every day.
Capsules exist for the opposite situation. Ceramosides™ phytoceramides, a plant lipid extract from Seppic in France, are used at 30 mg a day, the daily amount from their own human studies, and that is what Beauty Complete contains. Thirty milligrams cannot be measured with a scoop at the kitchen counter, but it can be sealed into a capsule, the same amount every time.
So the useful question is not powder or capsule. It is what is in the product, how much of it is needed, and which format delivers that amount reliably every day.
The format is a consequence of the ingredient, not a statement about quality.
Is powder better than capsules?
For some purposes, yes, and it is worth saying so.
Powder is usually cheaper per gram. It lets you adjust a dose up or down. It needs no capsule shell. It can be a drink you look forward to, and a supplement you enjoy taking is one you keep taking. For ingredients dosed in grams, powder is the right format.
What a capsule offers is precision and protection. A scoop varies a little with how it is filled, heaped or level, settled or loose. A tub is opened every day, so air and humidity reach the contents again over the weeks it takes to finish it. And some ingredients taste bitter, which is why powders often include flavourings.
A capsule is a single sealed dose. It has no taste, needs no glass, water or mixing, and it travels in a pocket. It is also a fixed amount, which suits a studied dose and suits less well a dose you want to vary.
Powder offers volume and flexibility. A capsule offers precision and protection.
Why is the dose smaller in a capsule?
Because the number follows the raw material, not the format, and the two kinds of number describe different things.
A gram figure on a powder usually describes collagen peptides as a category. A milligram figure on our label describes a named preparation that was studied at exactly that amount. Cartidyss®, made by Abyss Ingredients in Brittany, was studied at 500 mg a day for 90 days, and Beauty Complete, marine collagen and hyaluronic acid contains that same 500 mg per daily dose. The same logic applies to Hyabest® hyaluronic acid, bio-fermented by Kewpie in Japan, at 120 mg. For us, the ingredient cannot be separated from its source, manufacturer and studied dose.
That research was carried out on the named raw materials, at the same amounts that are in Beauty Complete.
A milligram figure attached to a named, studied material tells you exactly what you are taking.
Dose
Scoop or sealed unit
A scoop varies a little with how you fill it. A capsule holds the same amount on day one and day ninety.
Characterisation
Grams of what, exactly
An amount means most when the preparation is named. We state the named material and the milligrams.
Stability
Opened daily or sealed once
A tub meets air and humidity at every scoop. A capsule shell keeps its contents closed until you take it.
Are capsules absorbed as well as powder?
Yes, as a general rule. Neither format is inherently absorbed better than the other.
The capsule shell dissolves, and what is inside is then handled the same way as if you had stirred it into water. A powder dissolved in a glass is absorbed too.
What encapsulation contributes is protection along the way: less exposure to light, oxygen and humidity in storage, and some shelter for sensitive ingredients on the way through the stomach. That is a stability argument, and it is the one we make.
Oils are the clearest case. Omega 3 oxidises readily in contact with air, which is why it is sold in softgels rather than open containers. Peak Performance Formula, our daily multivitamin for women, is a softgel for that reason: OMEGATEX® algae oil, 500 mg, provides 375 mg of omega 3, of which 300 mg DHA and 50 mg EPA, with vitamin D3 and K2 in the same oil base. DHA contributes to the maintenance of normal brain function, an effect obtained with a daily intake of 250 mg of DHA. More in is omega 3 from algae as good as fish oil.
Encapsulation protects an ingredient. What the ingredient does depends on the ingredient.
How many grams of collagen do you need?
That depends on which collagen. Trials on hydrolysed collagen peptides work in grams, while a characterised cartilage complex such as Cartidyss®, which also carries its own glycosaminoglycans, was studied at 500 mg a day. The two figures sit on different scales, and a gram figure only becomes meaningful once you know which preparation it describes. What the trials used, and why the doses cannot be compared directly, is the subject of how much collagen per day.
Why do our three supplements come as capsules and a softgel?
Because every active ingredient in them is dosed in milligrams or micrograms, at an amount we can explain.
Beauty Complete is two capsules a day with six ingredients, three of them branded materials at the daily doses from their own human studies and three vitamins at a nutritional level. Hair Beautification is one capsule a day with Keranat® millet extract 300 mg from Robertet in Grasse, the dose used in the randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled twelve week study on women, together with biotin 50 µg, vitamin B6 1.4 mg and zinc 10 mg as zinc citrate. Zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal hair. Peak Performance is a softgel, because its omega 3 is an oil.
Health Royals works with specialist manufacturers, researchers and supplier networks when raw materials are selected, and the format is the last step of that selection: the one that delivers the chosen amount, intact, every day. The jars are designed to be kept out rather than put away, because a supplement only works in daily life if it is actually taken.
We have done the selection so that you do not have to. You can stop looking.
Where does the format fit when you choose a collagen?
Format is one decision among several. Type, source tissue, the named raw material and the daily amount all matter, and we go through them together in how to read a collagen label.
Go deeper
- Guide: collagen supplements, form and dose
- Guide: thinning hair in women
- Guide: menopause and midlife
- How much collagen per day, and why the doses cannot be compared
- Which collagen is best? How to read the ingredient panel
- Cartidyss®: the fish cartilage collagen in Beauty Complete, and what its study measured
- Branded vs generic ingredients: what the name guarantees
- Is omega 3 from algae as good as fish oil?
- Millet extract for hair loss: what the Keranat® trial measured
- How much vitamin C does the skin need for collagen formation?
- Skin biology: layers, collagen and the skin barrier
Frequently asked questions
Is a capsule less value than a tub of powder?
The value lies in what is inside. A capsule that contains a named material at the amount it was studied at gives you that material, in that amount, every day. Read the milligrams and the name of the raw material, rather than the size of the pack.
Can I open a capsule and stir the contents into a drink?
You would lose the protection the shell provides, and you would taste the contents. If swallowing capsules is difficult, that is worth solving with a pharmacist rather than working around.
Why is Peak Performance a softgel?
Because oils cannot be sealed in a hard shell. A softgel is the natural format for an oil, in the same way that a scoop is the natural format for a protein.
Do you make anything as a powder?
Our three supplements are capsules and a softgel, because the ingredients we work with are dosed in milligrams. If we ever develop something that needs grams, powder would be the sensible format for it.
Is 500 mg not very little next to a ten gram scoop?
It is a smaller number for a different material. One is a gram figure for collagen peptides as a category, the other a milligram figure for a characterised complex studied at exactly that amount. We explain the scales in how much collagen per day.
Does the format affect how long a product keeps?
It affects how much air and humidity the contents meet along the way. A tub is opened daily for weeks. A capsule is opened once, at the moment you take it.
Which of your supplements should I look at first?
That depends on your question, not on the format. For skin, Beauty Complete, marine collagen and hyaluronic acid. For hair, Hair Beautification, hair vitamins with millet extract with Keranat® millet extract. For everyday energy and wellbeing, Peak Performance, multivitamin for women with omega 3.
Sources
[1] Ghani, U., et al. (2020). Capsule dosage forms: improving accuracy and reproducibility in dosing. Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, 25(7):897-905.
[2] Vásquez-Caicedo, A.L., et al. (2021). Encapsulation of polyphenols and bioactives to improve stability and bioaccessibility. Food Research International, 145:110383.
[3] McClements, D.J., et al. (2020). Encapsulation of functional ingredients to enhance stability and efficacy. Journal of Functional Foods, 67:103819.
Important information
This article is general information and educational reading. It is not medical advice, and it does not diagnose or treat any condition. Food supplements are not a substitute for a varied diet and a balanced lifestyle. Individual needs vary. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication, have allergies or have a medical condition, speak to a qualified healthcare professional before taking a supplement.
