Skin from within: what changes with age, and what the research shows

Skin changes with age. That is not a flaw to be corrected, it is biology, and understanding it makes you choose better. This page collects what we know about dry skin, collagen and the skin barrier, and the formula we built for it.

Why does skin get drier with age?

From somewhere in the mid-thirties, three things shift at once. The skin's own collagen production slows, by roughly one per cent a year through adult life. Hyaluronic acid, which holds water in the dermis, declines. And the ceramides in the outer barrier, the lipids that keep water from escaping, are worn down by sun, cold, cleansing and time. The result is skin that feels less firm, drier, and slower to recover.

Topical skincare works on the barrier from the outside. What you eat and take works from the inside. The two do not compete, and the people who get the best results do both.

Supplements for dry skin: what can actually be influenced

Three of the skin's building blocks can be supplied in studied amounts: collagen, hyaluronic acid and ceramides. What decides whether a skin supplement is worth the money is not how many grams it contains, but whether the raw material is named, whether there is a published trial on that specific raw material, and whether the amount in the capsule is the same as in the trial.

Cartidyss® marine collagen type 2 was tested at 500 mg a day in women aged 45 to 59 over 90 days, with skin structure measured by imaging. Hyabest® hyaluronic acid and Ceramosides® phytoceramides each have their own trial. That is why the three sit in the same capsule, at exactly those amounts.

Collagen for skin: type 2 rather than type 1

Almost every marine collagen sold is type 1 from fish skin, because it is the cheapest raw material. Type 2 comes from cartilage and carries chondroitin sulphate with it. Our guide to collagen supplements goes through the types, the doses and what the trials measured, and is worth reading before you compare products.

Read the research

• Skin biology: layers, collagen and the skin barrier, how skin is actually built, and what each layer does.
• What collagen is good for, and what happens when it declines
• Marine collagen: the types, the sources and the difference that matters
• Menopause and midlife: what changes in the body, why skin often changes fastest in this decade.
• Marine collagen: what makes Cartidyss® different
• Oral hyaluronic acid: the research behind Hyabest®
• Ceramides: the barrier research behind Ceramosides®
• Vitamin C for skin: collagen, form and cellular uptake

The formula we built for this

Beauty Complete, marine collagen and hyaluronic acid is our skin formula: Cartidyss® marine collagen type 2 at 500 mg, Hyabest® hyaluronic acid at 120 mg and Ceramosides® phytoceramides at 30 mg in each daily dose, with PureWay-C® vitamin C at 60 mg, biotin and vitamin B2. Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin, and biotin and vitamin B2 contribute to the maintenance of normal skin. Every active is named on the label with its own milligram figure, and none of them is hidden inside a blend.

Two capsules a day, and three months before you judge. Not sure it is the right one for you? The two-minute quiz compares all three formulas, and our questions and answers covers the rest.